Paper short abstract:

Dance is a feat of illusion in time and space performed by tricksters. This paper explores the arts of these feats when time appears as contorted as the body whether it is internal and phenomenological or external and illusory. Together they evince creative capitalisation of an exploitative concept.

Paper long abstract:

Dance is a feat of illusion in time and space. It is performed by tricksters: in a tango step, the leader is ahead of the beat so that the follower steps on time; in popping and strobbing, there is a freeze of the body followed by muscular flexing and contraction; in a salsa performance, a dance with the clave plays with time to emphasise a move; in a tango traspie step, syncopation gives the appearance of a fall; in street dance the elastic, sequenced orientation of the feet results in a floating moonwalk. Time, in these occasions, is seemingly stretched, compressed, practiced and played with from different angles by participants in their own time-flows on the dance floor during their 'timeout' leisure pursuits. This paper explores the arts of these feats, the training and practice, the motivations and meanings lying within their accomplishment, and their performance and effects on the social dance floor and the professional dance stage. In each case, time appears as contorted as the body whether it is internal and phenomenological or external and illusory. Together, they evince a creative capitalisation of a generally exploitative concept.