 Weapon dancing is certainly ancient; among the earliest historical references we have are those that refer to the pyrrhichios, a weapon dance in ancient Sparta, in which the dance was used as a kind of ritual training for battle.There are virtually no parts of the world left where the weapon dance is directly connected with imminent or recent combat.This is especially true of European states, which have long since moved away from the tribalism that usually gives rise to such folk dances.