Soviet bodies in Canadian DanceSport
Identities and culture in four competitive ballroom dance studios
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21718878 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David Outevsky (0000-0002-1848-6980, School of Creative and Performing Arts, University of Calgary Faculty of Arts, Dance, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 189-209 |
| Publication date | 2024-04-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Research in Dance Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1464-7893 • E-ISSN: 1470-1111 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14647893.2022.2075335 |
| OpenAlex | W4282592114 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 7 |
This article examines the processes of cultural transfer and cross-pollination within four diasporic DanceSport studios located in major cities in Canada. It focuses on first- and second-generation Soviet-Canadian competitive ballroom dancers and their experiences with identity as a diasporic community. Through an ethnographic study, it explores the adaptations of these dancers to the Canadian DanceSport industry and the roots of their teaching methodologies in Soviet physical culture. Using narrative vignettes based on fieldwork and examined through a Dance Studies lens, this article shows how the participants navigated the expectations of their parents’ and coaches’ traditional Soviet upbringing and used multicultural identities in their approach to dance practice and daily interactions. This analysis is tied to the parallel yet divergent evolution of educational methodologies in the former USSR and Canada and illustrates how the DanceSport industry was nudged by these migrant dancers toward a focus on athletic excellence, while the dancers themselves adapted to social dance pedagogy and commercialization of ballroom dance in North America. Using interview excerpts and observations, this research gives voice to practitioners and aims to increase awareness of migration flows and cultural influences in DanceSport
Art · Ballroom · Choreography · Dance · Dance education · Studio · Visual arts · Diversity and Impact of Dance · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · Sports, Gender, and Society
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |