This fascinating book explores the rich history of exhibition ballroom dancing from its heyday in the 1910s to the present. Julie Malnig's record of this intimate, theatrical genre of dance features male-female teams--idolized as theatre personalities in cabaret, vaudeville, musicals, and, later, as stars of film and television. Both role models and teachers, exhibition ballroom teams showed the public exciting new forms and styles.

Exhibition ballroom dancing is examined as a cultural and social phenomenon promoting new cultural standards, including the emancipation of women...

Malnig examines exhibition ballroom dance as both a theatrical genre and a cultural and social phenomenon, promoting new cultural standards, including the emancipation of women and a new casualness and spontaneity between the sexes. A lively and thorough account of a dance form that has found renewed popularity in recent years.

This dynamic collection documents the rich and varied history of social dance and the multiple styles it has generated, while drawing on some of the most current forms of critical and theoretical inquiry. The essays cover different historical periods and styles; encompass regional influences from North and South America, Britain, Europe, and Africa; and emphasize a variety of methodological approaches, including ethnography, anthropology, gender studies, and critical race theory. While social dance is defined primarily as dance performed by the public in ballrooms, clubs, dance halls, and...