A live band dance is an event where the means of serving the dancefloor involves the use of a live band

Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

.

History

Before the rise of discothèques and DJ-based dancefloors with recorded music (prior to the 1950s); live bands were the ubiquitous means of serving the dancefloor. Along with that, slow-dancing

Slow dance

A slow dance is a type of partner dance in which a couple dance slowly, swaying to the music. This is usually done to very slow-beat songs."Slow dancing" can refer to any slow couple dance , but is often associated with a particular, simple style of dance performed by middle school and high school...

 was the primary method of dancing at the time. However; the rise of Rock and Roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 music initially made it hard for people to dance when it was popularized in the early 1950s, however people quickly adapted to it and started dancing at higher speeds almost coinciding the rise of DJ-based dancefloors. Live bands have quickly been displaced by DJ-based dancefloors as the DJ stands took up less space than bandstands and that it played recorded music.

Modern comeback

Live band dances are still used on occasion at ballroom

Ballroom

A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...

s. Along with that, moshpits have live punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 bands, so people are able to hear the hardcore sound associated with moshing

Moshing

Moshing is a dance in which participants push or slam into each other. They also flail their limbs to breakdowns of hardcore punk and its sub-genres. It is most associated with aggressive music genres, such as hardcore punk and heavy metal...

. Some formal dances

School Formal

A school formal is an event held during the school year for students in Australian and New Zealand high schools. Formals are generally organised and run by a student committee, the members of which volunteer to do so...

 such as prom

Prom

In the United States and Canada, a prom, short for promenade, is a formal dance, or gathering of high school students. It is typically held near the end of the senior year. It figures greatly in popular culture and is a major event among high school students...

s use live bands as a means of serving the dancefloor. Also, some people choose live bands because they believe there are virtually no space constraints for the band's instruments. Dance parties with high-end formality

Formality

A formality is an established procedure or set of specific behaviors and utterances, conceptually similar to a ritual although typically secular and less involved...

 have also preferred live bands as means of serving the dancefloor.

In Pop Culture

• In Back to the Future
  Back to the Future
  Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
  
  ; which took place in the 1950s; Jazz
  Jazz
  Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
  
   music was being played as it was the ubiquitous genre for live band based dancefloors prior to the time period the movie took place at. However, when Marty comes up to stand in the position of the guy with the hurt hand, he eventually plays the song Johnny B. Goode
  Johnny B. Goode
  "Johnny B. Goode" is a 1958 rock and roll song written and originally performed by American musician Chuck Berry. The song was a major hit among both black and white audiences peaking at #2 on Billboard magazine's Hot R&B Sides chart and #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.The song is one of Chuck Berry's...
  
  ; but then sees the hardship of compensation of the song and ends up saying I can't guess you guys are ready for that, but your kids are gonna love it; which references the aforementioned rapid transition to Rock and Roll
  Rock and roll
  Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
  
   as a dance genre.
• In Idle Hands
  Idle Hands
  Idle Hands is a 1999 horror comedy film directed by Rodman Flender, written by Terri Hughes and Ron Milbauer, and starring Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba, and Vivica A. Fox...
  
  ; a live band is used for a dancefloor with fans of punk music.