The dialogical dance: self, identity construction, positioning and embodiment in tango dancers

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Sciences
• Cultural Studies

Background:

• Argentine tango is a global phenomenon encompassing music, dance, and lifestyle, practiced by millions worldwide.
• Studying tango provides a unique opportunity to develop dialogical theorizing and methodologies, integrating historical, systemic, and individual experiential dimensions.
• Tango, as a product of the human psyche, generates universal representations of life from situated individual acts, forming a tradition that frames personal experiences.

Observation:

• An ethnographic study was conducted within a community of Italian tango dancers.
• The research focused on how participants construct and enact their identities within the tango community.

Findings:

• Participants actively construct and actuate their identities through a continuous dialogue between their internal 'I-positions' and their roles within the external tango community.
• The study highlights the dialogical nature of self-formation, influenced by both individual experiences and the established traditions of tango.

Implications:

• The findings suggest that understanding social phenomena like tango can offer insights into identity construction and self-actuation in other cultural contexts.
• This research advocates for dialogical approaches in psychology and social sciences to better understand the interplay between individual experience and social/cultural frameworks.
• The study underscores the significance of tradition as a framework for making sense of individual experiences within a social practice.