Royal dance in Viet Nam had a development process during many dynasties, from Dinh Dynasty in the 10th century to the Nguyen Dynasty in the early 20th century. It originated to serve royalty, and it was performed at different types of ceremonies. The Vietnamese royal dance has been fixed the form clearly in the Viet and Cham people community.

Approximately 2,500 years ago, pictures of dancers were engraved on the Dong Son drums. These engravings reveal two dance styles, one with accessories and one without accessories. The main dance accessory was a hat ornamented with a bird feather; it appears that the ancient Vietnamese treasured hats.

Religious dance may sound similar to the also-mentioned religious belief category of dance, but is more structured to the three main organized religions of Buddhism, Catholicism and Brahmanism.

Religious belief dance is closely connected to ceremonies, beliefs and customs of Vietnamese nationalities.

Vietnamese modern dance started developing around 1945. It consists of a combination of materials; some from the folk dance period and others from the new era.