Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / DanceBattler

Go To

1%%
2%%
3%%
4%%
5%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
6%%
7%%
8%%
9%%
10%%
11%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=x6sy1y4o4wggh983uie3g2ji
12%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.
13%%
14[[quoteright:350:[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dervish_t.png]]]]
15[[caption-width-right:350:''[[Music/YeahYeahYeahs Off, off with your head\
16Dance, dance til you're dead]]'']]
17->''"They're breakdance-fighting!"''
18-->-- '''Mugatu''', ''Film/{{Zoolander}}''
19
20So, you've found yourself in an altercation. You're facing down your opponent, ready to kick some ass, when you notice something weird: they're moving about in subtle dancing motions as they wait for you to attack. You assume them to be [[IShallTauntYou styling on you]] and you start swinging at them with your most precise hits, but none of them connect while your opponent continues to sway gracefully. You step back for a moment to predict where they're going to go next and what they're going to do. You aim straight for them as they start spinning and then '''[[CurbStompBattle BAM!]]'''
21
22Your opponent takes a bow before departing, but you don't get to see it because you're face down on the floor. [[Music/MichaelJackson You been hit by... you been struck by, a dance battler!]]
23
24While this might seem strange, it hardly all that far-fetched. Being a good dancer requires flexibility, coordination, balance, reflexes, and sometimes strength and speed, all things that go a long way in a fight as well. Plus, [[RuleOfCool it just looks cool]]. Expect such characters to hang a lampshade on the relationship between dance and combat.
25
26There are several ways to go about this:
27#The character is a practitioner of the martial art known as UsefulNotes/{{Capoeira}} or something related/similar, which combines [[RuleOfCool elaborate defensive movements]] with well-timed attacks. This is the route usually gone down by a FightingGame character, e.g. [[Franchise/StreetFighter Elena]], [[VideoGame/FatalFury Bob Wilson]], [[Franchise/{{Tekken}} Eddie and Christie]], etc.
28#The character is a superbly-skilled dancer and just happens to know how to fight as well, fusing the two, e.g. [[VideoGame/FatalFury Duck King]], [[Franchise/StreetFighter Dee Jay]], etc. This is arguably the most common example of this trope.
29#The character either practices DrunkenBoxing or is just really drunk.
30#The character is just plain nuts.
31
32Dance Battlers are often unarmed. Adding a weapon will make them even more deadly because these kinds of fighters tend to favor knives or small arms that can be [[SpectacularSpinning twirled with gymnastic flair]]. If they can SpinToDeflectStuff, all the better. Either way, a Dance Battler is an annoying opponent, [[ConfusionFu since it's hard to tell what's an attack and what's just a fancy step]].
33
34A telltale sign you're fighting someone like this in a FightingGame is that they're always sweeping one foot and then the other behind themselves.
35
36A reasonable skill to teach someone in the WaxOnWaxOff method. Gives a whole new meaning to "DanceSensation". If the dancer is popular and/or given special treatment for their talents, they're DancingRoyalty. If female, the Dance Battler is likely to be a LadyOfWar because of their graceful movements in battle. If the Dance Battler can SummonBackupDancers, be ''very'' worried. This trope often goes hand-in-hand with ConfusionFu.
37
38SubTrope of ArtAttacker and DaintyCombat.
39
40Compare SheFu, which can be combined with the Dance Battler style. Compare & contrast MusicalAssassin, MagicDance, and GracefulInTheirElement. See also LetsDance, which is usually not meant literally, but can be.
41
42Not to be confused with DanceOff, when people duel just by dancing without any combat.
43
44----
45!!Examples:
46
47[[foldercontrol]]
48
49[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
50* T.K. from ''Anime/AngelBeats'' performs this break-dance style... ''while sliding down the ledges of stairs!''
51* Ranga, the IdolSinger Ringo's Angel in ''Manga/AngelicLayer'', was built to resemble a belly dancer and incorporates dancing into her attacks.
52* Takafumi Adachi's ''Ballet Hero Fantasy'' features real-life Royal Ballet principal Steven [=McRae=] entering a universe in which all the ballet moves are weaponized.
53* Fabiola from ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' does Capoeira moves to dodge bullets while {{dual wielding}} ''{{shotguns|are just better}}''.
54* Makie from ''Manga/BladeOfTheImmortal'' is the deadliest and most graceful fighter, fast enough to end each slaughter without a single drop of blood on her clothes.
55* ''Manga/BlackClover'': Using her Valkyrie Armor gives Noelle perfect grasp of the mana surrounding her armor, letting her move through mana currents like a graceful dance to dodge enemy attacks.
56** [[spoiler: Butoh of the undersea temple uses dance magic, turning his graceful movements into deadly spells. Asta also has a hard time keeping up with his movement because they are so unusual.]]
57* When it's Anko's turn to fight in the ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}'' manga, she uses her dancing experience to make Zearth move gracefully and swiftly so she can catch up with the enemy.
58* Maria Kumokawa from ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'' tends to fight using Capoeira, breakdancing, and ''pole dancing'' moves.
59* Spike in ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' is sometimes seen doing this. Jeet Kune Do was developed by Bruce Lee (also an accomplished dancer) as a deliberately showy style, so it fits the trope. Impressive on film, at least as difficult to achieve in animation.
60* L of ''Manga/DeathNote'', inspired by the more talented Naomi Misora. Both are Capoeira practitioners.
61* The manga ''Manga/DoubleArts'' features the main leads Kiri and Elraine developing a dance-based fighting style, from which the name of the series is taken.
62* The Para Para Brothers from ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' combine this with MagicMusic. Their dancing and music can hypnotize their opponents into dancing as well, leaving them unable to defend themselves from attack.
63* ''Manga/FairyTail'':
64** Vijeeter Ecor's magic is applied through dancing and empowers allies and hinders enemies in a surrounding 10 m radius.
65** Invoked in the fight between Gray and [[spoiler:Cancer's Eclipse form]], though the latter did need to provide Gray with enchanted shoes and to forcibly [[OutOfCharacterMoment remove his sense of shame]] in order to get him to dance at all. The first part of the fight was a regular dance-off and was followed up with greater emphasis on the 'battle' side. [[AnIcePerson Gray]] freezes the floor at one point to make it an ''ice-dancing'' bout.
66* Envy from ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'' is a dance battler, incorporating capoeira-like moves and lots of leaps into his fighting style. This is in comparison to [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist his manga incarnation]], who is more of TheBrute.
67%%* ''Anime/GenesisOfAquarion'':
68%%** Touma's second Cherubim (the purple one) fights in a way meant to be reminiscent of this.
69%%** The lanky white Cherubim (which Touma's is a PaletteSwap of, ironically enough) fight this way in general. Impressive enough visual-wise to get past their obvious CG status.
70* In ''Anime/GunXSword'', Fasalina pilots her [[HumongousMecha Dahlia of Wednesday]] by... erm... ''[[{{Fanservice}} pole dancing]]''
71* ''Anime/{{K}}'':
72** Yukari Mishakuji does quite a bit of this, with a lot of twirling and posing.
73** Misaki Yata also uses quite a bit of breakdance-like moves. In the movie, for instance, when he does a shoulder spin to get back up on his skateboard, for no reason other than that it looks cool.
74* ''Manga/KenganAsura'''s Sawada is a male ballet dancer who can compete in underground fighting rings. In the chapter that properly introduces his abilities, the narration discusses a master martial artist who, when questioned on which fighting style he found most difficult to face, claimed "Never fight a ballet dancer." Ballet requires intense and precise bodily control, balance, and conditioning, and therefore, a skilled ballet dancer would have a ''very'' easy time transitioning to martial arts.
75* ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'':
76** Seigfried essentially uses a more defensively orientated version of this. He encourages his opponents to get in close and attack him, then secretly uses dancing-like skills to dodge their blow and fling himself around to fake being hit. This lets him wear down and psyche out his opponents, who come to believe he's incapable of feeling pain.
77** Miu has a bit of this in her personal fighting style, with it focusing more on grace, acrobatic movements, and gymnastics.
78* ''Anime/{{Madlax}}'': The titular heroine is a GunFu Dance Battler who frequently battles with her ''eyes shut''.
79* ''Manga/MagicalCircleGuruGuru'''s Old Man North-North could be this... well... he at least dances when battles take place, anyway. Though he later learns all that dancing ''has'' made him strong enough to fight monsters.
80* In ''Anime/MacrossDelta'', Hayate Immelman is recruited into the Delta Squadron specifically because he can invoke this trope while piloting a HumongousMecha.
81* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
82** The anime and games portray Killer Bee's fighting style laced to the core with hip-hop arm gestures that causes it to resemble capoiera crossed with muay Thai, while armed with 8 swords and Tailed Beast power. This goes hand-in-hand with him being in a perpetual "rap" state of mind. The fact that he raps while fighting causes his opponents to think he's completely bonkers. They may be right.
83** [[spoiler:Madara Uchiha]] is an infamous BloodKnight who refers to ninja fights as "dance". This page might be the [[http://c.mfcdn.net/store/manga/8/59-560.0/compressed/n560.007.jpg/ perfect example of it.]]
84* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Shinji and Asuka develop a perfectly sychronised dance/fight number in order to defeat twin Angels, which they perform in their {{Humongous Mecha}}s.
85* In ''Manga/NurseAngelRirikaSOS'', the heroine transforms into a ''ballerina-nurse'' who wields a ''baton''. Fight scenes are non-stop spinning.
86* Shirakawa in ''Anime/OddTaxi'' uses capoeira (the dance/martial art mentioned in the main text) to good effect.
87* A couple characters in ''Manga/OnePiece'' fight this way, a prominent example being Sanji, who fights entirely with his legs and whose style is based partly on Savate (martial arts developed by French sailors). And then there's [[CreepyCrossdresser Mr. 2 Bon Kurei]], who practices Okama Kenpo (weaponized ballet), and [[LadyOfWar Boa Hancock]], the Empress of the Amazon Lily island who fights with {{s|heFu}}pinning {{kick|Chick}}s.
88* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'':
89** Ash develops the "Counter Shield" technique, which amounts to any Pokemon called to do it ''breakdancing'' while using a special attack, which creates a spinning vortex of the said attack, which keeps an opponent's attack from making contact.
90** Rudy, from the Orange Islands, makes his Pokémon dance as an exercise. He even has a Starmie who is "proficient in modern dancing" to help it dodge attacks and has enough spinning power to generate an Electric attack despite being a Water type.
91** An episode is about a girl whose Bellossom fought and dodged this way.
92** In XY, Serena's Pancham includes his performance skills when he is battling.
93** This is Tierno's main battle strategy in the XY and XYZ anime. Tierno's a dancer, who taught his pokemon dance moves in order to easily evade attacks from other pokemon, while striking back with (often accurate) moves of his own. His team also consist of pokemon known for their dance moves, such as Hitmontop and Ludicolo, as well as his (break)dancing Squirtle/Wartortle/Blastoise and Raichu.
94** Subverted in one episode when Ash's Bulbasaur whoops a girl's Hitmontop because she concentrated too much on dancing and not on actually fighting.
95* ''Anime/PrettyCure'': A few Cures incorporate ballet elements into their fighting style, including [[Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure Cure White]], [[Anime/GoPrincessPrettyCure Cure Mermaid]], and [[Anime/HugttoPrettyCure Cure Étoile]].
96* Fakir, Kraehe and Mytho in ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', all ballet dancers, fight much in the same manner as they dance.
97* Mami from ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', when she fights Charlotte, she shoots, swirls and bashes with her rifles. And her strings swirl about prettily too. [[spoiler: It doesn't end well for her.]]
98* Magane Chikujōin from ''Anime/ReCreators'' moves like this in battle. She's only actually just been dodging, but (with her power, [[RealityWarper which is potent]] [[ConditionalPowers but hard to use in the middle of a fight]]) manages to outmaneuver and defeat Yuuya Mirokuji without taking or throwing a single hit.
99* Rin Ogata from the ''Manga/RideBack'' series, who uses her ballet training to make the Fuego mech dodge and evade swarms of combat automatons.
100* In ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', Aoshi's fighting style involves an elaborate form of kenbu, which is at its core essentially sword dancing. It doesn't look at all like dancing, though.
101* Mugen from ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'' is untrained in any sort of fighting style, but possess enough raw power and ax-craziness to do whatever feels right to him and still come out on top. His [[http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h127/DarkAres02/Geta-Metal.jpg geta sandals have metal plates on the soles]], so he can block swords with them. The producers call it the "champuru kendo" fighting style. Frequently assumed to have been influenced by break-dancing or capoeira or both.
102* Takuto from ''Anime/StarDriver'' incorporates pirouettes and corkscrew flips in his fighting style. You know, the one he uses [[ImpossiblyGracefulGiant while piloting a giant robot.]]
103* Bob Makihara in ''Manga/TenjhoTenge'' both practices Capoeira and is able to use the mystical power of ''rhythm'' to predict attacks. The series quasi-BigBad tries to justify the trope, pointing out that much of modern military terminology grew out of dancing, that almost every culture with martial arts had them grow out of an earlier dancing tradition, and that dancers typically make excellent martial artists.
