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Presently there are approximately 50 million ballroom dancers in China, and over 100 tertiary institutions offering bachelor's degrees majoring in ballroom dance. It was this context and the growth of tertiary ballroom dance education and the prosperity of ballroom dance competition in China that prompted this research question: What are tertiary teachers' meanings of competition in tertiary ballroom dance education in China? In contextualising the study in China, the history of tertiary ballroom dance education and ecology of ballroom dance competition was outlined. Related to this were the various pedagogical approaches valued within Chinese educational institutions and ballroom dance contexts. A qualitative methodology was utilised in answering the research question. This study found that ballroom dance competition culture informed tertiary teachers' pedagogy, students' learning, and curriculum setting. This study posits that as ballroom dance continues to grow in China, tertiary ballroom dance education in China will require a more finely balanced approach to the role of competition within the curriculum, pedagogical approaches and assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study unravels the intricate dynamics of ballet competitions in South Korea, highlighting the interplay between domestic and international competitions. Expected to function as fair and credible tests, domestic competitions in South Korea are entwined with academicism, neoliberalism, and private education. Meanwhile, international ballet competitions are perceived as more prestigious and occupy a hierarchical status over domestic events, which influences and, at times, compromises local practices and discourses. This research examines the interplay of nationalism, commercialism, and genre rivalry in dance competition to emphasize how these events in South Korea serve diverse entities and play both symbolic and practical roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we explore the transformational power of holistic studio culture in dance education, drawing from our personal experiences growing up in dance studios that engaged in community events and dance competitions. Unlike traditional studios bound by a single technique, our formative environments embraced a rich tapestry of dance experiences, including community involvement, competitions, and workshops. This diversity has significantly shaped our approaches to teaching dance today. We aim to demonstrate how embracing a holistic studio culture can enrich dance education, providing a model for fostering creativity and inclusivity in the classroom. Through this reflection, we invite readers to consider the impact of varied dance experiences on educational practices and student development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experience of the tap dance educator in the private-sector studio was studied using a mixed methods approach that included a survey and individual interviews. Three hundred thirty-eight tap teachers responded to 25 survey questions about enrollment and hiring, training and curriculum, dance competitions and social media, and challenges and benefits. Interviews with nine tap educators collected in-depth descriptive data that expanded on the topics explored in the survey. Key findings include the following: tap enrollment is inconsistent; teachers teach the way they were taught; classroom content is focused on choreography with tap history, music theory, and improvisation listed eighth through tenth in importance; tap is fusing with other dance forms; and tap dance competitions lack qualified judges, appropriate flooring, and proper amplification. For tap dance to become more relevant in today's dance scene, improved teacher training programs are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many dance competitions in North America, performances of sexualized choreography have become normalized. One result is that bodies of girl dancers are increasingly constructed as sexual objects. Sexual objectification is highly problematic for the development of girls' self-identities, body image, psychological health, and overall wellbeing. Based on feminist perspectives on the body and data from feminist ethnography, this article investigates how objectification of young, female bodies in dance is reinforced through embodiment and repetition of sexualized movement and how it can negatively impact identity development and wellbeing. This research emphasizes that social-cultural processes of sexualization acting on the bodies and lives of young girls who dance should be of concern to all dance educators and privately-operated studios and suggests strategies for cultivating resistance and alternative approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While showing the cave complex to a group of girls, Vijay meets the female protagonist, Vidya (played in the film by Shantaram's own daughter, Rajshree). This essay looks at I Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje i ([15]; hereafter I JJPB i ), and I Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne i ([14]; hereafter I GGPN i ), both made by the legendary Indian filmmaker, Rajaram Vankudre Shantaram (1901-90; generally known as V. Shantaram). However, V. Shantaram, who was a Marathi and not from Bengal, embraces stereotypical ideas about women as being temptresses and distractions for legendary artists and ascetics - a theme that we also find in a few other Hindi films, such as I Baiju Bawra i ([12]), I Basant Bahar i ([13]) and I Sur Sangam i ([16]). We might add that both films under discussion are tributes to Classical music, a frequent feature of V. Shantaram's later movies. [Extracted from the article]

