Paper short abstract:

This paper focuses on the hesitation and the moments of uncertainty in the Athenian Goth clubs’ dance practices. Exploring the relations of movement and space will be illuminated how the above are parts of crossing boundaries in Goth hierarchies and how these are being negotiated in dance.

Paper long abstract:

This paper focuses on the hesitation and the moments of uncertainty in the Athenian (GR) Goth clubs' dance floors and how this hesitation and uncertainty are componenta of crossing boundaries in Goth hierarchies.

Reflexive and autobiographical narratives combined with ethnographic data are used and Goth identity is viewed as a performative process suggesting that the presentation of 'gothness' during dancing helps its members to obtain subcultural capital.

As subcultural theorists suggest, subcultures obfuscate class but contain their own forms of social hierarchies. For the analysis of the rules of Goth social hierarchies, Sarah Thornton's model for subcultural capital is used. Gothic subcultural capital is mainly attained by adopting specific style (dress, dance), participating in events, having in scene knowledge and being in a Goth circle with high subcultural capital.

Because the purpose of this paper is to explore dance practices, it explores the kinetic rules of Goth dance styles and tries to understand the hesitation of 'newbies' to enter the dance floor and the uncertainty of their movement. It also ties to connect dancers' subcultural capital with the spatial preferences of their performance on the dance floor, out of it or on clubs' stage. In the Athenian Goth network, most participants have got to know each other. Performing dance is a moment of uncertainty because, while one present one's 'gothness' in the dance floor, most attendees gossip dancer's act as a result of one's revaluation subcultural capital and, consequently, one's place in Goth hierarchies.