De que maneira a relação entre o contexto histórico, o imaginário do tango argentino e o método Dinzel de ensinamento é capaz de contribuir para o ensino e a aprendizagem do tango dança? Esta foi a pergunta que norteou este trabalho de dissertação. O presente texto apresenta informações históricas, contextualizadas socioculturalmente, e sintetiza o método de dança do professor e Tangueiro Rodolfo Dinzel e suas aplicações práticas. Entremeado com estes conteúdos, o autor revela suas descobertas como tangueiro e como professor de tango no decorrer deste estudo, e juntamente com suas descobertas traz contribuições contextuais da prática pessoal no tango. Esta dissertação se concentra na área de Práticas e processos em artes do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Artes da UFU e tem como objetivo oferecer aos interessados um texto funcional para o ensinoaprendizagem do tango em âmbito extra-acadêmico. Intenta-se com isso facilitar uma vivência significativa do processo de aprendizagem, uma vez que se propõe ser uma ferramenta para reinventar continuamente as formas de ensinar. Nesta perspectiva o aluno é convidado a descobrir o seu próprio bailar. E por fim, chegamos a conclusão de que o método Dinzel pode contribuir exponencialmente para a qualidade e consciência do bailado do tango. / In which way is the relation between the historical context, the imagination of the Argentine tango and the Dinzel teaching method able to contribute for the education and learning of the tango? This was the question that guided this dissertation project. This text presents historical socioculturally contextualized data; it summarizes the teacher and Tanguero Rodolfo Dinzel’s dance method and its practical applications. Interspersed with these contents, the author reveals his findings as a Tanguero and tango teacher throughout this study; and along with his findings, he makes contextual contributions considering his personal tango practice. The goal of this dissertation, which is focused on the area of artistic practices and processes of the Postgraduate Program in Arts of UFU, is to offer a functional text for the education and learning process of the tango, in an environment that can go beyond the university walls. Proposed as a tool to continuously reinvent the way of teaching tango, this dissertation aims to facilitate the creation of a meaningful experience of the learning process. In this perspective, students are invited to discover their own way of dancing. As a conclusion, one can say that the Dinzel method is able to contribute exponentially to the quality and awareness in the tango dance. / Dissertação (Mestrado)

[pt] No intuito de contribuir com as recentes abordagens de marketing e de comportamento do consumidor que tratam de tribos e comunidades pós-modernas (Cova, 1997; Cova e Cova, 2002), e seguindo o caminho da coletivização na literatura de sociologia (Bauman, 2003; Maffesoli, 2002), que discute o retorno do homem contemporâneo a uma nova busca pela coletividade, esta pesquisa, de caráter qualitativo, tem como principal objetivo colaborar para o entendimento da dinâmica de adoção à prática da dança de salão, esta entendida como o conjunto de danças praticadas a dois (Massena, 2006). Para isto, foi investigado se (e como) esta atividade exerce o papel de valor de ligação (Cova, 1997) entre os membros da comunidade da dança, e identificado se outros bens e serviços relacionados a esta atividade também exercem essa função de valor de ligação. Deste modo, vinte pessoas (oito do sexo masculino e doze do sexo feminino), moradores do Rio de Janeiro e alunos de uma renomada escola de dança de salão do bairro de Botafogo, foram submetidas a entrevistas em profundidade, ao longo do mês de fevereiro de 2008. Os resultados sugerem que a dança de salão funciona como valor de ligação entre os membros dessa comunidade, uma vez que, segundo os informantes, esse serviço é muito mais um elemento de conexão com o outro que um elemento individualizante e diferenciador. Entretanto, não ficou evidente a existência de outros produtos relacionados a esta atividade que funcione como valor de ligação. / [en] In intention to contribute with the recent approaches of marketing and consumer behavior that deal with tribes and postmodern communities (Cova, 1997; Cova and Cova, 2002), and following the way of the collectivization in the literature of sociology (Bauman, 2003; Maffesoli, 2002), that discuss the return of the contemporary man to a new search for the collectivity, this research, of qualitative character, have as main objective to collaborate for the understanding of the dynamics of adoption to the practical of the ballroom dancing, this understood as the set of practiced danced by two (Massena, 2006). For this, it was investigated if (and as) this activity exerts the function of linking value (Cova, 1997) enters the members of the community of the dance, and identified if other related goods and services to this activity also they exert this function of linking value. In this way, twenty people (eight of masculine sex and twelve of the feminine sex), inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro and pupils of a famous ballroom dancing school from the neighborhood of Botafogo, had been submitted the interviews, throughout the February of 2008. The results suggest that the ballroom dancing functions as linking value between the members of this community, according to informants, this service is much more an element of connection with the other than a individual and differentiator element. However, the existence of other products related to this activity was not evident that functions as linking value.