Acknowledging criticisms of the values supported by competitive dance, this article seeks to develop and advocate a pedagogical reframing of the event in terms of situated learning and mediated learning experience. Making sense of the competitive experience with the contributions of 4E (embodied, embedded, extended, and enactive) cognition theory, understandings of the potentially transformative phenomena of performative impulse and performative affect are advanced. Employing theoretical frameworks from 4E cognition including autopoiesis, affective scaffolding, skilled intentionality, and meshed architecture, competitive dance is presented as a site of situated cognition that enhances the intensity, and therefore the transformative potential, of performative affect. Examples of reframed situated and mediated learning experiences are presented to explicate the theoretical underpinnings of a pedagogy of performance developed for the competitive context with applications extending beyond it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dance scholar and former dancer Susan Foster ([5]) considered: Dancers sacrifice their desires to eat certain foods or to socialize, and they endure pain, disappointment, or even humiliation, all to come closer to the ideal. : Navigating the Competition Dance Model " Consumer Dance Identity: The Intersection between Competition Dance, Televised Dance Shows and Social Media." ADDRESSING THE BODY Involvement in the competition circuit can lead to real-world outcomes: for studio owners, increased income, and for dancers, college scholarships or professional connections to commercial dance (Harrington [6]; Schupp [16]). [Extracted from the article]

Having served for a decade as a professional dance competition judge, specializing in special awards, in this article I articulate the unique and powerful role I see the special award playing in dance competition culture as an antithesis to the increasing focus on competition, comparison, and the emerging "sportsification" of dance. I provide some of my tricks of the trade as well as some suggestions for incorporating the transformative potential of the special award beyond the competition world and even beyond dance. In providing such resources, I also hope to stake the claim that the subjective nature of the special award accounts for its powerful potential within the larger dance community, and I advocate for its adoption and adaptation in multiple contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major importance of preschool children's mental health with regard to their emotional and social development has a documented ground in the literature. In these domains, it is crucial for young children to learn how to express their emerging emotions appropriately and efficiently. Creative dance and movement is already being used as a therapeutic technique in a wide range of interventional processes. But it can also be used as a preventive tool for both reducing socio-emotional risks and maximizing developmental and mental health for typically-developing children in early ages; using creative dance as such is a less discussed subject in the literature. Also, creative dance is thought to be an appropriate method for this purpose because of its compatible features with preschool children's developmental stages. From this point of view, this study discusses the importance of using creative dance in expressing emotions in early childhood and thus aims to emphasize the importance of integrating two domains in early childhood development, namely, socio-emotional development and expressive and creative movement. A literature review method has been used. The literature review has demonstrated that early childhood is parallel with the expression-based structure of creative dance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I examine the re-contextualisation of particular versions of solo traditional set dances from the region of North Kerry, Ireland, by teachers and step dancers of competitive step dancing for competition. These set dances, namely the Blackbird and Saint Patrick's Day, were choreographed by Jeremiah Molyneaux, the last of the itinerant dancing masters of the rural region of North Kerry (circa 1881–1965). The objective of the paper is to enquire into the reasoning behind the relatively recent appropriation of these dances and how competitive step-dance teachers and dancers learned to embody them as representative of a regional step-dance style. The paper proposes a particular model of transmission: a multi-sensory method of transmission where proprioceptive training and somatic sensation are considered in the stylistic embodiment and assessment of these solo set dances, and a theoretical engagement with relevant literature in the fields of Irish dance studies and ethnochoreology to contextualise and historicise the practice for deeper cultural understanding. This model might also be applied to the transmission of other dance practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue on Dance, Movement and Leisure Cultures showcases theoretically informed articles illuminating different ways of knowing about the passions, actions, and practices within the economic, political, social, and cultural contexts of leisure-based dance. This introduction contextualises the content of the special issue within the previous dance research. Nuanced and detailed, these studies have examined diverse dance styles from ballroom to street dance, but share several main themes: the commercialisation of dance into popular culture; the increasing emphasis on competition in dance; gender roles in dance; community dance; and dance that has been recreated as an exercise form. To set the stage for the special issue, this introduction provides a closer reading of each of these themes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an introductory contextualization to dance competition culture's evolution since the early 1980s in relationship to serious leisure. Dance competition culture (which includes the for-profit regional and national competition events focused on jazz, contemporary or lyrical dance, hip hop, tap, and ballet and the dance studios that train dancers for these events) is a significant site for dance training in the United States. Using a physical cultural studies lens in relation to the conceptualization of serious leisure, the article suggests that dance competition culture is shifting towards pre-professional dance training thereby changing dance competition culture from a serious leisure pursuit into vocational training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article employs a theoretical framework, utilizing cultural analysis, to explore how the intersection in the United States between competition dance, televised dance shows, and social media (which will be defined as consumer dance) is affecting the embodiment, pedagogy, and appreciation of dance, and contributing to the objectification and commodification of these dancers. Hegemonic constructions of gender and beauty populate consumer dance, giving birth to identities that are predominately reliant on the sense of sight due to technological changes that have plunged society into a nonstop visual world found on a screen. Engaging with the scholarship of Karen Schupp, Susan Foster, and Alexis Weisbord that examines competition dance, the current consumer