起舞 (qǐwǔ): to start dancing

Meanings

Yīnyuè xiǎngqǐ, dàjiā fēnfēn qǐwǔ.

When the music started, everyone began to dance.

Húdié zài huācóng zhōng piānpiān qǐwǔ.

Butterflies danced gracefully among the flowers.

register

起舞 is literary/formal. In casual speech, people say 跳舞. 翩翩起舞 (to dance gracefully) is a common four-character expression.

culture

闻鸡起舞 (to rise and practice at cock-crow) is a famous idiom about diligence, from the story of 祖逖 practicing swordsmanship at dawn.

起 qǐ

舞 wǔ