In the theoretical part there are approximated ballroom and latin dancing, theory of motives, achievement motivation, causal attributions, emotions and the flow-experience. In the second part are formulated hypotheses and described the methods of work. In the final part of the text there are explicated research data, discussed hypotheses and summarized the results. The full computer output is included in the annexes.

Este trabalho trata da circulação de notícias do maxixe brasileiro nos jornais estadunidenses no começo do século XX. Os periódicos colhidos no repositório Newspaperarchive foram sistematizados nos moldes de um corpus documental. Este foi o principal objetivo do trabalho ora apresentado: produzir um instrumento de pesquisa através da construção de uma coletânea com todas as matérias a respeito do maxixe brasileiro, publicadas nos jornais dos Estados Unidos, na forma de anúncios, artigos, contos, notas, notícias e poemas, entre 1906 momento em que encontramos a primeira notícia focalizando o tema , e o final dos anos 1930, quando já vinha se desenvolvendo no Brasil uma música tipicamente nacional e os produtos da cultura brasileira já tinham circulado pelo mundo, especialmente Europa e Estados Unidos. No período estudado, música popular é música de divertimento, feita para dançar. Dançar nos salões do Brasil, nos dancings de Paris, nos ballrooms americanos, mais do que moda, era uma forma de participar da sociedade, de se inteirar das novidades, dos passos mais conhecidos, afinal a música popular e a dança coreográfica são expressões artísticas que transitam entre as diferentes classes sociais. O maxixe nasceu miscigenado, reflete a misturada de ritmos e gêneros, presentes no Brasil desde o século XVIII, como o batuque, o lundu (ambos de matriz africana). Mas, recebeu também forte influência de gêneros europeus como a modinha, e mais tarde da polca (século XIX) e do choro uma invenção brasileira. Como toda dança, causou escândalo quando surgiu, em virtude dos movimentos considerados ousados, extravagantes e lascivos. Pouco a pouco, os passos exibidos nos cabarés do Rio de Janeiro transformaram-se, adequando-se aos ambientes dignos da sociedade brasileira, e é assim que passam a ocupar os salões frequentados pelas classes mais abastadas. No eixo internacional, Paris foi a bússola que orientou e pautou os códigos de comportamento no mundo inteiro, principalmente durante a Belle Époque. As viagens de músicos, agentes, mecenas etc. e de objetos sonoros através do Atlântico são vistas pela perspectiva da transculturação. O contato entre grupos de culturas diferentes contribui para que os artistas e sua arte se transformem e isso ocorre independente do processo de dominação econômica, uma vez que todos passam por mudanças (dominados e dominantes). Por outro lado, o conceito de triangulação é apropriado para compreender o modo como circulam os objetos sonoros e dançantes, e proporciona o mapeamento dos lugares por onde transitaram tais objetos, colaborando para a percepção dos aspectos que estão em jogo na circulação deles. Nos Estados Unidos, as escolas, as universidades e a técnica, de um lado; e a família e os professores de dança, de outro, foram centrais ao processo de branqueamento que permitiu a aceitação do maxixe. Por outro lado, o teatro de caráter trovadoresco - onde se inclui o vaudeville e, mais tarde, os musicais no teatro e no cinema, colaboraram para que a música e a dança maxixe continuassem presentes naquele país, avançando além dos anos 1930. A difusão do maxixe obedeceu à lógica da indústria cultural, articulando-se aos mecanismos de reprodutibilidade próprios do mercado. / This paper explores the circulation of Brazilian maxixe news in American newspapers at the beginning of the 20th century. The journals collected in the Newspaperarchive repository were systematized in the form of a documentary corpus. This was the main objective of the work presented here: to produce a research instrument through the construction of a collection of all the Brazilian maxixe materials, published in the United States newspapers, in the form of advertisements, articles, short stories, notes, news and poems, between 1906 - when we found the first news focusing on the theme - and the late 1930s, when Brazilian music was already developing in Brazil, and the products of Brazilian culture had already circulated throughout the world, especially in Europe and the