Abstract
This chapter analyses the experience of learning to dance and explores how a serious leisure career is developed in the field of Ballroom and Latin American dancing. It outlines the areas of practice where dancers learn, refine and practice their craft, including group classes, private lessons, practices and medal tests. It explores the teaching of leading and following, which underpins dancing classes at all levels of difficulty. It is argued that ballroom dancing lessons are a place where the roles of men and women are ‘on the agenda’. Dancing can be seen as a space for discussing gender whilst also providing the possibility of falling back into the ‘comfort zone’ of the traditional notion that ‘the man is the leader’.
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Harman, V. (2019). Building a Serious Leisure Career in Ballroom and Latin American Dancing. In: The Sexual Politics of Ballroom Dancing. Genders and Sexualities in the Social Sciences. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-02939-3_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-02939-3_4
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-02938-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-02939-3
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