CHRISTINE M. KNIGHT

In the 1990s when involved in background research for In and Out of Step, I was struck by the way traditional gender roles were reinforced during the process of learning ballroom dance even though in non-dance environments there had been significant gains in gender equality. Students came to the dance floor as ‘equals in ignorance’ and the ritual of role was imposed on them. As dance novices, girls and women were drilled with, “Whatever you do, don’t lead! Be alert to your partner’s cues and submit to his intent”. This advice contrasted with the reality of the dance floor. Male partners, irrespective of their age, seemed quite happy to let their female counterparts lead if that meant the male avoided the embarrassment of being visibly out of step on the dance floor.

In this blog, I focus on characterisation and setting in 'In and Out of Step' as a means of exploring the barriers to belonging and overcoming them. Linked to this is the potential of an individual to bring people together and lower if not remove barriers through the use of language, thereby enriching the group. As noted in the earlier blogs on Belonging, Cassie Sleight, in seeking a seachange at the start of her teaching career, had also chosen exile for compelling, personal reasons. She then found herself confronted by a range of unexpected issues in her new workplace.

Belonging may involve a personal context that links to identity and a sense of completeness. For Cassie Sleight, dance allowed her to feel intense passion safely without fear of being overpowered and the related consequences - a loss of self. Belonging in the two excerpts below deals with her reconnecting to emotions long denied and the beginning of a return to a complete sense of personal identity.

One of the settings created for 'In and Out of Step' is a high school. It represents a microcosm of society with diverse generations. Everyone has a school experience and can relate to that environment. The school subplot, in part, works as an extended metaphor about BELONGING.

ALL PAGE REFERENCES REFER TO THE SECOND EDITION OF 'IN AND OUT OF STEP'

Belonging is a deep genetic drive. We are herd creatures first and foremost. You can see this in even the smallest of children who may not play together but like to play near each other.