Publisher Description

Tango and the Dancing Body in Istanbul explores the expansion of social Argentine tango dancing among Muslim actors in Turkey, pioneered in Istanbul despite the conservative rule of the Justice and Development Party (JDP) and Tayyip Erdoan.In this book, Melin Levent Yuna questions why a dance that appears to publicly represent an erotic relationship finds space to expand and increase dramatically in the number of contemporary Turkish Muslim tango dancers, particularly during a conservative rule. Even during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, tango dance classes, gatherings, and messages flourished on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Zoom. Urban Turkey and its tango dance performances provide one symbol and example of how neoliberal capitalism could go hand in hand with conservatism by becoming a bridge between Europe and the Middle East. This study largely focuses on the dancers' perspective while presenting the policies of Erdoan. It presents the social characteristics of the tango dancers, the meanings they attach to their bodies and their dance as well as what this dance reflects about them – besides the policies of the Justice and Development Party. The book approaches the tango dance and its dancing body in terms of layers of meaning systems in a neoliberal and conservative context. This study will be of great interest to students and scholars in dance, anthropology, cultural studies, and performance studies.

Author Biography

Melin Levent Yuna is a sociologist and a cultural anthropologist at Acbadem University, teaching various classes on these areas. In addition to her MA in sociology and PhD in cultural anthropology, she is a tango dancer herself, and has had a deep interest in Argentine tango dancing for many years.

Table of Contents

Preface Introduction I Concepts and tools: Contemporary self, identity, class, and moreA ReintroductionII Leisure, consumption, and class – One mode of being an upper-middle class III Becoming the conteporary tango dancer: Bailemos el TangoIV One mode of being an upper – middle class in Istanbul – Bodies, self, and the attached meanings, Part IV Bodies, self, and the attached meanings, Part IIVI Bodies, self, and the attached meanings, Part IIIConclusionIndex

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