The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word HABANERA
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
H
A
B
A
N
E
R
A
More clues leading to the result HABANERA
- Dance hall losing money twice over Prohibition period
- Dance in background after flipping expression of contempt
- Cuban steps in stadium with sound of contempt rising
- Goddess keeps a bar for a dance
- Goddess circumvents a veto
- Forged ahead, mostly, with barn dance
- Goddess keeps a bar in dance
- Ban hare coursing, a Cuban speciality
- Dance with goddess around a bar
- Wife left when Arab forced a dance
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Dance" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case dance = habanera.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does HABANERA mean?
HABANERA noun- A style of music from Cuba.
- A dance performed to this music.