Item Detail
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22720
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0
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0
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English
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Hooked On Ballroom : An Ethnographic Look at the Sport that Took Utah by Storm
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Provo, UT
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Brigham Young University
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105
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Master's thesis
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"My main goal in conducting the field work for this project and then analyzing this data was to explore why ballroom dance has found such a home in Utah Valley. I wanted to know if there were cultural reasons behind the popularity of the sport in the region. On another level, I wanted to investigate whether ballroom dance was indeed a viable folkloric expression of cultural beliefs. Chapter One is focused on establishing the validity of ballroom dance as a folkloric expression of human culture. In this light, I have reviewed traditional folklore theory and explored the current trends in the field. These current trends point to a broadening of the traditional views of who can produce true folklore. I highlight these notions in order to establish the folkloric nature of ballroom dance and introduce my ethnographic study of the sport. Chapter Two explores the links between local Latter-day Saint religious culture and participation in ballroom dance. Presented are a history of social dancing in the Church and a discussion of how this tradition of dancing continues with modern ballroom dancing, especially at BYU. Connections are made between local ideas of morality and how values are taught and learned through involvement in ballroom dance. Chapter Three highlights the relationship between regional social values and ballroom dance. It explores how local participants hope to teach values like work ethic and proper gender relationships through ballroom dance and how parents involve their children in the sport to keep them out of trouble. I also discuss how local focus on the importance of family is related to the popularity of this particular sport in the area." [Author's abstract]