UCLA Center for the Study of Women

In the traditional conceptions of gender role assignments for pair-dancing, the woman is typically conceptualized as a passive follower. However, if we examine the flow between the two dancers more closely, we can see that the interaction is far more complex. In partner dancing, partners cannot be understood as separate parts, but must be analyzed as a single whole and experiential body. The whole lived body is an intentional body, which is lived through and in relation to possibilities in the world. In order for the dance to go smoothly and successfully, there has to be clear bilateral communication between the man and the women, such as being able to interpret changes in pressure, position, and weight that signal a change in the movement and the direction of the dance. In this way, dance is like a conversation; like any conversation, roles and power are negotiated and not necessarily given, giving agency toboth men and women.