Rethinking Belonging: Layers of Identity Expressed through Folk Dancing
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| Year of publication | 2026 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Folk dance is not only a performance of tradition but also a communicative practice through which individuals express who they are in relation to territory, community, gender, or lifestyle. Building on previous research on regional identity articulated through dance at traditional feasts in Southern Moravia, the presentation expands the focus beyond locality to explore multiple layers of identity embedded in the act of folk dancing. From a constructivist perspective, identity is not fixed but built through specific contexts, roles, and interactions. Folk dance provides a rich field for observing how identities are constructed, expressed, and negotiated. Gender roles, for instance, are clearly inscribed in the structure of traditional pair dance. The idea of men's and women's identity is particularly ingrained in individual male dances such as verbuňk, or rather collective forms of female circle dances. Another dimension of belonging emerges in the shared commitment to folk dancing itself. Especially among members of folk ensembles, the primary interest in folklore often extends into a lifestyle, a form of tradition transmitted across generations and fostering strong group identities. Imagining all the folk dancers as part of a broader social, cultural, and physical environment allows us to approach this sphere as a dancescape. Asking whether individuals can relate to such an abstractly defined environment might help us better understand the notion of a broader “folklore identity” in local, national, or even international range. |
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