Dancing with literature: an overview of South African ballroom dancing

bibliographic database
Line

Periodical article

Title:	Dancing with literature: an overview of South African ballroom dancing
Author:	Green, Alida
Year:	2009
Periodical:	New contree: a journal of historical and human sciences for Southern Africa
Issue:	57
Pages:	53-70
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	dance social history literature reviews (form)
Abstract:	While ballroom dancing has a long-standing history in South Africa, as yet it is a fairly untraversed field of study. Given its popularity, South African ballroom dancing needs to be valued not only for its aesthetic appeal, but also for its social and cultural significance. This article presents a brief overview of the history of South African dancing literature. It also discusses current problems in writing dance history, arguing that the international literature tends to focus on the history and development of particular dances or on the dances of specific groups. It emphasizes the need for a 'new', more inclusive historical portrait of South African ballroom dancing in order to obtain an understanding of the activity in the history of the country. Notes, ref., sum. in Afrikaans. [ASC Leiden abstract]