Studies of social dance in Ireland between the 1930s and 1950s have generally focused on either the disciplined body of ‘Irish dance’ or on the process of disciplining those who favoured non-traditional dance forms. As a result, important aspects of social dance have been obscured. This article assesses the importance of non-traditional forms such as jazz by foregrounding the agency of its participants. It draws primarily on an ethnography of dance culture in Co. Roscommon. The approach has also been inflected by a reflexive dimension that positions the researcher within the research frame. Drawing on developments in dance anthropology, such reflexivity can operate as a useful epistemological tool that problematises the notion of objective research. The main research findings are (1) that dancers during the period, in the face of considerable opposition from cultural nationalists, participated in the construction of a vibrant, cosmopolitan and transgressive dance culture and (2) that dancing pleasures related to music, ‘communitas’ and ‘flow’ formed a central element of these dancing experiences. By according the voices of dance participants – including that of the researcher – a central place, this article places the emphasis squarely on ‘a dancing agency’.
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