There's a lot more crossover between dancing and martial arts than you might expect. Both require trained control over one's body and both require a certain sense of rhythm and timing, though dancing is more for expressive purposes while martial arts are for combat.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of video game characters out there who have figured out how to translate their dancing skills into combat skills, how to translate their combat skills into dancing skills, or were just doing both at the same time and never realized it. Let's rank some of the dancers with the most impeccable style and the most precise combat skills.
10 Ulala - Space Channel 5
In the space-faring future of Space Channel 5, everyone is gaga for dancing, to the point that most major conflicts seem to be settled by dance battles. Seeing as she usually finds herself in danger during her on-scene reports, Ulala needs to be both an excellent dancer and markswoman to defend herself and others.
With her groovy moves, Ulala can control the pace of a battle, enrapturing friend and foe alike with impeccable style, then busting out her blaster when their guard is down. Ulala's dancing is so potent, she's managed to smash at least two pocket dimensions with it, which isn't a lot, but it's surprising that it happened more than once.
9 Lucky Chloe - Tekken Series
Chloe is a pop idol, and generally enjoys all the processes that come with that, from singing to dancing. While her on-stage persona may imply her to be a stereotypical cutesy idol, though, she's not one to take guff from others (real or perceived).
By utilizing her idol dance moves, as well as a pinch of hip-hop dancing, Chloe has created a dance-like fighting style that makes use of her skilled footwork and capacity for high-flying stage stunts. A professional dancer needs to have strong limbs, after all, and Chloe's are strong enough to knock down a bear.
8 Elena - Street Fighter Series
Elena is a practitioner of capoeira, a real-life martial art that originated in Brazil, though it also has roots in Africa. Capoeira incorporates acrobatics and dancing into a surprisingly potent fighting style that emphasizes bouncing movements and wide, sweeping strikes.
Elena's stature makes her especially suited for capoeira, as her long, muscular legs put a lot of force behind her various leg strikes. It also helps that she's a generally jovial person who enjoys dancing. Once Elena gets going, her party high is nigh-impossible to stop.
7 Mettaton EX - Undertale
In his original, square-shaped body, Mettaton wasn't exactly very graceful. He was more than capable of expressing himself through hammy acting and wild arm gesticulation, but lacking legs, dancing wasn't really an option. When he reaches his upgraded form in his fight with Frisk, though, that all changes.
Throughout their entire battle, Mettaton is swinging his fabulous new legs and striking awe-inducing poses, never failing to stay on beat. He always had the music in his soul, he just needed a proper body to give it form, and boy did he ever.
6 Anji Mito - Guilty Gear Series
Anji's fighting style is based on mai, a real-life form of traditional Japanese dance. With a fan in his hand, his movements are smooth, swift, and fluid, with many using the phrase "poetry in motion" to describe them. While Anji is a very physically strong man, that wouldn't be much of a fighting style on its own.
This is why his hand fan is actually the Sacred Treasure Zessen, a powerful magical weapon that can change shape and enhance wind-based magic. By incorporating Zessen's strength into his dance, Anji becomes a whirling dynamo of force, and looks downright fabulous while he does it.
5 Urbosa - Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity
Urbosa's skill with her signature blade, the Scimitar of the Seven, was regarded as the stuff of dreams. It was said that when she swung her sword in a fight, her graceful slashes and skilled dodges resembled the moves of an ephemeral dance.
Of course, in The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, we only had the compendium's word to go on for that, but playing as her in Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity shows it was no exaggeration. Alongside her powerful scimitar slashes, Urbosa incorporates a variety of spins, kicks, and of course, her signature snap of the fingers calling down bolts of lightning.
4 Amane Nishiki - Blazblue Series
Amane makes his living as the leader of a troupe of dancers, though whether he's working or picking a fight with someone, it's all the same to him. The world's a stage, and he's a dancer upon it. His dance moves are swift and graceful, and he's also quite skilled at interpretive dances.
In a fight, this translates to powerful, sweeping strikes enhanced by his Drive ability, which allows him to shape his clothing into a variety of weapons from blades to drills. Rachel once referred to him as "Uzume," a possible reference to a Shinto god of dance, which means his dancing combat prowess may run deeper than even he realizes.
3 Goro Majima - Yakuza Series
While wandering the streets of Sotenbori in '80s, Majima stumbled upon a couple of youngsters engaged in an old-school break dancing battle and was struck with inspiration on the spot. Internalizing the dramatic leg swings, spins, and poses from the break dancing youths, Majima created an entirely new fighting style that was equal parts stylish and deadly.
Even as he got older and began fighting more with traditional strikes and his trusty knife, Majima never abandoned the way of the breaker entirely. He can swap on a dime from throwing punches to rapidly spinning on his head, and his enemies never see it coming.
2 Voldo - Soul Calibur Series
To call Voldo's fighting style "dancing" may seem vaguely insulting to dancers, but it is rhythmic and incorporates full-body movement, so it can be classified as dancing... of a sort.
If there is a song in Voldo's decrepit heart, it's one with an utterly incomprehensible melody that only he can truly understand. Whether he's swinging his blades, contorting and rolling around, or even just standing in place, he always seems to be performing some manner of rhythmic motion. It's anyone's guess whether this is a deliberate means of disorienting foes or just an odd byproduct of his years in isolation.
1 Bayonetta - Bayonetta
Bayonetta absolutely loves her work as a slayer of angels because it gives her a chance to really cut loose and have some fun. Thanks to her magically-enhanced strength, she can more than afford to show off a bit, which is why, in a fight, she enjoys incorporating pole dancing, break dancing, rhythmic gymnastics, and even ice dancing into her powerful strikes.
Hey, when you're strong enough to strike down the legions of Heaven itself, you might as well have a good time doing it, and what's more fun than dancing? Well, dancing while conjuring up gigantic demonic limbs, maybe.