Critical Autobiography: 'Straightening' out dance education

Rehearsing masculinity: challenging the ‘boy code’ in dance education

“…Rather, this area of research suggests that the experiences of males in dance education can provide powerful insights into hegemonic assumptions about dance, gender and sexuality, as well as dominant codes that govern the former. Saul Keyworth, in his critical autobiographical (Jackson, 1990) study of himself and nine male participants, found significant feelings of isolation, both for himself and his Challenging the 'boy code' in dance education 145 physical education study's male dance participants who acknowledge their pejorative status, as the 'dancing queens' on campus (Keyworth, 2001). For this qualitative study, Keyworth employed a 'collective story' methodology (Richardson, 1990;Barone, 1992), comparing his own critical narrative with those of his peers engaged in dance study within a teacher training program for physical educators.…”

“…Recent research in dance education and physical education has begun to explore the ways in which hegemonic masculinity, as an institution, can be challenged through the participation and experiences of boys and young males in dance Keyworth, 2001;Risner, 2002a, b). Central to this work is the notion that dance education may serve as an important means for disrupting dominant cultural assumptions about acceptable ways of moving for males and to challenge cultural stereotypes about male dancers and non-heterosexual modes of sexuality.…”

“…From emerging research in the US (Risner, ,b, 2003b(Risner, , 2007Risner & Thompson, 2005;Williams, 2003), Australia (Gard, , b, 2006, the United Kingdom (Keyworth, 2001), and Finland (Lehikoinen, 2005), the aim of this paper is to identify and synthesize literature that investigates the ways in which male youth in dance experience heterocentric bias, gender norms, and gendered bodies, as well as social pressures through dominant cultural ideology in dance training and education. Presented as a review of literature, this paper examines social questions of gender, difference, pleasure, marginalization, and the larger effects of contemporary masculinity within the realm of dance education.…”

Heterotopias in physical education: towards a queer pedagogy?

“…Other researchers have explored alternative approaches to the technical one (e.g. Richardson and Oslin 2003;Keyworth 2001). …”

When a boy's gotta dance: new masculinities, old pleasures

“…Despite the relatively recent popular (films such as Billy Elliot and Bootmen) and academic (Burt, 1995;Desmond, 2001;Gard, 2001;Keyworth, 2001;Gard, 2006) attention paid to men and boys who dance, their reasons for doing so (and, equally importantly, refusing to) remain under explored. The one exception to this has been in the area of performance studies, particularly in the work of scholars influenced by queer theory, where the intersections of gender, sexuality, the body and a variety of dance forms and traditions have been fruitfully researched (in particular, see Desmond, 2001).…”