104* ''Anime/TrigunStampede'' gives both superhuman twins [[MartialPacifist Vash]] and [[MisanthropeSupreme Knives]] dance-like fighting moves, but in different ways. Vash engages in goofy dodges, jumps, twists and spins (even performing a pirouette at one point) to frustrate his opponent into giving up because he makes battle look silly. Knives performs precise kicks, punches and spins that look balletic and graceful, and inevitably lead to somebody losing a limb or being stabbed to death with the blades on his hands and feet.
105* ''Anime/VariableGeo'': [[LipstickLesbian Ayako Yuuki]] works the dance floor at the [=SoTO=] Techno Rave Club, so she incorporates elements of her dance routine into [[SpectacularSpinning her fighting style]]; making her a literal example of the trope. She even wears her showgirl uniform (which includes a [[CombatHandFan feather-lined fan]]) during her matches.
106* Asuka of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' uses a deck whose cards follow a clear Dance Battler theme.
107[[/folder]]
108
109[[folder:Comic Books]]
110* ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'': An ''Archie'' comic had him and Reggie driven to laughing fits over Veronica's "sissy" male ballet dancer friend - until he single-handedly subdues a gang of tough guys with his moves.
111* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}''
112** Capoeira is among the many fighting styles Batman has mastered.
113** Orpheus's fighting style is a combination of his background in dance with his martial arts training.
114** ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} mixes dancing into his fights on occasions, like when he was fighting a group of musicians and incorporated break-dancing into their take-down.
115* ''ComicBook/{{Cloak and Dagger|MarvelComics}}'': Dagger has a fighting style that heavily incorporates her ballerina training.
116* ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'': Deadpool has managed to beat the Taskmaster by virtue of being type four -just plain ''nuts''. Since his brain is constantly shifting due to cancer and superhealing, he never does any form of combat the same way twice, and will often use whatever form randomly pops in his head, including dance battling.
117* ''ComicBook/TheDefenders'': Ren Kimura from the ''ComicBook/FearlessDefenders'' uses her dance skills in conjunction with her ability to create razor-sharp ribbons from her hands.
118* ''ComicBook/FreaksSqueele'': Xiong Mao from the French comic uses a martial arts style called Flamendo. It is described as "a martial arts style with all the trappings of dance".
119* ''ComicBook/JonSableFreelance'': Subverted in one issue. John and a male ballet dancer friend are confronted by a gang, and Jon is bracing himself for a fight when his friend spots the boombox one of them is carrying and puts on a show combining ballet and breakdancing moves. The gang is so impressed they let them pass.
120* ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'': ComicBook/{{Vibe}}, a member of the Justice League during its Detroit phase, used breakdancing moves as part of his fighting style.
121* ''ComicBook/{{The Outsiders|DCComics}}'': Bolshoi of The People's Heroes used ballet as the basis for his martial art. He later adds to this with actual prowess in the martial arts. He still gets bits chopped off him. Thank goodness for modern reattachment surgery.
122* ''ComicBook/TheQuestion'': Marco from ''The Question Quarterly''.
123* ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'': When the Runaways have an adventure in 1910s New York, one of the heroes they meet is Lillie "The Spieler" [=McGurty=], who can fly to the rhythm of music. One of her first scenes has her fighting a gang of strikebreakers and she dances on their heads.
124* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': IntrepidReporter ComicBook/LoisLane once used dance battling while impersonating a ballet dancer.
125* ''ComicBook/TransformersShatteredGlass'': Abominus is a CulturedBadass whose fighting style is based on interpretive dance.
126* ''ComicBook/TheWickedAndTheDivine'': Dionysus (the dancefloor that walks like a man) weaponizes his HiveMind ravers to storm Valhalla, all of them lit with an inner glow from his magic and unable to be hurt as long as he protected them. [[RuleOfCool He also had glowstick nunchaku]].
127* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol. 1]]: Priscilla Rich, the first ComicBook/{{Cheetah}}, was a skilled dancer, and this translated into remarkable agility in combat.
128[[/folder]]
129
130[[folder:Comic Strips]]
131* In ''ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUS'' Dennis went to ballet school and learned a lot of keen new fightin' tricks he never knew before.
132[[/folder]]
133
134[[folder:Fan Works]]
135* ''Fanfic/BlazBlueAlternativeRemnant'': In Chapter 32, Rachel easily dances around Ragna's every attack, treating the whole thing like a performance instead of a serious fight. Ragna even notes that she moves around his attacks "like a dancer on a stage".
136* There is a ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' fanfic (set post-Season 7) called [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6939823/1/Two_Slayers_One_Heart_Version_ThreePointZero Two Slayers-- One Heart (Version 3.0)]] that features a dancer-turned-slayer who later adds capoeira to her repertoire.
137* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'':
138** In the first book, [[{{ComicBook/Psylocke}} Betsy]] and Fandral, having had a one-night stand previously, share a telepathically coordinated English folk-dance through a battlefield, to lethal effect.
139** In the sequel, Harry, already noted for his grace and reflexes, becomes an accomplished classical and Latin dancer (as he smugly explains, [[MundaneUtility Asgardian muscle memory is good for more than just fighting]]). He incorporates this into his fighting style, with the narration frequently describing him as "dancing" in a fight, whether it's between chaos blasts or lightning bolts. And, appropriately, his sword is modelled on a ''shashka'', the Russian Cossack sabre, famous for its use in sword-dancing.
140* In the ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' fic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/7706956 Death in Every Dance]]'', {{R|ebelLeader}}ose abruptly throws a spear at a dancing courtesan...who not only catches it but smoothly incorporates the motion into her dance. This makes Rose consider the courtesan as a potential recruit.
141-->'''Rose:''' She would make the finest soldier on the battlefield.
142* The ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' of Creator/AAPessimal sees a Witch crash-landing a stricken broomstick right in the middle of a party of Elves. This Witch comes from the [[MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong Rodinia]]. And she has learnt about how the Lancre Morris Men dealt with Elves, and reasons that humans can use a glamour all of their own to fight back. Drawing her Cossack sabre, she then dances a ''shashka'' at them, marvelling that the fascinated elves are drawing ever closer to a "Russian" woman who is sword-dancing for them.[[note]] The ''shashka'' is the name of both the sword and the dance.[[/note]] The Elves are watching the flashing, swirling, sword and the intricate dance steps. For some of them it becomes the last thing they will ever see.
143* In ''{{Fanfic/Everqueen}}'', that's shown to be Isha's style as she and the Emperor take on the Chaos Androids.
144* In ''[[Fanfic/BecauseIKnewYou Multiverse of Madness: Clea Cut]]'', during the final clash with [[spoiler:Clea's Mindless Ones (now under Mordo's control), the powerless sorcerers of Kamar-Taj, along with the equally-powerless Peter Parker and America Chavez, basically resort to this, dancing along to “Defying Gravity” (''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'') to distract their enemies until they can get Wanda Maximoff outside the current hex, restoring her magic so that she can deal with their enemies]].
145* ''Fanfic/PowerRangersOceania'': In contrast to Zack from ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', Alex only combines a dance into a fight when she needs a power boost. It doesn't happen too often because she's a ''hula'' instructor.
146* ''Fanfic/QueensOfMewni'':
147** Solena the Smitten would be the foremother of this trope in the Butterfly Kingdom, thanks to her interest in and being part of a ballet troupe.
148** Her descendant, Skywynne, Queen of Hours, would expand on this and become quite adept of marrying her time spells onto this trope, thanks to just being more talented in dancing than in singing.
149* ''Fanfic/{{Raindancer}}'': Both Izuku and Mina take up UsefulNotes/{{Capoeira}} while training for the U.A. Entrance Exam due to their mutual interest in dance. Izuku uses it to devastating effect while battling Villains [[spoiler:on a school field trip to a museum]], easily phasing through attacks with his ElementalShapeshifter Quirk before sweeping out his enemies' legs from beneath them and delivering crushing kicks in a whir of motion.
150* ''Fanfic/SeventhEndmostVision'' has an unusual example of this in [[AdaptationalHeroism Sephiroth]]. Rather than a more known or common style of this, he uses his SinisterScythe along with some fancy footwork to do a traditional agrarian ''harvest'' dance in battle, which involves a lot of spinning and leaping. Sephiroth uses it to dodge and weave around his opponents, with skill enough that [[SuperSoldier Tifa]] thinks [[DramaticIrony he'd have made a good candidate for SOLDIER]]. Notable because Sephiroth is entirely self-taught.
151* ''Fanfic/ASongOfSilkAndSaplings'': Rosha adapted the waggling dance used by bees to communicate into a martial art, which she uses to her movements fluid, precise and unpredictable.
152* Kite Maxwell from ''Tales of Faith'' falls under this. Everyone who sees him fight comments that it has a lot of 'dancing', much to Kite's chagrin.
153* [[OriginalGeneration Irain]] from ''Fanfic/ThisBites'', as influenced by her Chord-Chord Fruit powers, fights with two daggers to set rhythms. She can change the rhythm and thus the dance, but her attacks follow a pattern of offense and defense. What makes her especially dangerous is that she forces others to become dance battlers as well, making her opponent follow her set rhythm and thus predictable.
154[[/folder]]
155
156[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
157* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda3'': Po trains ribbon dancer Mei Mei to incorporate nunchakus in her dancing, turning her into this trope.
158-->''[[PreAsskickingOneLiner "Get ready to dance--with danger!"]]''
159** An idea he probably got from Viper. ''Secrets of the Furious Five'' shows that before Viper became a kung fu warrior she was the best ribbon dancer in the village, because she was born without fangs and no-one thought she could fight. She proves otherwise when she uses her ribbon dancing skills to take down a gorilla bandit that had defeated her father by wearing poison-proof armor that broke his fangs.
160--->'''Viper:''' My [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal deceptive dancing defies]] your poison proof armor!
161* In Sequel-Prequel to Shrek, ''WesternAnimation/PussInBoots,'' Puss has a literal Dance Battle with the masked Kitty Softpaws, dancing vertically up the walls, against each other's boots, and incorporating some fencing. It's awesome and hilarious, and worth watching the entire movie ''just for that scene.'' (They perform a similar dance (without the battle) at the end of the movie, which is equally awesome.)
162* During the climax of ''WesternAnimation/{{Robots}}'', Fender loses his shield and weapon while being surrounded by Madame Gasket's minions, prompting him to start dancing (to "...Baby, One More Time" by Music/BritneySpears of all things), which somehow prompts the minions to dance as well, allowing him to easily knock all of them out. [[ItMakesAsMuchSenseInContext Yes, it's as ridiculous as it sounds]].
163* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Rumble}}'', Winnie discovers that Steve [[HiddenDepths loves dancing and is actually quite good at it]], so she decides they can try using this to their advantage when it comes to wrestling matches, especially since (as she notes) "Wrestling is 80% footwork". He finally comes into the 'battler' part in the third round with Tentacular.
164* In ''WesternAnimation/TheThreeCaballeros'', at the climax of WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck and Joe's visit to Bahia, two men get into what is probably supposed to be a Capoeira fight (which would make sense since the martial art has origins in Brazil). Their shadows even temporarily take the form of two roosters fighting, which is said to be what Capoeira takes its name from. However, they seem to be doing more dancing than they are fighting.
165[[/folder]]
166
167[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
168%%* Almost all Hong Kong Action martial arts movie fight scenes are choreographed like dancing.%% General example.
169* Ed the Ted and his gang in ''Film/AbsoluteBeginners''. Arguably {{justified|Trope}} in that it's a musical.
170* Tap-dancing Killer #2 pulls this off nicely in ''Film/{{Bunraku}}'', at one point fighting with his back towards the enemy. His movements were based on Fred Astaire.
171* In the Creator/AmericanInternationalPictures ''Film/BeachParty'' movies, dancer Candy Johnson sends adversaries hurtling with a toss of her hip.
172* In ''Film/{{Carmen}}'', Antonio is the leader of a dance troupe who gets into a fight with his girlfriend's husband. He starts the fight by dancing flamenco. The opponent dances too. The film blurs fighting and dancing so that the viewer can't tell which is which, until Antonio knocks the other man down to the floor and wins the fight.
173* The third movie of ''Film/{{Descendants}}'' shows [[spoiler:Audrey]] bring suits of knight armor to life to attack the [[VillainProtagonist VK's]]. How do they win? By Mal compelling them to dance until they fall.
174-->'''Suit of armor, strong and true,\
175 Make this metal bust a move!'''
176* In the film ''Film/DesigningWoman'', Randy Owens (played by legendary Jazz choreographer Jack Cole), beats the hell out of some {{Mooks}}, by gracefully dance-battling.
177* ''Film/DodgeballATrueUnderdogStory'' had a dodgeball team called "Skillz That Killz" who would dodge the balls with their breakdancing. They lost because as the announcer pointed out, they concentrated too much on dancing and not on actually playing.
178* ''Film/GhostInTheShell2017'': Major is zapped with a StaticStunGun, then handcuffed to a stripper pole by yakuza thugs and told to dance for them. Being a battle cyborg Major replies, [[PreAssKickingOneLiner "I wasn't built to dance"]] and proceeds to kick their asses. As she's [[WithMyHandsTied still handcuffed to the pole]], it looks a lot like a pole-dancing routine.