United States. In the period studied, popular music is fun music, made for dancing. Dancing in the halls of Brazil, in the dancings of Paris, in the American ballrooms, more than fashion, was a way to participate in society, to find out about the news, the best known steps, after all, popular music and choreographic dance are artistic expressions which pass through the different social classes. Maxixe was born miscegenated, reflects the \"mixed\" rhythms and genres, present in Brazil since before the 18th century, such as the batuque, the lundu (both African matrix). But it was also strongly influenced by European genres such as modinha, and later by the polka (19th century) and choro - a Brazilian invention. Like all dance, it caused scandal when it arose, by virtue of the movements considered daring, extravagant and lascivious. Little by little, the steps displayed in the cabarets of Rio de Janeiro were transformed, adapting themselves to the \"dignified\" places of Brazilian society, and that is how they began to occupy the ballrooms frequented by the wealthiest classes. On the international axis, Paris was the compass that guided and led the codes of behavior throughout the world, especially during the Belle Époque. The trips of musicians, agents, patrons, etc. and sound objects across the Atlantic are seen from the perspective of transculturation. The contact between groups of different cultures contributes to the transformation of artists and their art, and this occurs independently of the process of economic domination, since all undergo changes (dominated and dominant). On the other hand, the concept of triangulation is appropriate to understand the way the sound and dance objects circulate, and it provides a mapping of the places through which these objects transited, collaborating to the perception of the aspects that are at play in their circulation. In the United States, schools, universities and technique, on the one hand; And family and dance teachers on the other, were central to the bleaching process that allowed the acceptance of the maxixe. On the other hand, theater like a vaudeville and, later, musicals in the theater and in the cinema, collaborated so that the music and the maxixe dance continued present in that country, advancing beyond the 1930s. Diffusion of the maxixe obeyed the logic of the cultural industry, articulating itself to the mechanisms of reproducibility proper to the market.

Recognizing the importance of context with regard to youth agency, this study explores how 8 Black LGBTQ+ youth understand their practices of agency in ballroom culture, an underground Black LGBTQ+ culture. Ballroom was chosen as the backdrop for this scholarly endeavor because it allowed for the study of the phenomenon — Black LGBTQ+ youth agency — in a space where the youth might feel more able to be themselves, especially given that the 2019 Black LGBTQ+ youth report published by the Human Rights Campaign revealed that only 35% of Black LGBTQ+ youth reported being able to “be themselves at school” (Kahn et al., 2019). Thus, instead of asking what is wrong with schools, this study inverted the question to explore what is “right” about ballroom culture in which Black LGBTQ+ youth might practice different kinds of agency due to their intersectional racial and LGBTQ+ identities being recognized and celebrated. Framed by the youth’s understanding of their own agency across different contexts, my research illuminates the complex interrelationships between youth agency, social identity, and context. Extending the literature on youth agency and Black LGBTQ+ youth, the findings of this study suggest that in many ways these youth are always already practicing agency to work toward different ends, and that these different end goals are greatly mediated by the contexts in which they find themselves. In making connections between the ways Black LGBTQ+ youth feel liberated within ballroom space to use their agency to explore and affirm their identities outside socially constructed norms, the findings of this study point to new opportunities for education research, practice, and policy to learn from ballroom culture about how to better invite Black LGBTQ+ youth into schools in humane and educative ways, encourage their agentive imaginations within education spaces, and promote liberatory school environments that recognize and embrace these youth’s intersectional identities.