dance model is analyzed for how it shapes the dancer's body and psyche. As a researcher, I see an intersection of my identities as a figure skater, modern dancer, choreographer, educator, feminist, and the mother of two daughters who dance informing the trajectory of my research. This scholarship draws from different lenses delving into philosophy, dance studies, feminism, and psychology in order to reveal the complexity of the forces that create consumer dance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to reveal and problematize the multi-layered construction of whiteness in dance competition culture by illuminating assumptions about technique embedded in 'all styles' competition dancers perform on stage. The phrase 'dance all styles' is a shorthand of sorts for those in dance competition culture, as what they really mean is they dance all styles represented in competition dance. In dance competition culture, technique is key in 'all dance styles,' and over time youth unknowingly come to equate the idea of technique with the attributes of ballet inherently reinforcing whiteness as normative. Policies and practices such as competition organizations' rules and regulations, judges' commentary, and choreographic content are examined in relation to critical race theory to demonstrate how whiteness, white privilege, and white supremacy are performed on the competition stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to illuminate the challenges of integrating new technologies in private sector dance education and explores the formation of digitally mediated identities in adolescent female dancers. Autoethnographic research is supported by Foucauldian theory as well as surveillance and social media scholarship. Research examines how the imagined audience, produced by live-streamed closed-circuit television (CCTV), perpetuates the status quo in systems of Western concert dance education and creates new dimensions in dance competition culture. The values of the dominant class are embedded in institutional systems of training. Structural systems of oppression exclude marginalized groups and maintain the status quo. The argument is extended to include how the imagined audience produced by social media plays a role in reinforcing dance's established exclusionary aesthetic, as dancers create online identities to meet perceived audience expectations and build cultural capital. The discussion explores ways in which the imagined audience exacerbates current concerns in the field of dance education. Existing socioeconomic and institutional barriers perpetuate patriarchal values and reinforce gender expectations. In a post-pandemic world, teachers and students will negotiate new dimensions in dance education produced by manifestations of surveillance as this technological mediation will continue to be the norm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irish and Scottish migration to Australia included the transportation of traditional arts, including dance. Dance competitions were popular community activities, but the presence of an Irish Jig in the canon of Scottish Highland dance and its imputed association with the vaudeville 'stage Irish' provoked anger among Irish migrants. This is because it threatened their notions of the representation of Irish identity through dance. The controversy surrounding the Irish Jig in the nineteenth century was perceived by Irish dancers as illustrating the wider socio-cultural circumstances of Irish immigrants in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the tacit norms of embodied turn-taking in a specific dance activity, Lindy Hop jam circles. Building on an extensive tradition of scrutinizing turn-taking in conversation, it shows how dancing couples negotiate the right to a next turn by visual means. Using multimodal interaction analysis, the article dissects the behavior of the exiting couple, the next dancing couple, and the spectators. The analysis shows that music is but one factor in turn-taking, and that maximally three publicly visible steps are necessary for a successful entrance: displaying "couplehood," displaying imminent entrance, and occupying the exclusive central space. In a case of competition the dancers' speed and determination are decisive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States dance competition culture and commercial dance are both highly visible. Although connections between the two distinct dance worlds are implicitly present, they remain largely unexamined. To begin a conversation about how commercial dance and dance competition culture relate and their influence on dance education, this article provides a contextualization of nine dance competition teacher/choreographers' perceptions of how commercial dance and dance competition culture inform each other. Interview data reveal the impression of a strong, tangible link between commercial dance and dance competition culture, and that overlapping values point to a symbiotic relationship between the two. The positioning of commercial dance and dance competition culture as popular and accessible has a direct influence on how Americans consider and engage with dance. As such, examining dance competition teacher/choreographers' experiences provides valuable insight into the role of dance and dance education in the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1980s, Japanese dancers have won top prizes at some of the most demanding international dance competitions, and several have been promoted to the top ranks of major dance companies around the world. In this article, I explore the interplay between Japanese dancers and Western centers of dance, focusing on the paths and decisions dancers took as they went abroad to further their careers. As part of this movement, Japanese dancers are sometimes identified as such though their numbers have grown and they have become part of a globalized dance scene. At the same time, the paper explores the relationship between the development of a bodily habitus necessary to become a dancer and the artistry involved in communicating a message or emotion through the body. I argue that dancers understand their movement and growth as artists in relationship to their technique and artistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the debate over whether dance is a sport or should dance be considered as a sport. Topics include well-known dancers Mikhail Baryshnikov and Michael Jackson, modern dance pioneer Martha Graham, and dance competitions that feature different dance styles such as ballroom dance and urban dance styles.

