‘Strictly Ballroom’: the Physical School and Space

Abstract

When the dance is due to begin, the participants are encouraged to arrive punctually and in an orderly manner into the large complex of dance venues. Different steps are practised in different places — break-dancing in the yard, hip-hop in the corridors, and in the various smaller rooms the dancers follow an assigned route from waltz instruction to fox-trot, ballet, mazurka, tango, samba. Some dancers occupy the centre-stage, some take up a lot of space, whilst others dance in the sidelines and the ‘wallflowers’ watch in the margins. On festive occasions the dancers gather in the hall where performances are laid on.