The Nature of the Ballet and Hip-Hop Dancer Identity

Abstract

This study examines how the environment and the socialization that ensues shape individuals’ attitudes and meanings in the situation of being a dancer. In turn, these attitudes and meanings in the situation may influence the “tightness” of the dancer identity, or how hard people seek to match situational meanings, including how they think other people see them, with how they see themselves as a dancer. Data were collected through field observations and semi-structured interviews. Findings suggest that how the environment is structured and the socialization that accompanies it may influence dancer identity meanings that are more tightly controlled for a ballet dancer compared to meanings that are more loosely controlled for a hip-hop dancer.