Embodying / Moving
or how we grow into cisheteronormativity by learning how to dance
Introduction
In the DanceSport world, there is a common misconception that our dance represents who we are intrinsically, and that this extends to our gender performances. This misconception argues that who we are outside of dance shapes our dance, and that dance is gendered because we are gendered. From this standpoint, the dance itself is neutral and only becomes gendered through our interaction with it.
However, research shows that the opposite is true. In fact, the process of learning to dance actually teaches us how to use our bodies in a gendered way.¹ Through thousands of hours of practice, private and group lessons, we learn to embody our assigned gender properly. We also learn how to recognise and interpret the bodies and movements of others in a gendered way and internalise this knowledge as the norm.²
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The gendered embodied knowledge that we internalise - and which shapes our way of dancing - is influenced by hegemonic systems of oppression. This enforces a norm that functions as a form of sociopolitical control; submitting to this norm makes our bodies legible and grants us opportunities.³
More specifically, DanceSport teaches us how women and men should behave and move in the world.
It genders us through the way we relate to our bodies and automates the dances’ demands (choreohexis), the way we move our bodies (mechanics), the way we take or surrender space, and the figures we dance. Gendered dancing, which we come to accept as normal, is taught in the course of lectures, private lessons and group lessons. In the case of lectures, it looks like this:
" DanceSport teaches us how women and men should behave and move in the world."
How does the dance gender us?
1. The choreohexis
The first way in which dance influences our gender is through our connection to our own body, a concept known as "choreohexis." In his book Social Partner Dance,⁴ David Kaminsky refers to this as the "cultural indoctrination of the body." He explains that, in order for dance to function, many of its components — the mechanics, the technique and our gendered performance — must become unconscious and automated.⁵ Each dance presupposes a specific choreohexis in which certain power relations transpire that are constructed in the dance and implemented through automation in our bodies. Recognising that "power structures have constructed an historically imagined body," Kaminsky illustrates how “certain body shapes and movements mark specific identities, be they of class, race, gender, sexuality, or otherwise”.⁶
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He explains that “erect posture, firm muscle tone, and unification of the torso and hips operate as simultaneous markers of whiteness, upper-class status, and (sometimes) masculinity; while an athletic stance, looseness, and dissociation at the core mark blackness, lower-class status, and (sometimes) femininity”.⁷ In Latin DanceSport, as in other dances, these markers are multiple and separable and can be mixed and matched “to perform tensions between these identities.”
Kaminsky identifies three main categories that form the choreohexis: The shape of the body in space (that’s the posture and the level); the muscle tension (or tone); and flexibility (divided into articulation and range of motion).
The posture described in the technique books (from Laird or the WDSF) is the same for men and women, except for the WDSF book's where it is mentioned that the woman's ribcage should show a 'very slight translation forwards (1–2 cm)' and her pelvis a 'very slight anteversion backwards (1–2 cm).⁸ There is no explanation as to why this is the case, but the effect emphasises women's breasts and buttocks, which is consistent with the scene's obsession with hypersexualisation.⁹ Female partners tend to play with their heads more, while male dancers keep their spines straight from top to bottom.
" DanceSport teaches us how women and men should behave and move in the world."
2. Mechanics as gendered aesthetics:
In their book DanceSport's Economy of Desire, Val explained that gendered mechanics are central to the performance of cisheteronormative aesthetics on the dance floor.¹⁴ Depending on the gendered style in which dancers were trained, each body part is used in a slightly different manner. Women are taught to use their bodies like so:
Men, in contrast, are taught to use their bodies like so:
Keep in mind that we use a descriptive rather than a normative turn of phrase, which gives the statements an essentialising vibe. By this, we mean that saying women are like this creates the impression that they are 'naturally' like this. However, the way these statements are made in the DanceSport scene is primarily normative, i.e. dancers should move in gendered ways.
Combining gendered ways of moving happen for instance when dancers practise short solo choreographies to warm up or work on technique during group lessons. The masculine version looks slightly different to the feminine version. Gendered styles always exist in relation to each other, so we dance the routine twice, once with Giulia dancing masc and Val dancing femme, and once the other way around. Can you spot who dances what style?
At this point, we'd like to point out that clothes affect how movement (quality) is read off the body. But we have a whole tool for that, so we'll come back to it later!
3. Relationship between partners
In their book, Val showed that the relationship between partners is extremely gendered, and that the way they move through space is also
impacted by the heteronormative gender binary.
She is always described in relation to him. For example, their alignment is always referenced in relation to his central position. Their positions relative to each other — the Fan, the Promenade and the Counter Promenade — all privilege his centrality. The holds feature the illusion of masculine strength and support, objectifying feminine bodies as things held (see the hand hold variations in the shadow position in Meneau, DanceSport’s Economy of Desire).
