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Brownface: Representations of Latin-ness in Dancesport

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2014

Juliet McMains
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Extract

The overwhelming stench of alcohol hovers in the hotel bathroom as my dance partner lathers a fourth layer of brown body paint onto my belly. “You have to learn how to apply your tan properly,” he admonishes sternly as I squirm under the sting of chemicals burning my skin. After rejecting twelve self-tanning products, I have finally found one that stains my fair skin dark enough for me to “pass” as a professional Latin dancesport competitor. Dancesport refers to a highly stylized version of ballroom dancing performed in competition circuits across the United States, Europe, and Asia. International Style Dancesport encompasses both the standard category, comprised of dances most readily associated with aristocratic ballrooms (e.g., waltzes and foxtrots), and the Latin division. Among the many rituals I scoff at in this sport I love to hate is the mandate that any competitor who wishes to be taken seriously must cover his or her body with brown paint. At twenty-seven dollars a bottle, the German made PROFI-TAN-Intensive-Latin-Color is my product of choice. After three generous coats of the bronze elixir have absorbed into my skin, my “brownface” is complete, and I am ready to withstand an entire evening of competition cha-chas.

Type
Articles
Information
Dance Research Journal , Volume 33 , Issue 2 , Winter 2001 , pp. 54 - 71
Copyright
Copyright © Congress on Research in Dance 2001

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