Humans aren’t the only species who like to break it down on the dance floor— there are some creatures big and small around the globe who can really put on a show! Here are our top 10 animal dancers. Let their wild, graceful, untamed moves inspire you!
They measure no more than 3 inches tall, but these small hummingbirds can dance BIG. To show off, these little guys shake their tail feathers- literally!
Watch: https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/hummingbird-courtship-vinRun by: Adiarys Almeida, international principal ballet guest artist
Dancing in unison with others is SO challenging, yet these elegant leapers make it look easy! Several species of dolphins, including these spinner dolphins, perform incredible, synchronized jumps in the air as a way of playing with each other and to conserve energy they need for swimming. If only jumping so perfectly was as easy for us!
Watch: http://www.natgeomotion.com/bell/clip/4470161_003.do
Though they’re certainly not everyone’s favorite type of animal, these eight-legged dancers are majorly talented! The colorful peacock spider showcases impressively precise choreography, shimmying his body and “clapping” his legs together. Spiders aren’t so scary when they dance like this!
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_yYC5r8xMI
We share the majority of our DNA with these intelligent apes, and so it’s no surprise that these chimpanzees were caught dancing by themselves in front of a mirror! With major personality, chimps have also been seen clapping their hands at zoos when music is on.
These big American birds are serious performers, dancing for hours starting in the early morning. The male sage grouses perform in groups called “leks” in which they pop their fluffy chests in and out as well as sassily strut around in order to woo the ladies.
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov9_72xLeF0
This colorful sea slug is anything but sluggish. Its red and yellow body smoothly undulates in order to move through the ocean, often to avoid predators. Totally the best body roll you’ve ever seen!
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4nh3MFssj8
Nothing better than an intense dance battle! King cobras perform competitive pas de deux with each other to win territory.
Watch: https://vimeo.com/19326555
By: David Poore, 2011
Honeybees’ intricate “waggle” dance is used to instruct the other bees where to find pollen. You won’t find a more focused dancer in the insect world than this little dancer!
Watch: https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/weirdest-bees-dance
Not only does this bird have captivating moves, he also sports a killer costume when he dances. Transforming his feathers into a mysterious black and blue mask, the superb bird-of-paradise excitedly jumps around his audience: an entranced female bird.
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dx2CUMtZ-0
One of the cutest dancing animals on our list, inchworms often stand on their hind legs and wriggle their top half in the air to appear like a twig. It’s their groovy way to avoid danger!
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dx2CUMtZ-0
Emily Strickland is a professional ballet dancer and writer from Fredericksburg, Virginia. She is currently dancing with Nevada Ballet Theatre in Las Vegas, where she’s had the opportunity to perform ballets like The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake, as well as in a collaborative performance with Cirque du Soleil. Previously she was an artist at Columbia Classical Ballet and a trainee at Richmond Ballet, where she was the featured soloist in Connor Frain’s premiere piece “Inertia”. She has trained with Richmond Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Festival Ballet Providence, Nashville Ballet, and the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen, Denmark. In addition, she is a ballet instructor at Avery Ballet.
