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This chapter introduces the reader to to the tenets of ballroom dance by focusing on the various classificatory systems used in social dances. It begins with a discussion of the “ballroom umbrella” and the wealth of symbolic resources it encompasses, first by considering dancesport and social dancing, followed by an analysis of International and American styles of ballroom performance. It then examines four themes that emerge from classificatory systems: an emphasis on a high degree of specialization in performance; the demonstration of control over the body and its movement; the rationalization of movement and the ideas articulated by it, especially as mediated by language and other symbols; and an association with Western Europe. The chapter suggests that dance classifications also function as social classifications that serve to stratify individuals and groups according to their perception of the social order. More specifically, they articulate the betwixt-and-between-ness that characterizes the American middle class.

Chapter 3 focuses on Azurie and Sadhona Bose, once-famous, now-forgotten dancing stars of the 1930s–1940s, to excavate an intersecting, global history of early twentieth-century discourses on dance, featuring figures like Ruth St. Denis, Anna Pavlova, Rabindranath Tagore, Uday Shankar, and Rukmini Devi Arundale, among many others. Situating Bose, the Bengali bhadramahila, and Azurie, an Indo-German “dancing girl,” as co-choreographers of new mobilities throws light on cosmopolitan, transnational dance networks that intersected with nationalist projects of modernity. This chapter relates these dancer-actresses to the so-called revival of classical dance forms, which involved an appropriation of the cultural practices of traditional performers like devadasis and tawaifs by upper-caste, upper-class performers. By reading Bose and Azurie’s performing bodies and careers alongside each other, this chapter dislodges unitary accounts of the impulses and controversies around dance on film by a new class of urban performers.

This chapter examines the varied meanings attached to social dance, with particular emphasis on contredanse-derived practices in the Caribbean islands. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in 2005–2006, it considers how Caribbean bodies dance sovereignty in front of world powers and the ways that they affirm island and regional integrity in the nonverbal communication of dance performance. After providing an overview of the historical patterns of Caribbean set dancing and the history of the Caribbean from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, the chapter turns to practices such as Cuban contradanza and tumba francesa, Puerto rican contradanza and los seises, and Dominican sarandunga. It then discusses dance movement and dance categories; King and Queen pageantry that typically accompanies quadrille practices; and Queen performance. The chapter suggests that historical contredanse forms represent important values that have influenced past and present performers.

This chapter examines the history of the Lindy Hop and what its revival says about the ongoing story of our struggles with “American” cultural identity. It relates the Lindy Hop scene to the social dance world of Steppin' in order to understand the Lindy Hop in relation to race, identity, and contemporary American society. It discusses the need to shift the study of race and ethnicity back onto whiteness and the ways in which the privileges of whiteness are institutionalized and naturalized; Ralph Ellison's thoughts on African American culture; and the carnal sociology approach. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.

From the 1970s to the present, jazz continues experimenting and innovating, blending and fusing, leaving contestations and contradictions in its wake. Over time it became obvious that the genesis for both jazz dance and jazz music, the fusing of West African rhythms and movement roots and European influences, would be retained by some and released by others. What remained central was its changing nature, an evolving form that was a reflection of the day. Ultimately each era from the 1970s on would be distinct, yet some core aspects remained if only by hints and shadows: rhythmic movement, pelvic movement, elements of its social dance beginnings, elements of entertainment, and vast artistic explorations. This chapter will discuss multiple jazz stories, including experimentation in jazz dance and music; jazz as a social, theatrical, and concert dance form; revival movements; and jazz dance in the studios.

This chapter examines the Appalachian region's rich dance heritage. It begins with a historical background on the Appalachian region, showing that it was never as homogeneous, as poor, or as isolated as was once believed, and that many kinds of social and theatrical dance were available to local residents as early as the 1790s. The chapter then cites evidence to prove that the people of Appalachia had rich resources to draw upon in terms of movement vocabulary and have made reciprocal contributions to dancing elsewhere. It also considers the Appalachian residents' continual access to a wide range of forms of social dance and theatrical dance; how rivers, railroads, roads, and airports have facilitated performers traveling across the region; dance education and opportunities for those interested in dancing; and the evolution of square dancing and footwork dancing.

This section offers an outline of vernacular jazz dance steps, movements, and styles by era, and the musical styles that were dominant during each period. Beginning with the 1800s and reaching all the way to the present, this chart clearly depicts how vernacular jazz dance never stops changing. The chart lists popular culture music styles including but not limited to: jazz and swing in the 1930s; rock and roll in the 1950s; Motown in the 1960s; and the styles of hip-hop, rap, computerized music, country music, etc. that began in the 1970s and are still prevalent today. All of these musical styles gave birth to trends in social dance settings which influence jazz dance training and choreography. The list of specific steps, movements, and styles is extensive. Some of the more familiar terms are: Black Bottom, Charleston, Lindy, Jitterbug, Cha Cha, Twist, Hustle, Breakdancing, Soulja Boy, and Electric Slide.

This chapter explores the issues faced by women learning to dance, when the desire for glamour—in the form of sexiness—supersedes the desire for dance. It considers the female ballroom dancers' shift from a femininity oriented toward home and family to one oriented to performance and glamour, a change that necessitated developing independence and a critical eye about gender relations in the world of ballroom dancing. It shows that the social relations expressed in gender differs considerably for individuals and explains how the concept of “doing gender” fits the dance world. It also examines how the performance of femininity is both challenged and reinforced by the specific context of dance. This chapter discusses the experiences of female dancers from the former Soviet bloc and of American women dancers who make a living by teaching social dance groups, along with the issue of romance that arises when women dance with gay men.

