When Men Dance explores the intersection of dance and perceptions of male gender and sexuality across history and in different cultural contexts. In many societies, the public performance of dance is regarded as a feminine activity, so that men who dance often operate in a sea of stereotypes. This volume's scholarly essays tackle the history and dilemmas that revolve around dance and notions of masculinity from a variety of dance studies perspectives. Accompanying the essays is a group of engaging oral histories that complement their themes. The dancing male body emerges in its ... More

When Men Dance explores the intersection of dance and perceptions of male gender and sexuality across history and in different cultural contexts. In many societies, the public performance of dance is regarded as a feminine activity, so that men who dance often operate in a sea of stereotypes. This volume's scholarly essays tackle the history and dilemmas that revolve around dance and notions of masculinity from a variety of dance studies perspectives. Accompanying the essays is a group of engaging oral histories that complement their themes. The dancing male body emerges in its many contexts, from the ballet, modern, and popular dance worlds to stages in Georgian and Victorian England, Weimar Germany, India, and the Middle East. The men who dance and those who analyze them tell stories that will be both familiar and surprising for insiders and outsiders alike.