Transforming Identities through Dance: Amateur Noh Performers’ Immersion in Leisure.

While the performance of its celebrated actors is often in the limelight, an equally important, but often unremarked, element of the Noh world is the many amateur performers who engage in the practice as a leisure activity. This article explores the shifts in identity that women say occur through Noh practice. I examine the ‘states of being’ that arise through these performances, and explore how women say Noh practice contributes to their life course development. Drawing on ethnographic research, I examine how the process of learning Noh intertwines with the everyday lives of women amateurs, and how the rigours and pleasures of learning Noh take on a particular significance as women grow older. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]