CONTEMPORARY COMPETITIVE BALLROOM DANCING: AN ETHNOGRAPHY by Patricia A. Penny B.Ed (Hons.) M.Ed Thesis submitted in fuifiiment of the requirements of the University of Surrey for the degree of Doctor of Phiiosophy Department of Dance Studies September 1997 ProQuest Number: 27557406 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 27557406 Published by ProQuest LLO (2019). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLO. ProQuest LLO. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.Q. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 4 8 1 0 6 - 1346 Li- .I L C'f bC:-:::;'/ 1nz:r '--nqLtTy i'ocv3#s :h - a&nt:». a?\d. -ihTcu an exammat^o-r c Çù.r-\6/x'T af Trpp -: 0vvr.\' -:ne i-U 'C ^U 'uLiure $t;ppjrrjl: \ *nc^ *he cr.cÿ)Y:pù.nLVTj!i0-:^ cl" Â9 rN% Dc^bc\-;r€d wna" -4',.:-.^:' !' ' o '\ tpv>- proci'-'C;: of ^Shcn:rp} <f.r " . :: Tr- pthYeoAsYtcY':;" ; i .v .dzy.; V:' H&fa. d^r-v^iC Àx J:':Y'Y:CY -:.p X ' = ' nar\..:z;Yy b: v / ;. -'xf:":V.. \ - j'vT:. x'\:/;, :.. <. .,.r':ypWi ofpLx-:.\..y :xj':. TqqciüdeS thaî.eç-'x:^:/:.;- ''..C.yx: g;X/ . ^ <l pr .,; ... ;.:. ii;: . ' -, .:; '//Ox 0 /&0 ,.Y:^:Y &?%' ^ ,. y - ..- x - ;..'X\- - - ;... ,% /: : : x,T%q.tiCf; :.r. ,.if; üY.t',,.f <-yx.'... 0 1997 by Patricia A. Penny ABSTRACT This work represents a contemporary empirical exploration of ballroom dancing performed in competition. The ethnographic enquiry focuses on the actors - those who dance, perform and compete, through an examination of the profile of contestants and their participatory patterns. It considers the competitive arena, context of the dance 'event', the infrastructure supporting the dance competition, and the concept of competitiveness embedded in the performance. As this work is concerned with what is danced by the participants in the forum of competition, the process of teaching and learning is examined and leads to a consideration of the ethnoaesthetics of the form. The work is founded on empirical data derived through an interactive relationship with amateur and professional dancers, adjudicators, and dance coaches. Fieldwork included formal and informal interviews, questionnaires, and observation of a sample of dance settings. This exploratory study concludes that competition dancers comprise a heterogeneous group of exponents, representing a broad social group of men and women, of widely disparate ages, and who demonstrate varying lengths of dance 'career' following three distinct pathways. The participants study and perform a choreographed, aesthetic dance form, which embodies a corpus of knowledge and carries a range of precise ideas and criteria. The contestants aspire to a skilful performance, which contributes to the perpetuation of the dance styles as aesthetic forms. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank my supervisors, Professor Janet Lansdale and Dr. Theresa Buck land for their interest, guidance and stimulating tutorials throughout this work. I am grateful to the following people connected with the ballroom dance profession, who have willingly given their time: Arthur Ashmore, Linda Bellinger, Freddie Boultwood, Jack Briggs, Joyce Briggs, the late Thomas Bus, Rita Carradus, Doreen Casey, Len Colyer, Carol Cutler, Martin Cutler, Gilbert Daniels, Ray Davies, John Deiroy, Neii Dewar, Mary Edwards, Irene Evans, Hazel Fletcher, Alan Grassby, Veronica Hamill, Stephen Hannah, Michelle Heppenstall, Russell Heppenstall, Bill Irvine, Lorraine Kuznik, Walter Laird, Arlene Leach, John Leach, Colin Mansbridge, Len Morgan, Betty Munt, Mary Richardson, Joan Ryan, Victor Silvester Jnr., the late Bryan Smith, Harry Smith-Hampshire, Peggy Spencer, Michael Styiianos, Ada Unsworth, Lyndon Wainwright, Norman White, Mollie Webb (ISTD library), and all the amateur dancers who responded to my questionnaires and interviews,, and who made this work possible. Finally, / thank Dr. Georgiana Gore for her advice at the outset of this research, and Christine Jones for her technical assistance with the design and format of the text. CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Literature review 9 1.1.1 Scholarly studies on ballroom dancing 9 1.1.2 Dance ethnographies 12 1.2 Chapter outline 17 CHAPTER TWO RESEARCH METHODS 2.1 Chapter introduction 25 2.2 The ethnographic practice 26 2.3 Design 28 2.4 Access to the fields 30 2.5 Methodology 31 2.6 Fieldwork 36 2.7 The process of recording 38 2.8 Recording by video and still-photography 39 2.9 Taped interviews 42 2.10 Informal interviews 46 2.11 In-depth enquiry 47 2.12 The notion of reflexlvity in sociological research 48 CHAPTER THREE SETTING THE SCENE 3.1 Chapter introduction 56 3.2 Sociological and attitudinal change engenders new social dance practices 58 3.3 The 'belle époque' heralds adiversity of dance styles 