The Habitus of Dancing

Abstract

This article uses Bourdieu’s cultural framework to analyze the social determinants and internal logic of a swing dance field in New York City. Using habitus, field, hexis, and cultural capital, the author offers an ethnographic analysis of how former members of punk subcultures transposed their durable, familial-based dispositions into the swing dance field. Likewise, this article explores the homologies between the fields of punk and swing and examines the influence of the agents’ class backgrounds. To conclude, the author considers possible extensions of Bourdieu for future studies of American leisure and consumption.