Character (historical and folk) dances are present in many classical ballets. Accordingly, every classical ballet dancer must learn the techniques of these dances. And they are so much fun, that you will definitely enjoy learning and dancing them!

Russian Ballet School, in particular, pays a lot of attention to character dances, and they are part of the curriculum both at The Bolshoi and Vaganova Ballet Academies.

For example, take a look at these 2009 videos where ballet students (at The Bolshoi Ballet Academy) demonstrate their skills at character dances:

Igor Moiseyev was the founder of the Russian tradition of professional approach to Folk Dances. In 1937, he created his now famous Moiseyev Dance Company. Here are a few videos showing the results of his work, and they are a real pleasure to watch! (The first two are from the 2007 concert dedicated to 70 years of the dance company.)