179* Mei from ''Film/HouseOfFlyingDaggers''. Her actress Zhang Ziyi is not trained in martial arts but is a trained dancer so the filmmakers incorporated dance into all of Mei's action scenes.
180* ''Film/JohnWick'' during the Red Circle shootout, thanks to a combination of GunFu and the WrestlerInAllOfUs set to a nightclub beat.
181* ''Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle'': Ruby Roundhouse has this as her specialty, and uses it to great effect twice in the movie.
182* ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'': [[TheDragon Gazelle]]'s fighting style is extremely graceful and lethal, focusing on her bladed leg prosthetics. She even uses classic breakdancing techniques in the climax. Appropriately, she is played by Creator/SofiaBoutella, a professional dancer.
183** ''Film/TheKingsMan'': In the prequel, UsefulNotes/RasputinTheMadMonk combines martial arts and a knife with ballet and Russian folk dancing. It seems to be in-universe as well, as Orlando mocks him by asking if he's a monk or a ballet dancer and he does some leaps and squats in the fight [[LargeHam just because he can]].
184* ''Film/{{M3GAN}}'': A scene that quickly went {{memetic|Mutation}} from the moment it appeared in the trailer has the titular RobotGirl villain dancing as she attacks a security guard. From what is seen earlier in the trailer, she apparently learned how to dance from Cady, the human girl who she was built as a robotic companion for. Amie Donald, the actress who does her physical movements,[[note]]Her voice acting is done separately by Jenna Davis.[[/note]] is a professional dancer.
185* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
186** Creator/ChrisEvans as Captain America; his mother is a theater director and taught him dance early on. The fight choreographers used this to help him with his moves. It's also why he does most of his own stunts -- his dance training makes him move differently than others, so it's difficult to replicate how he does it.
187** In combat, Loki's movements are always fluid and dance-like, and they're deliberately filmed to appear beautiful. In ''Film/{{Thor}}'', he uses Gungnir as a pole to propel his body around in order to increase his momentum for a kick in the face. In ''Film/ThorRagnarok'''s FinalBattle, Loki employs [[http://damnyouhiddles.tumblr.com/post/172626091527/your-saviour-is-here acrobatics]] to avoid being struck by a sword. Creator/TomHiddleston elaborates on his character's supple physicality in [[http://ca.ign.com/articles/2010/07/28/sdcc-10-loki-tells-all?page=2 this interview:]]
188--->'''Hiddleston:''' Ken[neth Branagh] asked for me to be very lean and very strong at the same time. And he wanted me to develop a fighting style that would be much closer to (...) the Brazilian martial art of capoeira. If Thor was a big rock then Loki was like the wind. And he would just dance around this sturdy block of granite that was Thor. And so I developed a kind of fighting style that was much more balletic.
189** Creator/CateBlanchett trained in the Brazilian martial art of capoeira for Hela's fight scenes in ''Film/ThorRagnarok''.
190** Capoeira is also one of the martial arts used by the titular ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}''. Due to the fact that Capoeira is of an African origin.
191** In-universe, ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' shows part of Natasha Romanoff's time growing up in the Red Room involved ballet training.
192* A variation occurs in ''Film/TheMightyDucks''. Tammy Duncan (and, to a lesser extent, her brother Tommy) trained in figure skating before being tapped to join the hockey team, and she routinely incorporates figure skating choreography into her hockey play, even using it to score a big goal in a crucial game. They are both replaced by Olympic level skater Ken Wu in the sequels.
193* Music/MichaelJackson dance fights his way through several gangsters in the "Smooth Criminal" sequence of ''Film/{{Moonwalker}}'', and again in the video to "You Rock My World".
194* In ''[[Film/MrAndMrsSmith2005 Mr. & Mrs. Smith]]'', John and Jane engage in a gunfight, battling their enemies ''together'' to the tune of the Assassin's Tango.
195* ''Film/NeverBackDown'' is a fight movie. In one scene, we have a dreadlocked Dance Battle guy and his uninteresting looking opponent. After half a minute of showboating, however, he manages to frontflip himself right into a thunderous [[GoodOldFisticuffs single punch]], which lays him right out.
196* Tony Jaa fights a JKD stylist at one point in ''Film/OngBak''. And he fights a capoeirista (minus the afro) played by Creator/LateefCrowder from his other film ''Film/TomYumGoong''.
197* The 1993 movie ''Film/OnlyTheStrong'' was perhaps the introduction of many action fans to the art of Capoeira and starred [[Series/IronChef Marc Dacascos]] as a Green Beret who has to clean up his hometown using the aforementioned art, eventually fighting a BigBad who uses the same style.
198* The Thai film ''Film/RagingPhoenix'' features several scenes with both b-boy and traditional Thai dance-based fighting styles.
199* River Tam in ''Film/{{Serenity}}''. Her WaifFu fighting style was created with the aim of appearing dance-like, as both the character and her actress Creator/SummerGlau are dancers.
200* ''Film/Shaft2019''. JJ, while drunk in a nightclub, ends up subduing a man with UsefulNotes/{{Capoeira}}. Shaft II says he was this far from a SoProudOfYou moment before being told his son was using something called "dance battling".
201* In ''Film/StrippedToKill'', [[spoiler:Eric/Roxanne]] uses pole dancing moves to devastating effect against Cody during the fight in the strip club.
202* Babydoll in ''Film/SuckerPunch'' incorporates her dance moves in her various fantasies' battles, doing spins and flips while cutting up monsters with a sword.
203* The "Ninjitsu" practiced by the [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] in the films borrows from several martial arts (including Capoeira), but also heavily from modern breakdancing (which allows them to make full use of their heavy shells). ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIITheSecretOfTheOoze'' even has a scene of the turtles using dance skills to fight off the Foot while Music/VanillaIce does his "Ninja Rap".
204* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' - Eddie Valiant uses his old vaudeville background, subduing the Weasel gang with a vigorous song-and-dance number. Though he's not physically fighting them, the technique is extremely effective; he's hilarious, and excessive laughter is literally lethal to the Weasels.
205* In ''Film/WizardsOfTheLostKingdom2'', Idun is a dancing girl who uses her dance moves in combat
206* At the climax of the movie ''Film/{{Zoolander}}'', Hansel ([[RunningGag He's so hot right now!]]) and an enemy goon partake in "Breakdance Fighting", which for the most part just involved doing little dance moves while punching or kicking people in between.
207[[/folder]]
208
209[[folder:Literature]]
210* One of the minor Smedries in ''Literature/AlcatrazSeries'' has the Talent of being a really bad dancer, which causes him to turn into this whenever he hears music.
211* In Regina Doman's novel ''[[Literature/FairytaleNovels Alex O'Donnell and the Forty Cyberthieves]]'', the heroine performs a traditional Vietnamese fan dance, using fans with hidden blades.
212* Steven Barnes's ''Aubrey Knight'' books ''Streetlethal'', ''Gorgon Child'', and ''Firedance'' feature martial artists whose practice improves by learning dance, martial arts disguised as dance and a dance tradition which includes martial arts unbeknown to its practitioners.
213* Talise Lightwind Murphy of ''Literature/TheChildrenOfMan'' uses a unique combat style based on the use of offensive yellow magic (yellow is the magic of art and performance, and normally focuses on illusions).
214* P.C. Hodgell's ''Literature/ChroniclesOfTheKencyrath'' books feature a matched set of dance and combat moves that are very closely related, to the point that one training game is to switch back and forth between dancing and sparring.
215* In Seanan [=McGuire=]'s ''[[Literature/InCryptid Discount Armageddon]]'', main character Verity Price is a ballroom dancer/martial artist, and she lets the dancing bleed into the martial arts because of how much the two have in common.
216* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
217** The 'Stick and Bucket' dance, as performed by the Lancre morris men -- [[NoodleIncident we never get to see what it does]], but it has a step called 'KILL!' and is particularly effective against TheFairFolk, who are too entranced by the performance to fight back.
218** It was mentioned in passing Moist von Lipwig's main squeeze, Adora Belle Dearheart, was trained as a ballerina when she was younger and can therefore kick like a mule, presumably quite high. Combined with stiletto heels pointy enough to pierce skin without much effort...
219* In N. R. Eccles-Smith's HighFantasy series, ''Literature/{{DragonCalling}}'' the character, Shifra, fights using the [[SupernaturalMartialArts Kutokii]] style--a secret martial art known only to the morwulves that involves wielding one’s own manna to extend and enhance physical attacks. The style often makes the fighter look like they are dancing.
220** The wind/ darkness wielding mage, Yarad, moves with expert fluentness when fighting, which also gives the impression of dancing (albeit in a more frightening and savage manner).
221* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
222** Thomas Raith pulls this off in ''Changes'' in the final battle, breakdancing to Molly's One Woman Rave spell with a khukri in one hand and a [[{{BFG}} Desert Eagle]] in the other, taking out Red Court vampires by the dozen. It is exactly as awesome as it sounds.
223** It's implied that he does a more subtle version during earlier battles against tough foes. At least twice, Dresden has heard him humming "Froggy Goes A-Courtin'" under his breath right before a big battle, implying that he's using it to time his movements.
224* In Creator/WilliamGibson's short story "Literature/JohnnyMnemonic," the Lo Teks have a fighting floor that is wired to shift and produce musical beats based on your footing, with the intention of turning brawls into a sort of dance. Molly Millions fights a Yakuza assassin on the floor, and its strange characteristics give her an advantage.
225* In the ''Literature/LiadenUniverse'', the ''menfri'at'', taught in some places as strictly dance, is both a dance and a self-defense discipline for pilots.
226* ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'':
227** There exists a cult that worships the Gods of Shadow. As part of their worship, the adherents learn something known as "The Shadow Dance". Lostara Yil, a former member of the Cult of Shadow, thinks that the Shadow Dance is merely just some ritual until she discovers that it's very effective at killing dozens of people without much problem.
228** Apsalar discovers that she is able to employ the Shadow Dance as well in ''Literature/TheBonehunters'', where she plows through hundreds of [[SecretPolice Claw]] [[ProfessionalKiller assassins]] in one go. In her case, the ability comes from having been [[DemonicPossession possessed]] by the Patron God of Assassins, who is the right-hand man of the King of the Shadow Realm.
229* Most of the viewpoint characters in Steve Perry's ''Literature/{{Matador|Series}}'' science fiction series practice a dance/martial art known as ''sumito''.
230* ''Literature/MindGames'': Danielle, whose Class is "Shadow Dancer", and looks like she's always dancing due to her inhuman Dexterity. Somewhat negated by the fact that when she's mad she tends to be less the {{Ninja}} kind of CatGirl and more the "It's like I fell into an angry blender" kind.
231* In Creator/MaryRenault's 1972 novel ''The Persian Boy'', the title character, Bagoas, kills an assailant with a particular move we've seen before - in his dance rehearsals. (As a eunuch, he had been given no combat training, and his belt-dagger was supposed to be ornamental.)
232* In Creator/MercedesLackey's ''Literature/ReservedForTheCat'', the heroine, a trained ballerina, is being given some lessons in basic self-defense. Her strength and flexibility make her better than her teachers think she'd be, and in addition, she is able to all on her own develop a self-defense application to at least one of her dance moves. She points out that it's just as useful as a gun because "broken neck from getting kicked in the face" is easier to [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident explain away]] than "multiple bullet wounds".
233* Nyla Brio in Alex White's ''Literature/SalvagersTrilogy'' practices a martial art called, "Flicker," that works like this. It relies on the use of her backlit tattoos, flashing to a particular beat. The real power of the fighting style is that the practitioner can change the color, intensity, and tempo of the flashes, setting and defying the opponent's expectations or just plain blinding them.
234* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', Arya Stark is trained by Syrio Forel to be a "water dancer", a FragileSpeedster kind of warrior. Syrio himself demonstrates the fact that he's a MasterSwordsman in the first book by fighting off half a dozen armed and armored guards...with [[WoodenKatanasAreEvenBetter a wooden practice sword]]. An enemy fully encased in plate seems to be an effective counter though, at least without a metal sword.
235* In ''Literature/TwoPercentPower'', Beat Boxer can, when listening to music, use it to move flawlessly through combat. As a consequence of the source of her fighting power, she looks like she's dancing through the combat.
236* Scarlet of ''Literature/TheUltraViolets'', with thanks to her dancing superpowers. [[spoiler:She gets marginally more dangerous once her super-strength kicks in.]]
237* ''Literature/{{Underground}}'': Robyn's form of fighting in the ring is noted to be very graceful and dancelike. [[spoiler:When she can, Robyn secretly practices ballet and the practice has influenced her fighting style]].
238* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': Whenever someone witnesses a Blademaster in action his or her movements will be described as dance-like; if the opponent is also a Blademaster, the battle will be described as looking more like a dance than a fight.
239* Whilst not as elaborate as some examples listed here, the combat system used by ''[[Franchise/TheWitcher Witchers]]'' is often described as using pirouettes, spins, and flowing movements. The highly agile style is used because when you're dealing with a 50-ton monster from the darkest depths, conventional blocking ''just doesn't work''.
