The sociology of street dance

This week, I attended a lecture titled “The Sociology of Street Dance,” delivered by several postgraduate seniors in a clear and engaging way.

Last weekend, I also joined another lecture on “Research on the Sociology of Street Dance,” where four postgraduates shared their research findings with us.

The first senior discussed the development of street dance in ethnic minority regions. I was surprised to learn that only around 200 people in Tibet have ever learned street dance. She introduced various approaches to promoting it, such as integrating elements of Tibetan folk dance. The second senior focused on the working mechanisms of street dance teachers. She spent three months conducting fieldwork with children’s street dance teachers in Shandong, eventually completing her thesis based on these in-depth observations.

The lecture attracted numerous street dance enthusiasts, including professional teachers, competition judges, and—most importantly—college students interested in the art form. After the lecture, everyone actively asked questions, most of which focused on whether street dance can be considered a legitimate art form.

The lecture gave me new insights into the localized adaptation of street dance. I think it is relatively easy to incorporate local elements into music—lyrics can be freely created beyond the constraints of melody. Dance, however, has certain stylistic conventions, which makes blending street dance with ethnic dance styles more challenging. Thus, how to effectively leverage the diversity of China’s 56 ethnic groups in street dance remains a question worthy of further exploration.

Meanwhile, I also learned about several sociological research methods, including participatory research, fieldwork, and user interviews, which are essential during investigations, as well as comparative research, which should be applied more extensively when reviewing literature. After attending this lecture, I feel that my academic skills have been significantly strengthened.

The lecture was organized by Professor Zhou Mujun from the Department of Sociology at Zhejiang University. As a street dance enthusiast herself, Professor Zhou is extremely approachable and even recommended some dance studios around the campus to us.

The lecture was organized by Professor ZHOU Mujun from the Department of Sociology. As a street dance enthusiast herself, Professor Zhou is extremely approachable and even recommended several dance studios around campus to us.