[Book launch] Equality Dancesport: Gender and Sexual Identities Matter
The Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies (CIGS) and the School of Sociology and Social Policy (SSP) at the University of Leeds cordially invites you to the launch of a new book, Equality DanceSport: Gender and Sexual Identities Matter. This event is part of SSP lunch research seminar and is also part of the LGBT+ history month 2025 programme of the university.
Event Details:
5th February 2025
12:30 - 13:45 hours
Social Science Building 12.21/12.25
Presenter: Dr Yen Nee Wong
Discussant panel: Prof Vicki Harman, Dr Karen Wood, Dr Kathryn Stamp
Equality DanceSport: Gender and Sexual Identities Matter is the first ethnographic exploration of the LGBT+ competitive ballroom dance subculture in the United Kingdom. Through a queer feminist lens, Yen Nee Wong takes readers through the initiation journey of becoming an equality dance competitor, providing vivid illustrations of the diverse ways in which LGBT+ dancers materialise gender and sexuality through moving and dancing bodies. Contributing to our thinking around sex, gender and sexuality, this book highlights the work involved in the production and performance of gender and sexual bodies.
The event is a must-attend for students and scholars across the social sciences studying sociology, gender, sexuality, queer theory, sports studies, cultural politics, dance and leisure consumption, as well as Strictly enthusiasts, dance educators and dancers.
Prof Vicki Harman is a Professor in Sociology at the University of Reading. She is the author of The Sexual Politics of Ballroom Dancing (Palgrave: 2019). Her research interests centre on social identities and social inequalities, consumption and family life. Vicki is Co-Editor in Chief of the Journal Sociology.
Dr Karen Wood is an artistic researcher, facilitator and educator. She works at the Centre for Dance Research at Coventry University, as Associate Professor and Birmingham Dance Network as Co-Director. Her current research interests are exploring concepts of collaboration, ethics of care and responsibility, representation, collective identities and leadership in relation to dance practices, specifically freelance dance artists and cultural policy. She was awarded a British Academy Innovation Fellowship to examine the working conditions of freelance dance artists in the UK. Access and inclusion were key to this work and are foundations of her research. She was Principal Investigator for the AHRC/ BBC Strictly Inclusive project and continues to work with the BBC exploring representation on Strictly Come Dancing.
Dr. Kathryn Stamp is a passionate dance researcher, dedicated to exploring how dance fosters inclusion, education, and well-being. Currently working as Assistant Professor at Coventry University’s Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRE), her work spans critical pedagogy, inclusive practice, and dance’s role beyond traditional health settings. Kathryn co-leads the AHRC-funded Critical Dance Pedagogy network and is a fervent advocate for public engagement through projects like ‘Strictly’ Inclusive (AHRC and BBC funded). Her publications include Ethical Agility in Dance (Routledge, 2023) and recently published Dancing (Emerald Publishing, 2024). She chairs the Society for Dance Research and is a Dance HE board member.
Dr Yen Nee Wong is a Lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds. Their research interests are in the sociology of partner dancing, queer theory, genders, sexualities, embodiment, media and culture. Yen Nee’s most recent project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), examined the materialisation and expression of genders and sexualities among LGBT+ equality dancers in the United Kingdom, and the media representation of same-sex dancing on British reality TV show Strictly Come Dancing. Yen Nee’s research lies at the intersections of media and culture, gender, sexuality, sociology of the body and queer theory, and have published extensively in these areas.