240[[/folder]]
241
242[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
243* ''Series/AlteredCarbon'': A married couple of zero-G [[GladiatorGames gladiators]] fight to the death ([[DeathIsCheap they are then re-sleeved]] in [[BodySurf replacement bodies]]) for the entertainment of their mega-rich audience. The fight starts off this way and even has accompanying music, but quickly devolves into a brutal NoHoldsBarredBeatdown.
244* Whenever famous contender Wesley "Two Scoops" Berry won an event on the original ''Series/AmericanGladiators'', he would frequently start breakdancing (as a sort of [[HappyDance victory dance]]). The man had ''moves''. He even did it during the first ''International Gladiators'' event.
245* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':
246** In "[[Recap/AngelS01E18FiveByFive Five by Five]]", Faith beats up a whole discotheque while dancing.
247** In "[[Recap/AngelS05E06TheCautionaryTaleOfNumeroCinco The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco]]", it is said that ''Los Hermanos Números'', a once famous SiblingTeam of [[MaskedLuchador luchadores]], used synchronized wrestling to defeat demons.
248* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'':
249** Roy Harper is a practitioner of this. When he becomes his alter ego Arsenal, however, he fights like a dancing monkey.
250** Sara Lance as the Canary. Fitting, as her actress practices Tricking, a training discipline that combines martial arts kicks with flips and twists from gymnastics as well as many dance moves and styles from breakdancing, and it shows in some of her fight scenes.
251* ''Series/Batman1966'':
252** Batgirl was played by Creator/YvonneCraig, a trained ballerina. In contrast to Batman and Robin's usual rough-and-tumble fighting, Batgirl's fighting style was elegant, full of high kicks and spins, and even ballet-style lifts by Robin or Batman to set up attacks.
253** Played with in "Pharaoh's in a Rut" when King Tut makes Batman (whom he thinks has been driven insane) dance for his amusement. Batman starts dancing the Batusi to the [[DiegeticSoundtrackUsage show's theme music]] until he's standing before a couple of minions [[PretendToBeBrainwashed whom he then punches in the face]].
254* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Buffy in the MusicalEpisode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS6E7OnceMoreWithFeeling Once More, with Feeling]]". Also worth noting is Dawn's attempt to escape from the Puppet Minions, which is presented in the form of a ballet dance.
255* ''Series/{{Chuck}}'': PlayedForLaughs in "[[Recap/ChuckS4E10ChuckVsTheLeftovers Chuck vs. the Leftovers]]". Morgan signs him and Chuck up for a hand-to-hand combat class which teaches "strip kick", a fighting style combining Krav Maga with pole dancing. However, this comes in handy when they are attacked by assassins, with Chuck using an available street lamp as a pole.
256* Xander Stone of Topanga Karate shows this style at the All-Valley Tournament on ''Series/CobraKai,'' using a lot of fancy flips in his fights. When Piper Elswith joins Cobra Kai in Season 4, she also proves to be a Dance Battler, incorporating her gymnastics training into her fighting style.
257-->'''Tory:''' You just gonna dance around, or are you going to throw something?
258-->'''Piper:''' Why not both?
259* ''Series/{{Community}}'': Jeff locks horns with an overbearing tough guy and they schedule a fight; Britta sees it all as classic repressed-gay behavior. When the tough guy's gang breaks into music-video style fighting choreography, she's even more convinced.
260-->'''Mike:''' Shirts off, boys!\
261'''Britta:''' I'm being Punk'd, right?
262* ''Series/CowboyBebop2021'': In "[[Recap/CowboyBebop2021S1E5DarksideTango Darkside Tango]]", Faye Valentine demonstrates (holding Welsh corgi Ein) how she surreptitiously [[ExtendedDisarming disarmed]] and knocked out a notorious bounty while dancing the {{tango}} with him. Even Spike Spiegel is moved to applaud.
263* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS38E1E2Spyfall Spyfall]]", the Doctor's companions have been issued various [[ShoePhone gadgets]] by [=MI6=], including a pair of TrickedOutShoes that shoot lasers. Graham, who is wearing the shoes, activates them by stomping up and down, so when an army of aliens are surrounding them, the other companions just tell him to start dancing which he does, shooting beams in all directions.
264* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
265** The show gives us Oberyn Martell, who's going into some impressive acrobatics during his fight against the Mountain. He learnt his skills in GladiatorGames where putting on a show is as important as killing. [[spoiler:Doesn't help him much in the fight though.]]
266** As in the book, Aria learns the "water dancing" fencing style. It's been frequently shown to be superior to standard Westerosi fighting styles (with young Arya easily defeating grown men who are professional soldiers)... unless your opponent has heavy armor, in which case it's all but useless.
267** As a eunuch, Grey Worm is athletic but not particularly large, so he fights in a very light and graceful way...at least when he's not using ShieldBash.
268* In the ''Franchise/GirlsXHeroine'' series of {{Toku}} shows, which have a music motif, the characters incorporate elaborate dance routines into their {{finishing move}}s.
269* ''Franchise/KamenRider'':
270** Ryutaros (Gun Form) in ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'' combines this with ATeamFiring and GangstaStyle, which together are less than the sum of their parts. His aim is, to put it lightly, [[DestructiveSavior horrible]].
271** ''Series/KamenRiderFourze's'' JK is shown to be a good breakdancer in the opening, and finally busts out his moves when attempting to dodge an attack from Pegasus Zodiarts and defeating three Zodiarts when he's forced to use the [[MiniMecha Power Dizer]].
272** Averted in ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'' in the case of Hiro Kagami / Kamen Rider Brave. His "Level 3" form incorporates a dancing video game, but he doesn't dance. Rather, he maintains rhythm to maximize his fighting capabilities due to his proficiency in performing CPR, which can result in broken ribs in the real world.
273* ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'': In "[[Recap/LegendsOfTomorrowS7E4SpeakeasyDoesIt Speakeasy Does It]]", Sara Lance and Ava Sharpe are working as dancers in a Prohibition-era speakeasy, and take down and tie up a goon during their performance while making it look like AllPartOfTheShow.
274* A curious example from ''Series/TheMandalorian'' with Boba Fett. While his fighting style doesn't clearly show dancing, [[https://youtu.be/zI2raRdVAjA in reality it is based off the Haka,]] the cultural form of dance for the Māori people, reflected in Fett's deliberate and strong movements.
275* The "Hollywood Swinging" two-parter of ''Series/{{Martin}}'' had Martin end up in a couple of street fights with [[MakesAsMuchSenseInContext Michael Jackson]], who used his dance moves in effectively curb-stomping the former.
276* [[CastingAShadow Noob Saibot]] from ''Series/MortalKombatConquest'' battles this way, or more appropriately uses Capoeira as his fighting style.
277* Purdey, heroine of the short-lived ''Series/TheNewAvengers'' series in the seventies and played by Joanna Lumley, was a former ballerina who practiced a very balletic fighting form, complete with pirouettes and high kicks.
278* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
279** Zack Taylor, the first Black Ranger in ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', catered to this with an original martial art called Hip Hop Kido.
280** When Catherine Sutherland ("Kat") started doing more of her own stunt work, she started incorporating some of her ballet training into it.
281** ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'' had an episode revolving around the Rangers learning to Dance Battle to counter the MonsterOfTheWeek.
282** From ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'': Creator/EkaDarville, who plays Scott Truman (Ranger Operator Series Red), is a pretty good break dancer and incorporated a lot of Capoeira-like moves in his fights. It's averted in the case of Olivia Tennet, also an accomplished jazz, tap, and hip hop dancer, as her character (Dr. K) does not perform many physical stunts (except in "Doctor K" and "If Venjix Won").
283* A particularly cheesy example is the battles in ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon'', especially the "karaoke battle" to "C'est la Vie".
284* ''Series/StargateSG1'' has the Jaffa martial art Mastaba (seen most prominently in "[[Recap/StargateSG1S5E18TheWarrior The Warrior]]"), which is actually capoeira with the serial numbers filed off. The producers actually hired some professional capoeira instructors for the episode.
285* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': If Narek's [[https://ca.startrek.com/videos/watch-star-trek-picard-the-coppelius-fight-scene action sequence]] from "[[Recap/StarTrekPicardS1E10EtInArcadiaEgoPart2 Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2]]" hadn't been left on the cutting room floor, then he would be a practitioner of a dance-like and acrobatic Romulan martial arts that is reminiscent of capoeira, with [[ExtremityExtremist more flashy kicks]] than Narissa's or Elnor's FantasticFightingStyle.
286* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'':
287** In ''Series/BattleFeverJ'' it's taken to the extreme; all the members use different dance styles in their attacks - Battle France uses tapdancing, Battle Cossack does Cossack jig dancing, Battle Kenya does a strange breakdancing-tribal dance fusion, Battle Japan uses Chinese kung fu katas, and Miss America uses disco moves to fight. However, this is partially justified in that the agent who employed them regularly trains them in Martial Arts.
288** ''Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger'' has shades of this, but it's nowhere near ''Battle Fever J'''s usage.
289* Like ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' above, ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' makes great use of Creator/SummerGlau's ballet background. While [[RobotGirl Cameron]], being a Terminator, does rely on strength, she's much smaller than most of the Terminators she fights and therefore needs to be agile as well. A good example is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_ddHsX6EDk her fight with another female Terminator in an elevator]].
290* ''Series/ThumbWrestlingFederation'' has the sinistra, N Fuego. His dancing is so good that he ''can set the place on fire while doing it''. He doesn't even need a flame source, he just sets fires by dancing.
291* ''Series/{{Treadstone}}'': In "The [=McKenna=] Erasure", Soyun battles her way past Colonel Shin's bodyguards in a South Korean nightclub, leading to a John Wick-style fight scene.
292* ''Series/TheWheelOfTime2021'':
293** Aiel warrior woman [[spoiler:Tigraine]] has a fighting style some have described as ballet-like, using two spears as she swirls and flows around her opponents, with her being only slightly impeded by the fact that she's [[PregnantBadass nine months pregnant]] plus ''in labor'' at the time (making it all the more impressive to watch).[[note]]This showcases the reason why Aiel call fighting "the dance" in the books very well visually.[[/note]]
294** Aviendha, another Aiel warrior woman, is shown nimbly taking down multiple armed Whitecloaks bare-handed with Perrin in Season 2 as she acrobatically dances around and onto them while she's evading their swords.
295[[/folder]]
296
297[[folder:Music]]
298* Carl Douglas's [[TheSeventies 1974]] hit ''Kung-Fu Fighting'' lyrics are all about how a Kung Fu master uses his moves to be a hit on the dance floor with the ladies.
299* Music/TheMegas portray ''VideoGame/MegaMan2's'' Metal Man and ''VideoGame/MegaMan3's'' Top Man as dance battlers, Top Man especially.
300[[/folder]]
301
302[[folder:Podcasts]]
303* JT utilizes his active dance skill to very good effect while [[spoiler: fighting Mooney]] in episode 2 of the ''Podcast/CoolKidsTable'' game ''Bloody Mooney''.
304[[/folder]]
305
306[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
307* Wrestling/StacyKeibler was trained in jazz, tap and ballet dancing from a very young age, and on those occasions when she competed as a wrestler she tended to use a lot of cartwheels and pirouetting spin kicks.
308* Wrestling/BookerT uses breakdance moves as part of his arsenal, including his infamous spinaroonie (which started out as a variation on a kip-up).
309* While Ta'Darius Thomas's athletic background is in kickboxing and mixed martial arts, his favorite martial art is capoeira, which lends itself to lots of "dancing" in his matches. His Adrenaline Rush [[{{tag team}} partner]], ACH, just like to dance.
310* The Human Tornado weaponizes fraternal dance steps and 70s disco.
311* Ophidian and Amasis, The Osririan Portal, best known for their time in Wrestling/{{Chikara}} but also in others such as Wrestling/KaijuBigBattel, aren't just the types to incorporate dancing into their strikes, wrist locks and reversals but they also can turn whole rosters into dance battlers through {{mass hypnosis}}.
312* Wrestling/{{SHIMMER}} academy graduate Rayna Von Tosh has the gimmick of a burlesque dancer and so frequently dances before doing moves such as shoulder tackles and elbow drops.
313* [[Wrestling/TheFunkadactyls Naomi Knight]] is a former [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation Orlando Magic]] Dancer and incorporates dance into much of her moves including split-legged leap frogs and jumping up to [[AssKicksYou smash her ass]] in an opponent's face.
314* Wrestling/{{Fandango}} is a ballroom dancer who is also a professional wrestler. The fact that he can't seem to dance that well is irrelevant.
315* Wrestling/XavierWoods is a practitioner of Hip Hop Kido.
316* Woods had the aforementioned Naomi Knight as part of his entourage and before that she part of the Funkasaraus Wrestling/BrodusClay's, who was also an example of this trope, till her services were requested by Wrestling/{{R|on Killings}}-Truth, who is also a dance battler. So WWE ended up giving us a little dance battling feud.
317* Los Salseros Japoneses from [[Wrestling/DragonGate Toryumon]] and Wrestling/MichinokuProWrestling with the gimmick of an evil trio of salsa dancers, and their leader Takeshi Minamino even used to do reversals while dancing.