61 3.4 Musical complexity and the notions of interpretation and expressivity in the ballroom genre 65 3.5 The tango's impact and the dance partnership 67 3.6 Dance events proliferate 69 3.7 The mechanism of standardisation takes effect 71 3.8 The Charleston influence 78 3.9 New dance practices produce a broader repertoire 79 3.10 Mutations lead to the tango's contemporary form 81 3.11 The inconspicuous progress of sequence dancing 82 3.12 A unique juxtaposition of music and dance 85 3.13 Dance societies: a metamorphosis towards an infrastructure 88 3.14 New mechanisms emerge to produce greater latitude in the arena 90 CHAPTER FOUR A VIEW OF DANCE COMPETITIONS 4.1 Chapter introduction 101 4.2 An ethnography of a dance competition in the modern ballroom style 102 4.3 Locale 113 4.4 Rules of competition 117 4.5 The actuality for the performers of entering the dance contest 123 4.6 The dance competition as public event 125 4.7 Who holds the casting vote? A consideration of judges and scrutineers as part of the infrastructure 133 4.7.1 The role of the scrutineer 135 4.7.2 The evaluation process 138 CHAPTER FIVE WITHIN THE ARENA: FOCUS ON THE DANCERS 5.1 Chapter introduction 148 5.2 Who enters the contest? 149 5.3 A consideration of the 'career pathways' of people who enter the realms of competitive dancing 155 5.3.1 Dancers who commence at an early age and follow 'pathway !' 158 5.3.2 Young adults who follow 'pathway II' 168 5.3.3 Participants following 'pathway III' 176 5.4 A closer focus on adult contestants 185 5.5 To live is to dance: to dance is to live 191 5.6 Does social class impact upon progress as a competitor? 194 5.7 Are familial links an asset? 198 CHAPTER SIX THE MAKING OF CHAMPIONS: TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF ASPIRING DANCERS 6.1 Chapter introduction 203 ' 6.2 The coaching session 205 6.3 The eclecticism of ballroom competitors 224 6.4 The dyadic nature of competition ballroom dancing 230 6.5 A quest for stardom? 233 CHAPTER SEVEN THE ETHNOAESTHETICS OF COMPETITVN BALLROOM DANCING: AESTHETIC EXPERIENCES OF LEARNING AND PERFORMING 7.1 Chapter introduction 241 7.2 Ethnoaesthetics: the ballroom form 243 7.3 The musical element 255 7.4 Costume as part of the aesthetic characteristics ofthe form 262 7.5 Ethnoaesthetics: the Latin American genre 269 7.6 Latin sounds and rhythms 278 7.7 Latin dress 282 7.8 Transmission of specific skills to contestants: individual potential and the dancer's nascent style 285 7.9 Towards an artistic performance 292 CONCLUSION 304 APPENDICES 312 1. Dance styles 2. Adult competitions 3. Junior competitions 4. Ballroom and Latin 'holds' and 'positions' 5. Scrutineers' sheets 6. Sequence (old time) dances recognised by BCCD as championship dances 7. Modern ballroom syllabus 8. Latin American syllabus 9. Analysis of holds and body positions 10. Details of prizes to amateur and professional competitors 11. Directory of major dance societies and organisations concerned with ballroom dancing 12. Questionnaire A: Basic Questionnaire 13. Questionnaire B: Competitive dancihg - a closer look 14. Questionnaire C: Competitive ballroom and Latin American dancing BIBLIOGRAPHY 334 List of figures in Chapters Four and Five Chapter Four Fig. 1 Calculating final placings Chapter Five Fig. 1 A model to help explain the way dancers at varying stages of life develop 'career pathways' in competition dancing List of Tables in Chapter Five 1. Competitive dancers: estimated totals 2. Competitive dancers: sex distribution 3. Competitive dancers: age distribution 4. Competitive dancers: marital status 5. Competitive dancers: social class distribution 6. Competitive dancers: statistical data 7. Young dance contestants dependent on parental support: average weekly expenditure by parents according to social class 8. Average weekly distance covered by parents of young contestants 9. Gender by social economic class by time given over to dancing 10. Social class by gender by expenditure by distance travelled for dancing purposes 11. Social class by gender by expenditure by length of 'career' in dancing 12. Competitive dancers: major reasons for entering dance contests 13. Competitive dancers: rank ordering of motivational principles 14. Competitive dancers: some randomly selected examples demonstrating social class, expenditure and time given over to practice 15. Highly-achieving contestants: competitive category, social class, length of time competing, time given over to practice, expenditure 16. Competitive dancers: participants in each social class group with parents who formerly danced CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION CONTENTS 1.1 Literature review 9 1.1.1 Scholarly studies on ballroom dancing . 9 > 1.1.2 Dance ethnographies 12 1.2 Chapter outline 17 .