This study deals with the history of ballroom dancing in South Africa. While reference will be made to the founding of ballroom in the early eighteenth century in South Africa, the study will mainly focus on the period between 1920 and 1940 in the Johannesburg, Pretoria region. The study will determine how and why ballroom dancing came to South Africa from abroad; how South Africans borrowed from the international dancing world; what they copied, what ideas they followed, how they chose to dance ballroom and how this affected South African society at large. Copyright / Dissertation (MHCS)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Historical and Heritage Studies / unrestricted

Title: Judging systems of competitions in dance sport from judges point of view Objectives: The main goal of the thesis is to introduce the absolute judging system used on a dances sport competitions 3.0 to a wider public, and to describe differences between absolute judging systems 2.0, 2.1 and 3.0. Next goal is to map opinions, knowledge and attitudes of the TOP judges of the CDSF towards the judging systems of the dance sport. Methods: To obtain the necessary data for the elaboration of the thesis was used a method of electronic questionnaires. For the elaboration of a theoretical part of the thesis were used primary sources, professional literature and experts' own materials. Result: The thesis maps used systems of dance sport in the Czech Republic and abroad and their main progress towards objective and measurable judging. Based on survey, the questionnaire reveals the knowledge, opinions and attitudes of the Czech TOP judges towards System 3.0. In fact, the thesis is a breakthrough, because even though the absolute judging system 3.0 is already used in practice, there is still no Czech written documentation of its work or usage. Keywords: Dance sport, Latin, Ballroom, Dance, Judges, Judging systems, Sport, The questionnaire

Summary: Salivary alpha-amylase: More than an enzyme - Investigating confounders of stress-induced and basal amylase activity (Dipl.-Psych. Jana Strahler) The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the autonomic nervous system (ANS) are two of the major systems playing a role in the adaptation of organisms to developmental changes that threaten homeostasis. The HPA system involves the secretion of glucocorticoids, including cortisol, into the circulatory system. Numerous studies have been published that introduced salivary cortisol to assess HPA axis activity and therefore strengthens its role as an easy obtainable biomarker in stress research that can be monitored easily and frequently. Recent findings suggest a possible surrogate marker of autonomic activity due to autonomic innervation of salivary glands: salivary alpha-amylase (sAA). Up to date, additional methodological research is needed for a better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of sAA activity in comparison to already established markers of ANS activity. The aim of the present thesis is to further our knowledge of confounders of sAA activity under basal and acute stress conditions and to strengthen the validity of this enzyme as an easy obtainable alternative for ANS testing. After introducing classical and modern stress concepts and stress system physiology (chapter 2), the reader is acquainted with anatomical basics of salivary gland innervation and secretion of salivary proteins, including sAA, due to autonomic innervation (chapter 3 and 4). Afterwards, a more nuanced review of methodological considerations of sAA determination shows gaps of knowledge concerning its usefulness as a marker of ANS activity (chapter 5). Given the fact that the integration of sAA into developmental and aging research is a relative recent phenomenon, several issues have to be addressed before a final conclusion could be drawn. Therefore, we conducted a series of studies incorporating these considerations regarding behavioral correlates of inter- and intraindividual differences in sAA activity with a special emphasis on older adults. Chapter 7 deals with sAA activity under psychological stress conditions in different age groups. Since vulnerability to disease and disease prevalence patterns change with age, it is important to investigate stress reactivity of people in different age groups. We therefore investigated children between 6 and 10 years, because childhood is a sensitive period of growth and development, and thus plays an important role for later life health. Young adults were included to represent the most studied human age group as a reference. Older adults between 59 and 61 years were investigated, because at this age the course is set for the further development of a person’s health in later life, and because autonomic stress responses in older age might be important determinants of cardiovascular and inflammatory aging. Our goal is to test for associations of sAA with more established stress system markers, i.e., salivary cortisol as outcome measurement of HPA reactivity, heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) as markers for autonomic reactivity, and to directly compare these responses between different age groups across the life span. Secretion of sAA and cortisol was repeatedly assessed in 62 children, 78 young adults, and 74 older adults after exposure to a standardized psychosocial stressor, the Trier Social Stress Test. In addition, cardiovascular activity was measured in both adult groups. Older adults showed attenuated sAA, HR, and HRV responses. Furthermore, we found higher sAA but lower cortisol at baseline as well as lower sAA and cortisol responses in children. Age by sex interactions were observed only for cortisol with higher responses in older male participants. No associations between the parameters were found. Results in children and young adults confirm previous results. Overall, findings implicate sAA as an alternative or additional autonomic stress marker throughout the life span, with marked and rapid responsiveness to stress in three relevant age groups. The impact of age and chronic stress on basal sAA activity is the center of