318* Luscious Latasha is a Zumba addict, Gabby Gilbert seemingly has an 80s workout [[TheGimmick gimmick]] and they tend to really turn up the dancing when they {{t|agTeam}}eam as Rainbow Bright.
319* Ricky Ruffin of the Wrestling/{{N|ationalWrestlingAlliance}}WA's Western States division will step and stride his way into forearms, as in he will throw them without missing a step and even keep his dodges in rhythm if he can.
320[[/folder]]
321
322[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
323* Wood Elf teams from ''TabletopGame/BloodBowl'' include Wardancers on their rosters. These players are highly popular with fans as they dance their way through the opposition and use their excellent hand-to-hand skills to bring down even the strongest of foes.
324* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
325** The Dervish Dancer Prestige Class has a vaguely Literature/ArabianNights-flavor to it, including dual-wielding scimitars (and much more easily than a non-Dervish Dancer would, too).
326** The Battledancer Base Class from ''Dragon Compendium'' is, judging from the fluff, directly based off Capoeira. Gameplay-wise it handles like a Monk with some of the special abilities replaced by Bardic Music. This is [[OlderThanTheyThink an update]] from the equally obscure class from ''AD&D'' (notable for the eventual progression to nine attacks out of every two rounds, or double that if hasted, in an age where most others topped out at two attacks per round). The less adventurer-friendly abilities, mostly the ones that required a group of other dancers to perform, were justifiably removed in the transition.
327** The second edition {{Sourcebook}} ''The Complete Book of Elves'' introduced Bladesingers, elvish sword dancers who do quite well in combat. This was actually a ''[[KungFuWizard wizard ]]'' specialization rather than a pure fighter kit.
328** The classes from the ''Tome of Battle'' can learn from a school allowing them to use a number of special abilities based on their concentration checks. How does this relate to Battledancing? Well, there's a 1st-level Bard spell called ''undersong'' that changes concentration checks into perform checks. Used together, they allow characters to perform saves or deal damage based on your perform check. In short, you can be dodging attacks with dance and singing people to death.
329** The feat Snowflake Wardance from ''Frostburn'' and the item Slippers of Battle Dancing from ''Magic Item Compendium'' can both make Bards more effective if they dance in combat.
330** Eilistraee is the Drow goddess of swordplay and dance (among other things). Some rituals of worship and divine magic of her priesthood call to both of these aspects. (Some of her other rituals also involve NudeNatureDance.)
331** Dwarven goddess of battle luck and [[BloodKnight joy of the fray]] Haela Brightaxe appears constantly dancing and juggling a two-handed sword. Frequently [[GodivaHair clad only in her long silver hair and beard]], at that.
332** In 5th Edition, the DrunkenMaster archetype for Monks is written up as someone who uses dancing-like movements that mimic the stumbles and lurches of a drunkard to make it hard for their opponents to predict their actions rather than actually requiring the character to be drunk.
333* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'':
334** A SupernaturalMartialArts in this fashion, Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style, animates props like wide sleeves, fans, sashes, ribbons, etc and uses them to grapple or attack several times in a round. At the top of it, you can turn into a dream-like floating golden serpent... somehow.
335** Malfeas the Demon City teach his exalts how to be awesome in both dancing and fighting. Crafty players will quickly put two-and-two together and create Combos that combine the benefits of his charms. Incredibly destructive Bollywood dance scene ensues.
336** A fan supplement introduced the Swaying Grass Dance Style, a supernatural version of capoeira. Notable in being the only martial art that explicitly caters to the iron boot, a kick enhancer that's ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, though most players assume that other martial arts that use the cestus and fighting gauntlet also iron boots.
337* ''TabletopGame/FabulaUltima'' has the Dancer class, whose central mechanic lets them perform {{Magic Dance}}s that buff themselves or debuff their enemies in various ways. They can also take a skill which improves the damage inflicted by their weapons and offensive spells if they attack immediately after performing a dance.
338* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' has an optional perk in ''Power Ups 2'' that allows you to incorporate uses of dancing skills in melee combat to feint against adversaries.
339* ''TabletopGame/{{Legend}}'' has the Path of the Dervish track.
340* ''MERPS'' (TabletopGame/MiddleEarthRolePlaying System) also had Dancer and Dervish classes.
341* The heroes of ''TabletopGame/PunkRockSavesTheWorld'' are a band called the Punks. Their singer, Kitty Karr, exemplifies this trope: "In fights, she will use her various 'dance' moves—moshing, slam-dancing, etc."
342* And then there's... um... [[https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Dance_Steps_For_GWs_Space_Hulk_Game this]] supplement for the ''TabletopGame/SpaceHulk'' game, featuring the Ultramarines.
343* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'', ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'' and ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', the Daemon Herald of Slaanesh known as the Masque, has been cursed by her god to dance eternally. Even during battle, the Masque’s dance continues using her fluid grace to strike at her enemies and dodge their blows. Other Slaaneshi Daemonettes often fight this way as well, dancing elegantly while decapitating and disembowelling their enemies.
344* Wood Elf Wardancers from TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} have a variety of different dances that give them a variety of combat bonuses, eschew armour in favour of magic protective tattoos, and at one point had a special ability that let them move over hostile units ''dancing on the points of the enemies' weapons''.
345* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'':
346** Harlequins' style of combat describes how they move about the battlefield with dancing gestures, tearing opponents to shreds in the process.
347** The first Path that Yvraine, the Emissary of Ynnead, trod was the Path of the Dancer and she still fights with the fluid grace that she learned during this time. During her battle with the daemons of Slaanesh on the Crone World of Belial IV, this training allowed her to reproduce the battle dance of the Harlequins to combat the hordes of Daemonettes that she faced.
348* ''Tabletopgame/YuGiOh'':
349** The game has an old card called [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Performance_of_Sword Performance of Sword]], a Warrior who apparently does this. Unfortunately, she's a Ritual Monster with less attack power than most basic monsters and no special effect.
350** The "Cyber Girl" archetype is mainly composed of monsters that look like women from different forms of gymnastics, including figure skating (Blade Skater) and ballet (Cyber Tutu and Cyber Tutubon).
351[[/folder]]
352
353[[folder:Video Games]]
354* A class in ''VideoGame/DotHackGU'' that uses fans and status ailment magic is called the Macabre Dancer class.
355* The Ballerina Models from ''VideoGame/AtomicHeart'', including the Twins DualBoss, seem to be very graceful when fighting or killing their foes in that it looks like a form of dance.
356* Blades in ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'', and by extension Haer'Dalis, are supposed to fight using theatrical/dance-like fight moves. Not that you can tell with the graphics.
357* ''Franchise/BatmanArkhamSeries'':
358** In the downloadable Joker missions of ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'', the Joker seems to use mostly a combination of Capoeira, Drunken Boxing, and lethal novelty toys.
359** In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', Catwoman can be this, since her move set is a lot more fluid and ballet-like than Batman's, who uses more brute strength than acrobatics or gymnastics. And Nightwing is another example, having once been an acrobat himself.
360** And in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'', [[spoiler:the Flashback!Joker you play as can be this, since his fighting moves are the same as in ''Asylum'', while his moves are somersaulting and leap frogs]]. And all this takes place in the Comedy Club, set to the tune of "The Thieving Magpie Overture" by Music/GioachinoRossini, doubling as a ShoutOut to the hallucinatory fight scene in ''Film/AClockworkOrange''.
361* In ''VideoGame/TheBattleCats'', Kung Fu Cat's true form, [[ShoutOut Dancer]] [[Music/MichaelJackson Cat]], is constantly dancing while fighting, and attacks with a twirl and point. A few other units, like Hip Hop Cat and [[ThatRussianSquatDance Cossack Cat]], also dance while attacking.
362* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' is fond of this, though mostly in cutscenes. Most of her fights with Jeanne are dance battles with guns, on exploding rocks while time is stopped, and has a literal dance battle (a stripper pose off at that!) with one of the Joy enemies that has taken her form in the middle of a level. Three battle techniques, purchasable at Rodin's shop, are dance moves and Climax attacks, which summon large demons, seem to require both an incantation and a short dance.
363* ''Franchise/BlazBlue'':
364** [[BadassInANiceSuit Hazama]] [[ManipulativeBastard Honoka]] has a fighting style that resembles the dance moves of Music/MichaelJackson. This, combined with his outfit and villainous role, has lead to fans nicknaming him "The Smooth Criminal." His inhabitor, [[CardCarryingVillain Yuuki]] [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Terumi]], has some of his dance-like animations as well as a few of his own, but for the most part, his fighting style is brutish and savage.
365** [[DudeLooksLikeALady Amane]] [[CampGay Nishiki]] uses ribbon dancing to create drills as well as grab his enemies and toss them about. He even refers to combat as another form of dancing.
366** In the fourth game, [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Hades]] [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Izanami]], the goddess of death, also reveals herself as a dance battler. Her dance is specifically based upon the Tandaava, the dance with which [[Myth/HinduMythology Shiva]] unmakes the universe.
367* ''VideoGame/BloodRayne'' mostly just cuts stuff with big blades, but some of her moves could best be described as "[[{{Stripperiffic}} Lapdance Battling]]".
368* ''VideoGame/BodyBlows'': Maria is a gymnast from Spain who incorporates gymnastic and, to a lesser extent, acrobatic moves in her fighting style.
369* ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'' has a weird little miniboss called the Funky Infoshade hidden in a back corner of The Spire. It starts the fight by [[SummonBackupDancers Summoning Backup Dancers]], mainly uses attacks that involve dancing, and heals to full every three turns thanks to the “funky battle music,” making the fight a bit of a pain if you don’t plan carefully. A harder “Echo” version shows up later in the Sky Abyss, and this time you have to beat it within only ''two'' turns.
370* It takes a little practice but in ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' attacking repeatedly and quickly means a prolonged battle can often look more like a dance than a fight.
371* A rather [[StealthPun dark]] example from ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' is the Dancer of the Boreal Valley. Originally, she was just a dancer related to the royal family of Anor Londo. When Pontiff Sulyvahn usurped the throne of Anor Londo, her lineage was a threat to his rule. As such, he conscripted her to be an Outrider, a warrior of the Pontiff sent to foreign lands. Outriders are given rings that slowly drive them insane, their wielders all ending up as bloodthirsty beasts, and being conscripted as one is a relatively polite way for the Pontiff to [[ReassignedToAntarctica exile people he doesn't like and make them incapable of being a threat]]. When you fight Outriders, they lunge and attack brutally, like rabid animals. The Dancer, however, moves and swings very elegantly, changing her timing on hits like a confusing dance to fake you out.
372* Felicia from ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' is known as an exotic battle dancer according to the manual and is also an accomplished dancer as it is her dream. She incorporates this and her feline grace in her fighting style, and one of her super moves is called Dancing Flash.
373* ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive''
374** Zack's fighting style combines Muay Thai with dancing, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b9KwQQWoAY many of his moves]] show just that.
375** In ''[[VideoGame/DeadOrAlive Dead or Alive 5]]'', while [[VideoGame/VirtuaFighter Akira]] doesn't really look the part, he actually has one of the most rhythmic fighting styles in the game. There's even a video showcasing some of his most devastating combos (performed in real time) [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQnkTgmRvcg in sync with his theme music.]]
376** Helena Douglas's usage of Pi Quan also comes off as very elegant and dance-like with lots of smoothly flowing arm movements and several different stance changes that all string together like an elaborate ballroom dance. Fitting for an aristocratic opera star such as her.
377* Starting with ''VideoGame/DragonballZBudokaiTenkaichi'' Goku's older brother [[WarmUpBoss Raditz]] is portrayed as using a much flashier fighting style than the norm for Saiyans, employing lots of spinning kicks and chopping strikes that wouldn't look out of place in a breakdancing/vouge routine.
378** [[SpacePirates Zangya's]] grab attack incorporates ballet finesse and her Sky Zapper consists of meticulous and graceful spinning kicks.
379** [[PhysicalGod Supreme Kai]]'s Crazy Rush is very similar to Zangya's Sky Zapper, but he keeps his hands behind his back the whole time.
380* While not evident in her game of origin, Maya from ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'' uses her fans to dance and glide across the battlefield in the spinoff ''VideoGame/DragonQuestHeroesTheWorldTreesWoeAndTheBlightBelow''.
381* ''VideoGame/ElShaddaiAscensionOfTheMetatron'' has Armaros, whose first boss fight only features him dancing in the foreground, while Enoch fights his... backup dancers. [[spoiler:When you take control of him, his actual fighting style is pretty dance like as well, and you can actually make him dance outside of combat if you feel like it.]] One of Enoch's weapons, [[FlechetteStorm Gale]], is commanded through dance-like movements while on the ground as well. It is possible to wield the Gale in the aforementioned boss fight.
382* The fighting style of Trident in ''VideoGame/EternalChampions'' is Capoeira.
383* Duck King from ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' is an example of the "really good dancer" type, while Richard Meyer and Bob Wilson from the same game use Capoeira. In fact, Richard Meyer is the first FightingGame character to use Capoeira.
384* O'saa in ''VideoGame/FearAndHungerTermina'' is a yellow mage, a practitioner of magic from the Eastern Sanctuaries who performs magic through dance-like movements. One of his skills is "La Danse Macabre", which he'll do whenever engaged in battle or casting spells.
385* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
386** The Dancer job in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics''.
387** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII: VideoGame/CrisisCore'' has the second encounter with Genesis.
388** Rikku's Berserker Dress Sphere in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' does Capoeira movements in her idle animation. There's also the Songstress Dress Sphere which has several dances as offensive attacks though they usually just cause status changes.
389** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII Penelo]] in [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2 general]].
390** The Calca and Brina dolls in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' (and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears its sequel]], where they are playable characters).
391** If Kefka's line of "Dance, Dance!" and his actions when casting "Zap-Trap Thundaga" in the ''Dissidia'' subseries of Final Fantasy is anything to go by, apparently he utilizes this trope, presumably under Type D (i.e., because he's completely insane).
392** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' and its sequel, the Demon enemy subtype fights by dancing around the battlefield. It's even stated in some of the game's lore that dancers mimic the demon's movements.
393** The Vanu Vanu in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' are a little unique in that their warriors dance to ''prevent'' fighting. Part of Vanu culture is the Sundrop Dance, a dance performed by warriors before a battle. The dance fully displays a warrior's strength and can cow weaker opponents with the demonstration alone.
394* Many ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' games also have a Dancer class, although only the Archanea games (''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem Mystery of the Emblem]]'') and the Jugdral games (''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Genealogy of the Holy War]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Thracia 776]]'') allow them to fight properly without glitches. Even then, Dancers have far inferior stats compared to other classes, as their real purpose is to grant allies another turn.
395** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' brings back the Dancer's ability with Olivia, and thanks to unlimited reclassing, she can actually fight on par with other units, even when reclassed back to a Dancer.
396** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' has Azura whose class is [[MagicMusic Songstress]]. Although she's primarily a singer, she can also dance quite well and uses flashy spins and twirls while wielding a lance in battle.
397** Unlike the rest of the series the Dancer class in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' is not locked to one specific unit. With every student having the possibility of gaining acces to the class, though you still only get one per playthrough unless you utilize [[NewGamePlus New Game+]]. The class itself also gained some [[TookALevelInBadass massive upgrades towards it's combat capabilities]]. With it gaining access to magic, a skill that boosts the Dancers evasion when wielding a sword and a dancer exclusive combat art that deals extra damage based on the unit's charm stat.
398** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' has Seadall, whose version of the Dancer class allows him to use [[BareFistedMonk martial arts]]. Unlike more pragmatic strikes of other brawlers, Seadall attacks with graceful, acrobatic motions, and uses a DivingKick for his CriticalHit.
399* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': Eula's fighting style is based on the "Dance of Sacrifice" that was used by aristocrats to demonstrate their nobility, and thus utilizes a lot of fancy footwork and stylish movements. In the present it's no longer required for Lawrence family members to learn it and is practiced by Mondstadters of all social backgrounds. The dance was Eula's favorite pastime when she was younger, so she incorporated it into her footwork. Eula's so good at the dance that it leaves Amber mesmerized when she sees it.
400** There's also Nilou, who, as a dancer for the Zubayr Theater, combines her dancing skills with fancy swordplay.
401** And Gaming, who incorporates his Wushou dance talents into his fighting style, complete with his giant lion mask.
402* Anji Mito from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' uses a sort of 'fan-dance' style using the magical Zessen (Stopping) Fans. Bridget also dances to fight, in tandem with yo-yo tricks, even dancing in place during idle animations. Hence, the two referring to each other as 'performers' when meeting.
403* Wood elf Blade Dancers/War Dancers in ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic V''.
404* Rufus from ''VideoGame/{{Insaniquarium}}'' is this, according to his backstory.
405* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
406** While Demyx doesn't dance so much as [[MusicalAssassin play his sitar]] when you fight him, his servant Nobodies, the Dancers, will force Sora into dancing with them to drain his HP.
407** In line with her agility, [[LadyOfWar Aqua]] has a fighting style peppered with graceful cartwheels, spins, and twirls, making it a sight to behold as an ally, and a symphony of pain to avoid if you're an enemy.
408* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' has the Disco Bandit class, where you use disco moves to injure and debilitate your enemies. The class-specific Disco Bandit Nemesis quest lets you learn Rave Combos, which chain together other non-Disco dance moves like a breakdancing spin, the Robot, and the Running Man to cause combat effects.
409* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'':
410** Both versions of the Orochi team[[note]]formerly known as the New Face Team.[[/note]] have this premise.
411*** Some of Yashiro's basic moves (namely his kicks, such as his sweeping kick) are similar to Capoeira.
412*** In her normal version, Shermie's battle stance shows she's actually dancing. In the Orochi version, Shermie still uses some moves that simulate dance passes.
413*** Chris is not an isolated case, starting with him walking backwards as he does the classic [[MoonwalkDance Moonwalk]]. In his normal ''The King of Fighters '97'' version, he has a taunt that he gives three clicks like he's pacing a song.
414** Momoko in ''XI'' uses Capoeira... or so she says, but it's hard to tell given [[CuteBruiser that she's so tiny]]. Robert Garcia is also constantly dancing in his regular stance, although he doesn't use capoeira like the others. He just really likes dancing in place like that.
415** Zarina from ''XIV'' also uses Capoeira as her fighting style.
416** Chizuru Kagura's fighting style seems to resembles [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagura#History the traditional Shinto dances performed during festivals.]] Makes sense since Chizuru herself is the {{Ojou}} and a [[{{Miko}} Shinto priestess]].
417** Soiree Meira in ''The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact''.
418* ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheForgottenLand'': Fleurina, a recurring MiniBoss, is an [[FoulWaterfowl evil swan]] who uses her elaborate ballet dance techniques to [[BlowYouAway stir up tornadoes]]. Later in the game, Kirby fights [[BewareTheSillyOnes Sillydillo]], a crazed armadillo who can create [[CompanionCube handmade dance partners]] and perform a very dangerous SpinAttack all around the battlefield by dancing alongside them.
419* Some powerups include dance battling in ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'', Yo-Yo's dash attack being a good example.
420* In the ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' games, Echani martial arts, especially the ritual forms, are allegedly very close to a dance style. The Mandalorians mock this, calling them "fey dancers with weapons not fit for Mandalorian children." Still, Echani blades are some of the best ones in-game, and the Handmaiden in the second game isn't to be taken lightly.
421* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
422** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' has Flare Dancers, who "dance as they attack". The Gerudo elite guards from Thieves' Hideout fight choreographically as well, and have a flashy attack that performs a NonLethalKO to Link if it lands.
423** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'':
424*** Odolwa, the Masked Jungle Warrior, is the boss of Woodfall Temple. Due to his erratic movements, which sometimes stem to leaping to a random point in the room and simply dancing without making any strike, (and the fact he summons dungeon-unique beetle-creatures, which Link has to kill, and swarms of flesh-eating locusts, which he can't do anything about), he's often ThatOneBoss for beginners.
425*** Majora itself, specifically Majora's Incarnation. It dances erratically, including moonwalking. Its sole attack is a large sequence of energy spheres.
426** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': The Gerudo Champion Urbosa's fighting style is said to resemble that of a dance, according to the description of her scimitar. The Champions' Ballad DLC certainly demonstrates this in a flashback, and the prequel ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' shows it off to the fullest. In battle, she is seen performing graceful and intricate twirls, and even dodges attacks with a subtle turn.
427* ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'':
428** Thanks to being PromotedToPlayable in ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'', one of Goro Majima's new fighting styles is "Breaker". Which he creates after seeing a bunch of breakdancers have a dance battle on a bridge, it allows him to clear up crowds with wide breakdancing-style attacks, he hones it further by meeting up with one of the breakdancers (and his siblings). The style also allows him to build up his HEAT meter by performing show poses in the middle of combos, which also allow him to counter enemies if they hit him during said poses.
429** Due to using the same engine and thanks to the '''Majima Everywhere''' system in ''[[VideoGame/Yakuza1 Yakuza Kiwami]]'', Kiryu can sometimes fight Majima using his "Breaker" style, and one encounter has him wear his flashy disco outfit (from the ImagineSpot of "24 Hour Cinderella") to complement it.
430** The style makes a return ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'' as a [[JobSystem Job]] class that most of the male party members can take. It has a few returning moves and then some new ones, although now being used for a turn-based RPG instead of the beat em' up gameplay of ''0''.
431** In ''Videogame/LikeADragonInfiniteWealth'', since the game takes place partially in Hawaii two of the new classes are Geodancer (based on hula dancing) and Pyrodancer (based on firetwirlers). Chitose also has various moves based on ballet and ballroom dancing.
432* Juliet Starling from ''VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw'' is a cheerleader who dances while swinging her chainsaw around.
433* Jean from ''VideoGame/LunarEternalBlue'' is a literal example. She is a dancing gipsy who has a bloody past as an assassin.
434* Shimako Toudou (''Rosa Gigantea en bouton'' from ''Literature/MariaWatchesOverUs'') appears in the doujin FightingGame ''VideoGame/{{Maribato}}'' as a playable character. Shimako fights with a pair of folded paper fans and incorporates some sort of traditional Japanese dancing in her moves, mostly as references to [[VideoGame/GuiltyGear Anji Mito's]] fan dance style.
435* In ''VideoGame/MarvelNemesisRiseOfTheImperfects'', Fault Zone moves with graceful ballet movements as she attacks an enemy.
436* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
437** Vamp of ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 2|SonsOfLiberty}}'' does what is best described as a knife-throwing Flamenco. He's modeled after Joaquin Cortez, so it's not all surprising.
438** After being turned into a cyborg, Raiden makes use of some very flashy moves while fighting. Mostly with breakdancing moves that he shows off a lot in the cutscenes of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots''.
439** You finally get to experience those moves yourself as it's a part of his moveset in ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', as expected the move is great at dealing damage in a wide area to take care of several opponents.
440* ''VideoGame/MichaelJacksonsMoonwalker'' has Music/MichaelJackson going around various stages... rescuing little kids from suit-clad gangsters. His moves? High dance-kick, spin-and-throw-hat, and the special "make everyone imitate your dance and then fall over and die when they can't keep up with your straight, 45-degree angle pose".
441* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'':
442** ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'': Kai's fighting style is so fast and nimble that it has often been confused with capoiera. One of his moves has him going into a hand stand to kick his opponent.
443** ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'': Mileena is a more literal example. She dances onto the arena as she makes her entrance, and says "Let us dance!" as her Battle Cry. (She ''is'' insane...)
444* Nathan Copeland, one of the bosses in ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle'', although his main weapon is [[ImprobableWeaponUser a rocket launching boombox that turns into robotic arms]], he is perpetually dancing around the battlefield.
445* ''Octopath Traveler'' series:
446** ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'' has Primrose, a girl who becomes a dancer in order to track down and get revenge on the man who murdered her father. In overworld, her Rogue Path Action is "Allure", which allows her to take an NPC with her and summon them in battle, but this can fail depending on her level. In battle, her weapon is a dagger, and she has access to various buffs and dark-typed magic attacks via dancing.
447** ''VideoGame/OctopathTravelerII'' has Agnea, a girl who goes on an adventure to follow her mother's example to become a superstar. In overworld, she keeps the "Allure" Path Action at daytime, which now also causes the allured NPC to give her various buffs when she uses a dance-related skill, while she can also use "Entreat" at night to get items from [=NPCs=] for free once her level is high enough. In battle. her offensive abilities are more physic-oriented, and she has wind-type magic instead of dark-type magic. Her [[LimitBreak Latent Power]], All Together Now, causes most skills that work on a single target to work on all targets.
448* Played with in ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}''. Lúcio doesn't directly use dance moves in his abilities, but he's generally at his most effective when dancing around on objectives, using the inherent speed boost of his wallride ability. He also literally has an emote called "Capoiera."
449* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
450** ''VideoGame/Persona4'': Yukiko Amagi's fighting style takes cues from Japanese fan dances. Her movements in the original game are stilted and amateurish, but by the time of ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'', she wields her {{Combat Hand Fan}}s with graceful precision.
451** ''VideoGame/Persona5 [[UpdatedRerelease Royal]]'': Kasumi Yoshizawa's fighting style is based on her rhythmic gymnastics, wielding a rapier with fluid, flexible movements and occasionally throwing in a ribbon dance.
452* Possibly the only shooter example, and a gratuitous one at that: Vanessa Schneider from ''VideoGame/PN03''.
453* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
454** In ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'' Miror B. and his team of Ludicolo dance to a salsa beat while they wait for you to select your next move. Additionaly, his music in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonXDGaleOfDarkness XD]]'' is disco.
455** Hitmontop's attacks are all based on Capoiera and breakdancing, as well as its Japanese name, ''Kapoerer''.
456** Medicham is based on Arabian belly dancers with its fighting style described by the Pokédex as elegant and dance-like.
457** Maractus from ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' is apparently this, judging by its name and Pokédex entry. Lilligant also has shades of this, only learning moves with the word "Dance" in them aside from the moves it starts with. The legendary Pokémon Meloetta is normally a MusicalAssassin, but its alternate Pirouette Form resembles a ballerina and changes its secondary type from Psychic to Fighting, making it a clear-cut example of this trope.