This chapter examines social dances that display national dance formation and how they rise to national status in one country, while other nations identify only one dance for hundreds of years. It first considers examples of Creole dances that have become synonymous with island identity, such as Jamaican reggae, Trinidadian calypso, Dominican merengue, and French Caribbean zouk. It then explores the Cuban dance matrix and its various segments, including Native American dance, Spanish dance, African dance, and Haitian dance. It also traces the development of Cuba's national dances, focusing on danzón, son, and rumba and suggests that national dance depends on relevance to historical conditions, which class/group is in power, and the pertinent cultural values that are encapsulated within dance movement. The chapter concludes by noting how Caribbean dances surface toward the national level, match national concerns, and become attached to the national imagination.

In this interlude, the author describes the events of a typical Friday night social dance at the Regent Ballroom and Banquet Center by sharing her own experience. She narrates how dancers greet each other warmly and tell stories of their week as they change into their dance shoes. The dancers then head to the dance hall. The early minutes of the dance exude a quiet romance not only reserved for newlyweds. The Friday night ballroom dance is date night for many couples in attendance. The author mentions Sylvia, a real estate agent with two adult children, and her husband Jimmy. The two met at the Regent and continue to dance weekly. Their conversations, as well as those of their fellow couples, are littered with loving glances, small gestures of affectionate intimacy, and the kind of good-natured ribbing only spouses can perpetrate. Eventually the room will be filled with 150 or so dancing bodies. Through dancing, they routinely inhabit each other's personal space.

This chapter examines the economics of ballroom dancing, and in particular the explicit connection between intimacy and commerce. It first considers the economic underpinnings of dance competitions and goes on to discuss dancing as a career, the teaching of social dance, and the history of chain studios offering dance lessons, including Arthur Murray studios. In response to claims that the dance world is inherently exploitative, the chapter argues that most dance teachers and students are clear-eyed about their expectations. It shows that teachers and students have a clear understanding about the purchase of intimacy in the world of dance, noting that students would like to be able to afford more lessons or to join more competitions, whereas professionals might like more students who compete or more sponsors so they could teach less. In underscoring dance students' willingness to pay in order to compete with a top, well-connected dancer, this chapter demonstrates that in the modern world, intimacy is indeed for sale.

This book explores dancing and the fascination it holds for participants, with particular emphasis on the relational aspects of ballroom. Drawing on interviews with all types of dancers—competition professionals, social dance professionals, competition students, and social dance students— as well as the author's own observations as a spectator at the 2008 United States Dance Championships, the book examines what sociologist Viviana Zelizer has called “the purchase of intimacy” in ballroom dancing. More specifically, it considers how ballroom provides an intimate experience that seduces students, particularly women students, into the world of dance and how complex emotional relationships develop between dance teachers and students.

French hip hop choreographies discussed in this book respond to a range of discourses about dance, from the “primitivism” projected onto it as a physical form to a means to represent a futuristic, hybrid body, from traditional to hypermodern dance, from sport to art and from popular to classical and concert dance. Chapter 4 exposes the historical links between dance and technologies, the elaboration of visual technologies in synch with dance, and the role that dance plays in regard to new media. Two hip-hop full-length choreographies in the mold of the machine ballets of the 1920s, one by Frank II Louise (Drop It! 2000) and the other by Compagnie Choream, (Epsilon, 1999) comment on the wonders and horrors of technology and think through the hybridity of human and machine.

This chapter explores the importance of appearance in ballroom dancing, and especially in the portrayal of intimacy and connection between the partners. It shows that ballroom dancers put a great deal of effort into their appearance, paying attention not only to their clothing and makeup but also to their physical looks in order to project desirability. Dancers recognize that the appearance of faultless beauty helps judges and audience believe that romance is in the air. Latin dancers, for instance, exert great discipline and control to achieve bodies that look naturally libidinous. A desirable appearance is understood to be the result of rigorous behind-the-scenes discipline, a “calculated hedonism” that dancers understand. This chapter considers the body work performed by dancers as a form of aesthetic labor, a short history of dance dresses, critiques of appearance work in ballroom dancing, and how appearance relates to gender, American masculinity, and consumption. It concludes with a discussion of appearance work in social dance.

This chapter focuses on the hot-swing numbers that the Clouds of Joy recorded in the period between March 1936 and July 1941. It shows that despite evident qualities of the hot-jazz styles of New York and Kansas City, the swing records of Kirk’s band display a comparatively restrained but elegant character. Unlike other black swing bands, the Clouds of Joy do not impress with rhythmic drive, unusual sonorities, or sheer volume. Their swing style is more subtle, unobtrusive, and refined. So, this chapter asks, how can we account for the distinctively restrained-but-elegant quality in the swing recordings of the Clouds of Joy? This central question is addressed with reference to social dancing, but it is as much about race as style: Kirk and his band continued to develop a black-jazz style that ensured their music appealed to Decca’s race-records market while also Signifyin(g) stereotypes of blackness associated with swing music in a subversive way.