Giulia's gender experiments in Latin DanceSport, conducted in Berlin with Harpy in the summer of 2024, revealed that leading is easier when a masculine choreohexis is embodied, as opposed to a feminine one. Because a lot of the lead and follow is about the leader indicating and containing the follower's movement, it seems that the "framing" posture works best. If we associate open elbows and a bigger posture with masculinity, then it works best for leading. Similarly, when you're following, it's best to keep the energy in the middle of your body, with your elbows and shoulder blades pulling in towards your spine. This "smallness" is often linked to femininity.
It's harder to mix and match the choreohexes, but it is still possible to do so in some ways.
When the leader and the follower both use a masc choreohexis, it feels a bit like a fight. The two centres of weight are too high up, which makes you feel disconnected (none of us two identify as a man, so this choreohexis felt pretty uncomfortable, simply because it was less familiar). When the leader and the follower both use a feminine choreohexis, they both end up doing their own thing. They both desire to be free.
2. Mechanics as gendered aesthetics:
In their book DanceSport's Economy of Desire, Val explained that gendered mechanics are central to the performance of cisheteronormative aesthetics on the dance floor.¹⁴ Depending on the gendered style in which dancers were trained, each body part is used in a slightly different manner. Women are taught to use their bodies like so:
Men, in contrast, are taught to use their bodies like so:
Keep in mind that we use a descriptive rather than a normative turn of phrase, which gives the statements an essentialising vibe. By this, we mean that saying women are like this creates the impression that they are 'naturally' like this. However, the way these statements are made in the DanceSport scene is primarily normative, i.e. dancers should move in gendered ways.
Combining gendered ways of moving happen for instance when dancers practise short solo choreographies to warm up or work on technique during group lessons. The masculine version looks slightly different to the feminine version. Gendered styles always exist in relation to each other, so we dance the routine twice, once with Giulia dancing masc and Val dancing femme, and once the other way around. Can you spot who dances what style?
"Hypersexualisation is about the direction of action - which body does what to whom - normalising two different ways of being in the body: the toucher and the touched."
But gendered choreohexis is not linked to sex. Women can also take on a masculine choreohexis just as well! Interestingly, women taking up the leader's role experience feelings of assertiveness and control. Some followers even keep their feminine choreohexis to lead, as you can see in Liza Lakovitsky and Austin Joson’s Paso doble (on the right) or in Giulia and Harpy's movement study (on the left):
4. Figure constructions
Finally, the way the Latin figures are constructed implements a specific social order in our bodies. Through three elements — segregation, specialisation and sexualisation — male and female bodies learn to embody their gendered specificity.¹⁵
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Segregation means that certain actions or steps will be performed exclusively by one gender; for example, Merengue or Rolling Off The Arms.
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Specialisation means that certain actions will be practised primarily by one gender or the other; for example, moving forward for male dancers and moving backwards for female dancers.
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Sexualisation means that the gender-specific difference in a figure sexualises the female dancer; for example, in the Reverse Turn.
This social order is evident in the choreographic differences between the two dance roles, which, as you will recall from our previous discussions, are assigned according to cisheteronormative principles. Here’s a short routine that illustrates these differences, incorporating both basic and open figures in samba - as an aside, we're not making much of an effort to appear cisheteronormative in our presentation, but we do in the way we move, to illustrate our point:
Throughout their competitive careers, dancers learn to automate the performance of their assigned gender. They learn to use their bodies, relate to each other and perform technique, mechanics, gestures and posture, as well as performing choreographies all in gendered ways. Through thousands of hours of practice, dancers learn how to behave in a masculine or feminine manner. It is through this process of training, accompanied by a consistent optimising and surveilling feedback loop from teachers, that dancers learn to conform to the norms. In this way, dance creates gendered bodies.
"Through thousands of hours of practice, dancers learn how to behave in a masculine or feminine manner."
Queering our embodiment
In DanceSport's Economy of Desire, Val explained that Latin dance technique does not require a gendered body, but an able one. Same-sex dance couples have known this for years, but Val's close analysis of dance teaching materials revealed that they are also designed in a gender-neutral manner.¹⁶ The scene is set! We can tap into the vast repertoire of movements for choreography and mix and match feminine and masculine gestures or principles within the same body.
We will need to make pragmatic decisions rather than those based on norms. Most importantly, we need to be creative and bold. Decoupling movement from gender means that anyone can pair up with anyone and that the choreographic material must be selected based on different criteria, such as who can turn better, who can follow the music more easily, who can learn movements quicker, and what brings us joy. This will require us to critically assess where each normative statement is coming from.
The only restriction is the functionality of the connection. If the partners are apart, anything goes. If they are connected, however, the connection takes priority. However, we still need to be mindful of creating consistent switching in order to prevent dance roles from becoming fixed. For more on that, see our first tool on switching!
If you want a sneak peek at what's possible, take a look at this!
"Through thousands of hours of practice, dancers learn how to behave in a masculine or feminine manner."
"We can tap into the vast repertoire of movements for choreography and mix and match feminine and masculine gestures or principles within the same body."
"We can tap into the vast repertoire of movements for choreography and mix and match feminine and masculine gestures or principles within the same body."
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