Although star athletes have been extremely successful on the American Broadcasting Company's (ABC) reality television dance competitionDancing with the Stars, the participation of U.S. National Soccer Team goalkeeper Hope Solo created a gender performance conundrum. Embodying both athleticism; a ‘traditionally masculine’ marker and the graceful ‘femininity’ associated with ballroom dancing, Solo's emersion into competitive ballroom dancing created a notable intersection of multiple gender performances. Referring to the work of Judith Butler and Judith Halberstam on gender and masculinity, this article examines ABC's mediated construction of a tomboy narrative in order to reshape Solo's athleticism as a sign of immaturity. Through the shows' mediated portrayal of Solo's gender roles, clear lessons of the construction of gender and its narrations and performance were presented to the audience of one of America's most watched television shows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Student Dance Competition is a significant annual event in the field of dance in Taiwan supervised by the Ministry of Education. Dance pupils who participate in this competition are under the influence of their instructors and thus tend to reproduce the same culture in their socialization process. By using the Bourdieuian concepts ofhabitusandcultural reproduction, this paper brings to light the dance instructors’ pedagogic influences on the dance pupils’ training and the consequences of participating in the competition. By examining the effects of symbolic forces in the competition, this study critically examines the moulding processes of the participants’ personal, cultural and social identities during their formative training. This paper argues that such socialization processes potentially restrict the participants’ creativity and sense of agency since the individual and collective identities of a particular group often develop in similar directions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines the development of the ‘cultural competition’ as a site for the production of multiple identities by Indian American youths on American college campuses. Through the examination of two categories of folk dance competitions (bhangra and raas-garba) at a private university in Washington, DC, we argue that these competitions appear to resist hybridity and produce rhetoric that marginalizes diasporic culture in favour of the ‘pure’ and ‘authentic’ culture of the homeland. However, the goal of expressing uncontaminated ‘authentic’ culture is not realized as diasporic identities and cultures consistently interrupt and undermine homogenizing narratives of ‘tradition’ and ‘authenticity’. We also demonstrate that these folk dance groups often reinforce an ethno-regional distinctiveness rather than a hybrid or pan-Indian identity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although the Metropolitan Opera had had a ballet company since it opened in 1883, apart from opera ballets it had staged only occasional dance performances until, in 1906, the company faced intense competition from Oscar Hammerstein's Manhattan Opera, resulting in large deficits. As part of this opera war the Met expanded its offerings and in 1909 opened a ballet school. It also imported Loie Fuller's company and then Anna Pavlova and Mikhail Mordkin, who entranced audiences. The next year the pair toured the United States with a Russian troupe again to acclaim, but after quarrels in 1911-12 Mordkin alone returned, bringing new partners and Swan Lake, however with less success. Although Hammerstein's threat eventually ended, Adeline Genee also danced at the Met and plans for bringing the Diaghilev Ballets Russes were already afoot. Ballet in America was never to be the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to extend the findings obtained in previous reversal theory based dance research by investigating dancers’ perceptions of their own arousal levels and performance and their motivational states when performing. A group of modern dancers (n = 21), performing at a dance competition, acted as volunteer participants. They were subsequently divided into serious (n = 11) and playful (n = 10) groups on the basis of their Motivational Style Profile (MSP) serious–playful dimension scores. A modified ‘dance version’ of the State of Mind Indicator for Athletes (SOMIFA) was used to compare the two groups on their experience of arousal, alertness and energy and their motivational states at four different performance sessions. In addition, their self‐rated performance ratings were compared. The results are interpreted in the light of reversal theory and their implications for dance performance set out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the views of the author regarding competitive dancing. According to the author, in light of the evolution of dance competitions and the manner in which dance functions are judged, a competition may spur students to go beyond their raw talent in order to move hearts and minds. The author opines that competitive dancing is a sport in which contestants make an effort to do their best by performing beyond the expectations of experts.

The article discusses the new national program by the Education Testing Service called Arts Recognition and Talent Search which aims to encourage young people to display their talents and formally recognize individual accomplishments of promising young talents. A list of the ARTS categories where applicants can demonstrate excellence which includes dance, music and writing is included. The criteria and guidelines for selection process and the prizes up for grabs in the said event which includes Presidential Scholarships is also discussed.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics related to dance education including the development of culturally pluralist pedagogy in New Zealand, identities in dance competition, and the use of digital technology to reflect on choreography.

The article focuses on the traditional dance in the present time in Turkey. The contemporary dance in Turkey is a combination of modern dance, social dance, hip hop and jazz. Moreover, social dance was more prominent during the first years of the Republic of Turkey but has lost its fame. Relative to this, universities has revived it by way of formal events during the 1990s. Schools now compete among themselves in dance contests and the quality of social dance in Turkey has gained world status and continues to develop annually.

The article presents various responses addressing the question posted in the September 2001 issue of the journal. The query questions the compatibility of dance competitions with the artistic ideals of dance. A response from a student of the College of New Jersey states that dance was not created to be evaluated, rather, it is was formed as an outlet for emotion and expression, thus, it is unfair to say that competitive dance embodies any of the artistic ideals of dance. The student stresses further that in dance, beauty stems from intent. Another response from a student of the same college says that freedom in dance is usually lost in the hope of pleasing the judges in a competition; it is seldom that the artistic ideals of dance are conveyed in the choreography for such competitions.