458*** Lilligant, in Hisui's time period, was also a ballet-themed Pokémon and also carried the Fighting-type. The leaf-like dress that modern Lilligant have is replaced by a leotard, allowing her legs free movement. Due to her attacking primarily with her legs and being [[OneGenderRace an all-female species]], this would make Hisuian Lilligant a KickChick as well.
459** There are a few dance-themed moves than can make many Pokemon into this by default, such as Petal Dance, Teeter Dance, and Quiver Dance. There's also Fiery Dance (which only Volcarona can learn) and Lunar Dance (only learnable by Cresselia, and its SignatureMove).
460** Oricorio from ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' is a Flying-type Pokemon with moves based on one of four different dance styles, each with a different primary type: Baile Style (Fire/Flying), Pom-Pom Style (Electric/Flying), Pa'u Style (Psychic/Flying), and Sensu Style (Ghost/Flying). Its ability, Dancer, even lets it automatically copy dance-based moves used by other Pokemon.
461** The Quaxly line of ''Videogame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' are birds that fight via dancing moves, giving them a Water/Fighting Typing. Quaxwell's stance is that of a ballet dancer while Quaquaval is a {{Samba}} dancer.
462* The official profile of Yurika Kirishima of ''[[VideoGame/RivalSchools Project Justice]]'' lists one of her hobbies as ballet, and it shows in her fighting style. A number of her moves show influence from the dance style, most notably her dashing hard kick in which she performs a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_ballet#Grand_jet.C3.A9 grand jeté]].
463* In ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'', Razputin repurposes his acrobatics training as a CircusBrat for fighting, meaning he's not just [[KungFuWizard more physical]] than most psychic combatants, but a lot dancier as well.
464* Disco Kid of ''[[VideoGame/PunchOut Punch-Out!! Wii]]'', as his name suggests, disco dances in the ring about as much as he boxes, and dances even more outside of it. He even has his own disco ball above the ring. His Contender-version boxing style incorporates some rhythm, but it's even more noticeable in Title Defense, where he also incorporates ''aerobics'', and starts doing jumping jack hooks and the "Disco Flurry" move.
465* Boss Example: [[EvilDiva Courtney]] [[TheDragon Gears]] of ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal'', who also [[FlunkyBoss called out her Back-up Dancers]] for her battle.
466* Ryouna from ''VideoGame/SenranKagura'' normally uses GunFu in battle. After her Shinobi Transformation, not only she gets a ballerina-style dress, her movements turn from fast-paced to slow and ballet-like, and her style starts resembling a cross between GunFu and ice skating.
467* Lucia from ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsCovenant'' is a FortuneTeller who dances while slashing enemies [[CombatHandFan with a fan]]. She also dances when she casts magic spells.
468* In the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' games, there are elemental dances - they hit anywhere from 2 to 5 times, but they hit random enemies... very annoying if a foe can nullify, drain or reflect the damage.
469* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
470** Sonic has some breakdancing-inspired fight moves in ''VideoGame/SonicBattle''. As a possible ContinuityNod, one of his taunts in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' is a breakdance move, ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' reveals that Classic Sonic used to spin on his hand, with Modern Sonic being able to do [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW4ubTgVNPE this]].
471** [[VideoGame/SonicUnleashed Sonic the Werehog]] uses breakdancing extensively in his fighting style as well. Thanks to his [[TopHeavyGuy unique body shape compared to his regular form]], breakdancing ends up being one of the easiest ways for him to throw his weight around when it comes to stringing together punches, kicks and slashes.
472** [[VideoGame/SonicRush Blaze The Cat]] is also a very dance heavy fighter, though inspired by ballet instead of breakdancing. Her fighting style tends to involve a lot of graceful leaps, spins and flips that make her look as if she's in the middle of an ice skating routine when paired with her long, striding gait when at full speed.
473** In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', Tails could obtain the Rhythm Badge as a power-up while in the Ancient Echidna City that allows him to do an infinite, continuous Tail Swipe. The animation of such involves Tails transitioning between different breakdancing positions in order to keep momentum.
474* ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'':
475** Talim's discipline is categorized as "Wind Dance" in-game. She is a priestess of a village that controlled wind through ritual dance that involved the use of tonfa-like elbow blades.
476** [[AnimeChineseGirl Xianghua's]] fighting style combines fencing and feints with ballerina style movement, used for evasion and to position her to attack. Which gives her one of the most fluid styles in any fighting game and [[ConfusionFu makes her difficult to read]] [[DifficultButAwesome when mastered]].
477** The Dancer class in ''Soul Calibur III'', whose Tambourine discipline blends elements of Capoeira with moves borrowed from Voldo and Xianghua's skill set.
478** Voldo frequently fights like this. Only it's not so much awe-inspiring as it is utterly creepy-looking.
479* ''VideoGame/SpaceChannel5'': "Time for a dance battle! Let's Dance!"
480* In ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'', Spidey's fighting style takes major cues from capoeira and lucha libre wrestling with how acrobatic and fast-moving he is. He uses numerous spinning kicks, stays low to the ground when he isn't throwing punches, and often shimmies around his foes' bodies to dodge attacks and put them in holds for throws.
481* ''VideoGame/{{Steelrising}}'': The protagonist Aegis was a ClockworkCreature created for dancing to entertain the Royal Court, only to be repurposed for battle, which is reflected in her animations.
482* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'':
483** Dee Jay from later versions of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' likes to dance, and incorporates rhythm into his kickboxing fighting style. Blanka is noted in the manual as utilizing Capoeira, but this is only evident in his flips and not his general WildMan fighting style.
484** ''VideoGame/SuperGemFighter'' makes ThatRussianSquatDance one of Zangief's combos.
485** Elena in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' uses Capoeira.
486** Pullum Purna in the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterEX'' series has a fighting style based on Arabian dance.
487** Manon in ''VideoGame/StreetFighter6'' fights using a combination of ballet and judo. Jamie from the same game is a [[DrunkenBoxing Drunken Boxer]] who also incorporates breakdancing into his fighting style.
488* Fred Ascare and Paula Abghoul from ''VideoGame/SuperCastlevaniaIV''. Also, the Ghost Dancers from ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight''.
489* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'':
490** The Fairlions from ''OriginalGeneration 2'' used combat moves based on {{idol|Singer}} dancing. It is, in fact, one incredibly cute beatdown.
491** Suzuka in ''VideoGame/EndlessFrontier'' is a bit of a variation. While she occasionally can hit enemies with her fan dancing, it's real purpose is to control her Puppet Robot... one with [[MoreDakka a]] ''[[MoreDakka lot]]'' [[MoreDakka of machine guns]].
492* In ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' and ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl Brawl]]'', Sheik's down smash attack is a breakdance move. In ''Brawl'', Wario as well does a breakdance as a down smash. As for general fighting styles, Peach, who appears beginning in ''Melee'', and Daisy, who appears in ''Ultimate'', both fight like classically trained ballerinas.
493* ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'':
494** Eddy Gordo and his student Christie both use Capoeira. Christie's grandfather uses the same technique, having taught them both, but is not playable in any of the games.
495** Tiger from ''Tekken Tag Tournament'' also uses Capoeira.
496** And as if Eddy wasn't Capoerista enough, [[AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance Real-life capoerista]] [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1956628/ Lateef Crowder]] plays him in [[Film/Tekken2010 the live-action adaptation]].
497** She doesn't know Capoeira, but Emilie "Lili" de Rochefort uses ballet style fighting moves which she calls "street fighting".
498** Lucky Chloe plays this more straight, practicing no formal martial art but using her dance prowess to go toe-to-toe with other fighters.
499* This is a perfectly viable option in ''VideoGame/{{Toribash}}'', due to its infinitely... '''flexible''' nature.
500* ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammerII'': The {{Pirate}} Legendary Lord Aranessa Saltspite uses her spear to do what can basically be described as pole-dancing kicks, enabling her to attack several opponents at once.
501* Hata no Kokoro from ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' uses a fighting style that incorporates props and moves from Noh theatrical dances. This is unsurprising since she is a [[AnimateInanimateObject tsukumogami]] borne from the legendary 66 Kagura/Noh masks used by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hata_no_Kawakatsu Hata no Kawakatsu]], the founder of Kagura (which is the predecessor of Noh).
502* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' has many monsters that will perform funky dances while fighting you, but Mettaton EX is the most notable. His dancing speeds up as the fight progresses, to the point where he's striking a new pose every half-second.
503* ''VideoGame/TheUntoldTalesOfTheVocaloids'': This game's incarnation of Music/HatsuneMiku seems to lean more on being a dancer rather than a singer. Her status screen describes her as such, she has the second highest dexterity stat, and her weapons are various types of CombatHandFan.
504* Touka in ''VideoGame/{{Utawarerumono}}''. However, it's noted that her swordsmanship is actually needlessly inefficient, though still excellent, and not as good as it really could be if she stopped trying to make it beautiful.
505* In ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'', with either the Kogake or the Obex fists and the Brutal Tide stance, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksIcbCc9G7g you can breakdance your enemies to death]].
506* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'': comes up once early on as a mutual EstablishingCharacterMoment. When fighting Noah, Mio initially dominates the fight. Noah [[AwesomenessByanalysis figures out]] she's an Off-Sender from her clothes, and realizes she's attacking in the same rhythm as the Agnian sending song, seizing back the momentum by attacking in counter-time and knowing she's committed to her next movement.
507* Chneero from ''VideoGame/ZenoClash'' is a completely unintentional example. [[GiftedlyBad He's simply such an atrocious dancer]] and so oblivious to his surroundings that he'll [[LethalKlutz accidentally hit you]] for incredibly high damage if you get too close to him.
508[[/folder]]
509
510[[folder:Web Animation]]
511* Nadia Hasan from ''WebAnimation/AssassinSchool'' specializes in dance fighting.
512* ''WebAnimation/DeadFantasy'': [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2 Rikku's]] fighting style closely resembles Capoeira, involving frequent acrobatics and breakdance-like movement; particularly in the first two episodes. At one point, she performs an attack similar to [[VideoGame/StreetFighterII Chun Li's]] "Spinning Bird Kick", where her blades were balanced on both her feet.
513* In ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'', some female Freelancers such as Carolina and Connecticut ''rock'' this trope, whereas Tex has too aggressive a style and South relies much more on guns. The Fem!Surrectionist, as the female ODST is known, also has some aspects of this.
514* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': A few characters use recognisable dance choreography in their fighting styles which makes it seem like they're combining dance and combat. It's discussed in-universe when Ozpin spots the fight-loving Ruby is not enjoying the school ball; he tries to encourage her by pointing out that the skills required for dancing and combat are very similar. In the same school ball, Jaune, who has no combat training or confidence, is revealed to be a very accomplished dancer, implying he has a better combat foundation than he thinks. It's later confirmed by Pyrrha that Jaune's combat skills are developing faster than normal.
515** Weiss is able to use her [[InstantRunes glyphs]] in combination with [[ElementalPowers Ice Dust]] to move around the battlefield like an ice skater. She is a fencer and her fencing techniques are combined with figure-skating movements such as pirouettes, leaps, and one-footed glides on her ice sheets.
516** Mercury exclusively uses his ArmedLegs to fight in a style that is a mix between Tae Kwon Do and Capoeria which maximizes the strength of his legs. It makes him look like he's break-dancing.
517** Neopolitan uses flips and kicks mixed with her ParasolOfPain to dodge and deflect any strikes thrown at her until her opponent gets mad enough for her to beat them.
518** Tyrian speaks in long, flowery phrases and gesticulates grandly as he talks. He enters battle the way a poet or actor would enter a stage for their scene, and his fighting techniques are similarly grandiose. His style is acrobatic, full of spins, backflips, and somersaults. He often goes down to the ground to use his legs in combat, which makes him appear to be break-dancing. [[spoiler:He is a scorpion Faunus and his scorpion tail contributes to his dance style, especially when he looks like he's break-dancing, as he uses both his legs and his tail to strike and defend.]]
519** During the Vytal Tournament, Penny Polendina’s fighting style looks quite a bit like she’s dancing. She uses eight floating swords in tandem and controls them via grand arm gestures, flips, and twists, so the dance movements are a necessity.
520[[/folder]]
521
522[[folder:Webcomics]]
523* [[http://www.adventurers-comic.com/d/20030425.html Played with]] in ''Webcomic/{{Adventurers}}!''
524* In ''Webcomic/{{Erfworld}}'', there's dance-fighting, an InUniverse game mechanic certain commanders can use to empower units under their command via dance, music, and rhythm. Erfworld being the WorldOfSymbolism that it is, many styles of dance-fighting are references to real-world music (Transylvito units evoke ''Theatre/WestSideStory'', Wanda and her [[NotUsingTheZWord Uncroaked]] dance to the tune of "[[Music/MichaelJackson Thriller]]", etc.).
525** Rocking out, a stronger version of dance-fighting granted by the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Arkenhammer]], is also occasionally used by its wielder, Stanley.
526%%* ''Webcomic/GuildedAge'': Payet and Frigg, in the pirate cave.
527* An [[http://www.karatebears.com/2012/08/modern-dance-party.html unlikely dance fight]] at ''Webcomic/KarateBears''.
