Shift to Open Roles in Soc ial Dance B Y A N N A M AY E R
Dance is a form of culture particularly suited to have an effect on and, subsequently, to
reflect societal gender roles. Jane Desmond articulates, “Dance, as a discourse of the body, may in fact be especially vulnerable to interpretations in terms of essentialized identities associated with biological difference. These identities include... gender and the sexualized associations attached to bodies marked in those terms” (Desmond). More simply put, dance is a form of artistic culture that uses the body as its vehicle for meaning. Therefore, when a dance form changes, the meanings attached to the dancing bodies, and therefore to the cultural significance of those bodies, shifts. In dance academia, there is much discussion on the appropriation of dance forms: the dominant culture’s seizure of a dance form from a non-dominant group, and the subsequent shift in style and meaning to reflect dominant social norms. Little is said about the effects of non-dominant cultures on the dance forms of dominant groups, though it does happen. In these cases, we see the power a minority group can have on the dominant culture. Lead/follow roles in social dance have long been metaphors for gender roles between male and female dancers, and continue to be so today. The significance and meaning of these roles have changed throughout the centuries in accordance to the values of the time, including suffrage and the Women’s Rights Movement. The significance of lead/follow roles continues to change due to the most recent Gay Rights Movement. The presence of queer dancers in social dance transforms and expands the meaning of lead/follow roles in both the queer community as well as with the cultural majority.
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