Ballroom bodies: Creating the movement, creating the look

In this paper we focus on the body work ballroom and Latin dancers do to create the appearance of beautiful bodies in motion and in relation to one another. Ballroom is about two bodies moving and interacting, creating the appearance of intimate connection and of romance. It is also about performing the kind of glamour that makes the viewer believe the romance displayed before them. Creating this image involves much more than acting the role, depending on considerable body work on and off the dance floor.  Using interviews with dancers who compete professionally, supplemented by ethnography and personal experience, we explore the bodily efforts they invest do to create the image they convey/we see.