528* Inverted in ''Webcomic/NahastLandsOfStrife'', where a couple of dances evolved from fighting styles.
529* June in ''Webcomic/PrincessChroma'' has to dance into order to trigger one her spells. She opts for [[http://princesschroma.smackjeeves.com/comics/1633493/3-17/ disco]] and cheesy dance moves [[http://princesschroma.smackjeeves.com/comics/1419932/1-27/ from the '80s]].
530* One of the "late-game" characters in ''Webcomic/RPGWorld'' basically has character class "breakdancer". And it's pretty lethal too.
531* [[BrawnHilda Sauerkraut]] and [[BarbarianHero Exlax The Mighty]] from ''Webcomic/TriggerStar''. Three Words: [[http://www.triggerstar.com/index.php?strip_id=1250 Barbarian Death Tango.]]
532* ''Webcomic/TrueVillains'': Cecile is a dancer by trade and therefore used to swinging a partner around. When she fights, it's in a highly mobile, balletic style that makes full use of an incredibly heavy broadsword as a counterweight. She calls it "swing dancing".
533[[/folder]]
534
535[[folder:Web Original]]
536* ''Literature/MetamorKeep'' has versions #1 and #2:
537** Rickkter and Ryuo both trained in martial arts and incorporate them into their fighting style. Charles and Misha, though not martial artists, often end up "dancing" when [[OneManArmy they're fighting a swarm of enemies]].
538** Malger Sutt (aka Dream Serpent) is, among other things, a professional dance instructor, who also happens to be a very good fighter. His two short swords have tassels, solely for ConfusionFu.
539* In ''Literature/MetroCityChronicles'', Hybrid eventually ends up converting her dance skills as a ballerina into a fighting technique.
540* Forca, a South American student at [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] in the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', does capoeira and also has force blasts from his hands.
541[[/folder]]
542
543[[folder:Web Videos]]
544* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'' features the Ninja Style Dancer, who will beatdown his opponent while dancing to music.
545* The ''Series/LegionOfExtraordinaryDancers'' is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. A by-the-book Hero's epic that combines a MusicalWorldHypothesis with Interpretive Dance as combat. As odd as the premise sounds, it comes together surprisingly well. It helps that the dancing is ''amazing''.
546* One ''WebVideo/{{Smosh}}'' Shut Up! Cartoons series, Oichi High School Battle, has an episode where Oishi rejects Reif's offer for a date, and because of this, Reif tries to get Oishi to see Puss In Boots Part 2, but Oishi says that Reif is going to have to battle her boyfriend, Mucusance, in "combat." A dance battle ensures between Reif and Mucusance. Mucusance wins due to him being good at dancing and eats Reif.
547[[/folder]]
548
549[[folder:Western Animation ]]
550* This is parodied and subverted in ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad''. When ThoseTwoGuys Terry and Greg are angry at Stan and intend to beat him up, they begin doing flowing, streaming and ineffectual moves which Stan mocks, when one of them promptly sucker punches Stan to the ground with a GroinAttack.
551-->'''Stan:''' That wasn't campy at all!
552* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''
553** Early in the series, Zuko uses Dance Battling quite often. This had the downside of wearing him out within moments, as seen in his fight with Zhao, and he eventually shifted to using more basic forms.
554** ''[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheCrossroadsOfDestiny The Crossroads of Destiny]]'': Lampshaded when Sokka and Toph expose Azula and her posse, who had been masquerading as Kyoshi Warriors. Ty Lee attempts to chi block Sokka, which results in very elaborate dodging movements that she compares to dancing.
555** ''[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheHeadband The Headband]]'': {{Inverted|Trope}} when Aang and Katara incorporate fighting moves into a dance that ends with [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything them both panting and sweating heavily]].
556** ''[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheFirebendingMasters The Firebender Masters]]'': Played straight when Aang and Zuko learn a [[PlayingWithFire firebending]] form that doubles as (and is called) a dance, which the latter is less than enthusiastic about (we later see him using a kick a lot like the one Mugen is doing in the above pic. Except with ''a lot'' of fire).
557** [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra Korra]] is extremely graceful and uses lots of leaps and spins, in addition to great sweeping gestures with her arms. This, and all of the Dance Battling from the previous show, is {{Justified|Trope}} by the nature of bending - the movement of the elements flows with the movement of the bender's body, which naturally sometimes calls for something more complicated and expansive than plain old kicks and punches.
558** Desna and Eska, Korra's cousins, also use a lot of acrobatics in their [[MakingASplash waterbending]].
559** Suyin Beifong is a dance battler with [[DishingOutDirt earthbending]] and [[ExtraOreDinary metalbending]], in contrast to her sister Lin's more blunt and in-your-face aggressive style. You can also see her style in her former protege Kuvira’s bending.
560* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': In "Sexy Dance Fighting" Bob's daughter Tina takes up Capoeira because she has a crush on the teacher, Jairo.
561* WesternAnimation/BugsBunny was fond of this trope - he gets rid of a malicious hobo on a train car using some balletic moves, and ticks off a bull in the ring with a Mexican dance with face-slap percussion.
562* The ''WesternAnimation/ComboNinos'' are capoeiristas in training.
563* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'' has Dan trapped in a ghost town where is only way out is learning how to fight-dance.
564* In the ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' episode "Smarter than a Speeding Bullet", Darkwing meets a superhero with the bizarre weakness of uncontrollably dancing when he hears a bell. Towards the end, he starts to dance-fight Steelbeak, and Darkwing and Launchpad decide do the same.
565* Catwoman briefly demonstrates this in the strip club in ''WesternAnimation/DCShowcaseCatwoman''.
566* In ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgers'', while trying to distract the "Mother Fudd", The Cadet asks "What would Creator/GeneKelly do at a time like this?" So he starts dancing on his giant head.
567* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': A cutaway gag ha Stewie fighting a group of ninjas to rescue a Mongolian heiress using a fighting style called "Film/{{Gymkata}}". [[ItMakesSenseInContext He uses it again in the episode's climax to save Brian from being made into a protein shake.]]
568* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' -- Sev'ral Timez "dancing aggressively" is treated as if it were actually dangerous or a viable method of combat, despite not actually including the "battling" portion of this trope.
569* ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'' has Carmilla Carmine, an ArmsDealer Overlord of Hell who fights using intricate ballet moves. Her shoes are outfitted with blades made of angelic steel, one of the few things that can permanently kill sinner demons [[spoiler:and, as it turns out, angels]].
570* ''WesternAnimation/HomeMovies'' - in one of their movies, Brendon and Jason fight [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9dZ2843W64 with JAZZ]]!
571* [[LaughablyEvil Doc Seismic]] in ''WesternAnimation/{{Invincible|2021}}'' is spry and agile for a man of his advanced age, [[BadassNormal able to keep up with two metahumans at once]]. He mentions that he minored in African Dance in college.
572* Used in ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'' when Sheen the {{Cloudcuckoolander}} is forced to use dance moves instead of kung-fu.
573%%* La Flamencita from ''WesternAnimation/MuchaLucha''.
574* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' called "Enchanting Grom Fright", Luz and Amity defeat a SupernaturalFearInducer through a series of spells in a dance routine.
575* Skipper became this temporarily in ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'' when the magic-practicing chimps stole King Julian's "groove" and transferred it to Skipper.
576* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': In “Out of Toon”, Perry the Platypus, under the effects of Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s Dance-inator (which forces anyone under its influence to dance uncontrollably), uses dance moves to subdue him, thus becoming the first agent ever to defeat evil while dancing.
577* ''WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}'' - "The Dance Contest" and "On Our Way to Rio" are just two cartoons where Popeye uses dance to beat up Bluto.
578* In ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', the leader of the big party Jack stumbles into in "Jack and the Rave" fights Jack and is easily the samurai's equal in hand-to-hand combat, though unlike other rap-themed fighters, he fights exclusively with his arms and hands, using hip-hop gestures to punch, chop, and defend. (This doesn't seem to be based on any martial arts in particular--his fighting just looks like rapping on fast forward.) The DJ, however, is no match when Jack gets his sword back.
579* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''; Moe is teaching a "Dance Fighting" class at the Learning Annex and demonstrates a move that ''starts out'' like he's gonna dance, then he pulls out a double-barrelled shotgun and fires off [[BottomlessMagazines three shots]].
580* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'':
581** Pearl incorporates ballet moves into most of her fighting.
582** When she's not relying on "Punch things really hard", Garnet tends to incorperate her Vouge/Wakking dancing techniques into her fighting style, giving her much more elaborate and [[LightningBruiser fast]] handwork. During the ''Stronger Than You'' musical number in the episode ''Jailbreak'' she takes this even farther to the point that she's almost using her opponent Jasper as a dancing partner as she lays the smackdown.
583** Gem fusions involving Pearl tend to carry over her ballet tendancies with [[LadyOfWar Opal (Pearl + Amethyst)]] standing permanently on point and using elegant flips to evade her opponents, [[BoisterousBruiser Sardonyx (Pearl + Garnet)]] utilizing a very flashy and elaborate style when using her warhammer and [[AllYourPowersCombined Alexandrite (Garnet + Amethyst + Pearl)]] adopting more graceful and dance-like movements and poses when utilizing techniques and weapons related to Pearl and her related fusions.
584* The TitleSequence of ''WesternAnimation/{{Stripperella}}'' has a ContrastMontage of Stripperella doing her strip club routine, intercut with her using the same moves to fight criminals.
585* ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|2012}}'':
586** Michelangelo sometimes uses dance moves in fights, often when dodging or recovering from moves. Splinter tries to instruct Donatello not to overthink strategy during a fight, and instead live between thoughts. To demonstrate, he launches a training exercise against Michaelangelo, who has just entered the room listening to his music. Mikey nimbly dodges the attacks in time to the music, until Splinter decides the lesson is over and trips him with his tail.
587** Xever, Shredder's left-hand man, fights with a combination of graceful and powerful Capoeira and [[DualWielding dual-wielded]] butterfly knives, making all four of his extremities deadly weapons. After he mutates into Fishface he loses his combat abilities for a little bit, until Baxter Stockman whips up a pair of robot legs for him, making his Capoeira even ''more'' dangerous.
588** Bebop uses Michael-Jackson-esque dancing in combination with a high-tech suit to keep up with ninjas.
589** Shinigami uses dancing as well, though not quite as often as others.
590* Robin from ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' is this, to [[ArtisticLicenseMartialArts varying degrees]] [[RuleOfCool of realism]]. The blatantness of it varies, but it's extremely apparent when he's fighting against someone else who excels at martial arts (most notably Red X, who is also a Dance Battler, as he [[ShadowArchetype shares Robin's style of fighting]]) or someone whose fighting style involves being huge and throwing a lot of heavy things at him.
591* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{ThunderCats|2011}}'' episode "The Duelist and the Drifter" RascallyRabbit The Drifter pulls this off by combining NonchalantDodge and NotQuiteFlight skills, at one point cheerily pirouetting in midair in front of a frustrated opponent.
592* In ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaWorldTour,'' Alejandro and Heather demonstrate their BelligerentSexualTension by dancing while trying to throw each other off of a moving train. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSiBkNuQ8VE In song]].
593* [[BlowYouAway Raimundo Pedrosa]] from ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' is from Brazil and uses capoeira. His battle-ready stance in the beat-'em-up game animates him using the ginga, triangular footwork that is fundamental to the martial art.
594** [[PlayingWithFire Kimiko Tohomiko]] often uses ballet when she fights. Her SignatureMove is [[SpectacularSpinning Judolette Flip]].
595[[/folder]]
596
597[[folder:Real Life]]
598* Creator/BruceLee was also an award winner in cha-cha. It's this expertise in dancing that gave him his expertise in martial arts footwork, or possibly the other way round. He developed Jeet Kune Do to incorporate any movements that were effective and felt natural. While it has a philosophy, there is no such thing as the Jeet Kune Do "style." If you felt comfortable doing the cha-cha in a fight, more power to you. As the saying goes: "A warrior who cannot dance is awkward both in peace and at war."
599* Creator/JohnTravolta once said that being a skilled dancer helps him do the choreographed fight scenes in his action roles. Of course, how he'd do in a real fight is anyone's guess.
600* Creator/JackieChan is trained in Chinese Opera and uses its movement techniques in his fight scenes. How ''he'd'' do in a real fight is not up for debate.
601* Sugar Ray Robinson was a dancer in his youth before becoming a boxer. You can see the influence in his fights, especially when he simply moves around the ring. It's as though he glides across the ring.
602* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL9TDcXvDCw Emanuel Augustus]] had such a radical, unique and borderline ''insane'' fighting style that he had the nickname "the Drunken Master" (despite being a conventional boxer rather than an MMA fighter and not practicing actual DrunkenBoxing), bobbing and weaving around his opponents and sometimes ''actually'' dancing in the ring whenever he had an opening. For years, Floyd Mayweather stated that Augustus was his toughest opponent, describing him as "unbelievable".
603* There is a theory that the quick, intricate foot movements of ballet originated from Europeans' visits to China, where martial artists quickly moved their feet around to avoid opponents trying to trip them over.
604[[/folder]]
605

Top