Although detailing various leisure time dance activities, the previous literature shares several
common themes. The meaning of increased competition in commercialised dance has evoked
significant debate among scholars. The popular televised reality shows now cement competition
as a central aspect of dance that then is reflected by practices inside and outside of dance
studios. The researchers are concerned that competition limits the potential diversity and
creativity of dance to increase pressures to conform to a commercially endorsed, narrow image of
dance. While there are non-competitive forms of recreational dance such as community dance or
dance exercise, these are either less visible or can be permeated by the commercial ethos of the
fitness industry or the neoliberal individualism of the health industry. The articles in this
special issue reflect these debates by engaging both with initiatives that aim to operate outside
of commercialised, competitive dance or tackle the issue full on by tracing the impact of the
increased emphasis of competition on dance as a serious leisure activity.
Recreational dance emerges as predominantly women’s culture in the literature. Where men are
involved (e.g. ballet, social and ballroom, street dance), their masculinity is reinforced by
emphasising traditionally masculine movement patterns that require power and strength or a leading
position. While this special issue did not solicit research on women dancers, most of the research
in it focuses on women. This illuminates the current value system of recreational dance that while
possibly aiming for further inclusion of diverse individuals, continues to attract girls and women
(who, nevertheless, can represent significant cultural diversity).
The research on recreational dance tends to reflect popular trends within Anglo-American cultures
of the UK, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In the globalised, commercialised
dance culture, several Asian dance styles, for example, Bollywood or K-pop, have also gained
significant visibility across the world, yet there is less research on these dance industries and
their impact on leisure cultures. In addition, there are, of course, numerous ethnic and folk dance
forms, for example, in Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Central America, Europe as well as Native American
dances in South and North America with distinctive contexts, gender roles, and movement
vocabularies that enrich their cultural contexts. Currently included mainly in the anthropological
literature, the unique, localised characteristics of these dances in the increasingly globalised,
commercialised culture deserve increased research attention also in leisure studies.
Against this context, the authors of this special issue introduce a variety of dancers from diverse
cultural backgrounds, ages, and sexual orientations participating in several recreational dance
forms ranging from salsa and Guangchangwu to ballet and somatic dance classes. They consider
how a variety of dance movement cultures are employed to fulfill different leisure aspirations.
Their examinations approach dance as leisure culture from a wide range of theoretical
perspectives (e.g. poststructuralist Foucauldian and Deleuzian perspectives, critical feminism,
physical cultural studies, and serious leisure) to illustrate how dance can become a meaningful
leisure practice as it reflects or transforms the dominant cultural values of art, competition, the
feminine body, or health.