Show us how dancing bears are rooted in the heart of Americana. We all know you can't.
Oh, but look what they are in reality:
In Russia and Siberia, cubs were for centuries captured for being used as dancing bears accompanying tavern musicians (skomorokhi), as depicted in the Travels of Adam Olearius.
The Russian Bear (Russian: Русский медведь, romanized: Russkiy medved') is a widespread symbol (generally of a Eurasian brown bear) for Russia, used in cartoons, articles, and dramatic plays since as early as the 16th century, and relating alike to the Russian Empire, the Russian Provisional Government and Russian Republic, the Soviet Union, and the present-day Russian Federation.