interest in chapter 8. We therefore assessed diurnal profiles of sAA and salivary cortisol in 27 younger and 31 older competitive ballroom dancers as well as 26 younger and 33 older age- and sex-matched controls. According to the Allostatic Load concept, repeated, non-habituating responses to social-evaluative conditions, which characterize the lives of competitive ballroom dancers, should be associated with stress system dysregulations. Furthermore, we expect to see an increased sympathetic drive associated higher overall alpha-amylase activity in older adults. Analyses revealed an elevated daily overall output of sAA in older adults while there was no effect of age on mean cortisol levels. Alterations of diurnal rhythms were only seen in younger male dancers showing a flattened diurnal profile of sAA and younger dancers and female older dancers showing a blunted diurnal rhythmicity of cortisol. Furthermore, we found a negative correlation between summary indices of basal sAA and the amount of physical activity. In conclusion, higher overall output of sAA in older adults was in line with the phenomenon of a “sympathetic overdrive” with increasing age. Furthermore, a lower output of sAA in people who are more physical active was in line with the hypothesis of an exercise-induced decrease of sympathetic activity. Taken together, results of chapter 7 and 8 show a clear impact of age on sAA activity, either under acute stress or basal conditions. One problem when integrating sAA into developmental and aging research is the use of adrenergic agonists and antagonists what is very common in older adults, i.e. antihypertensive drugs (AD). As well, the previously shown sympathetic overactivity that occurs with normal aging is associated with higher blood pressure (BP). Therefore, chapter 9 deals with a possible impact of high BP and AD on diurnal sAA activity in 79 older adults (33 normotensive adults, 16 medicated vs. 45 hypertensive adults, 34 medicated). Results showed a pronounced rhythm of sAA in all groups. Diurnal profiles differed significantly between men and women with men lacking the typical decrease of sAA in the morning and showing more pronounced alterations throughout the day. An effect of AD on sAA profiles and area under the curve values indicates that subjects not using AD´s show a heightened diurnal profile and a higher total output of sAA. Descriptively, this was also true for hypertensive older adults. Hypertensive subjects and those not using AD showed the highest diurnal output of sAA and the steepest slope. In sum, our results show an impact of antihypertensive medication and a difference between normotensive and hypertensive subjects on characteristics of diurnal sAA activity. Hence, findings are of particular interest in research using sAA as a prognostic indicator of pathological states and processes. Given the fact that hypertension was also shown to be associated with substantial changes of transmitters within the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) - the “biological clock” that receives photic input from retinal glands via the retinohypothalamic pathway - and an altered output from the SCN to the sympathetic nervous system, we broaden the idea of a possible effect of different lighting conditions on morning sAA profiles in chapter 10. In a counterbalanced within-subjects design six men and 16 women of different ages collected sAA morning profiles on two consecutive days with leaving their shutters closed on the one day (= dark) and open their shutters on the other day (= bright). We were able to replicate earlier findings of light-induced changes of salivary cortisol with higher responses during the bright condition. On either day, women showed larger cortisol increases than men. Despite multisynaptic autonomic connections arising from the SCN projecting to multiple organs of the body, we could not find an effect of sunlight on sAA morning profiles. Evidence for circadian clock gene expression in human oral mucosa might account for this result and indicates that peripheral oscillators may act more like integrators of multiple different time cues, e.g. light, food intake, instead of a “master” oscillator (SCN). Results of chapter 7 to 10 provide clear evidence that sAA is heightened in states of autonomic arousal, i.e. stress, aging and hypertension, and that its circadian rhythmicity seems to be regulated rather integrative than directly via efferent input from hypothalamic SCN neurons. In chapter 11 this thesis tries to approach one central question: What is the biological meaning of the findings made? According to this enzyme´s anti-bacterial and digestive action short term changes might not have a biological meaning itself but rather reflect just a small part of multiple coordinated body responses to stressful stimuli. While the sympathetic branch of the ANS mainly stimulates protein secretion, the parasympathetic branch stimulates saliva flow. Acute stress responses might therefore be interpreted as reflecting predominant sympathetic activity together with parasympathetic withdrawal. The same mechanism could also be suitable for the finding of higher diurnal levels of sAA in older adults or hypertensive subjects reflecting a higher peripheral sympathetic tone in these groups. Diurnal profiles of sAA itself may reflect circadian changes in autonomic balance. Circadian rhythms are of great advantage since they enable individuals to anticipate. This pre-adaptation enables the individual to cope with upcoming demands and challenges. Our finding of a relationship between sAA and salivary cortisol what strengthens the relevance of glucocorticoids that were previously shown to be able to phase shift circadian rhythms in cells and tissue. Within a food-related context there is evidence that decreasing levels of sAA in the morning could reflect increases of feeling hungry since sAA systematically increases during food consumption and with the subjective state of satiety. So far, much more research is needed to identify underlying physiological mechanisms of circadian sAA rhythmicity. Taking the next step, future studies will have to focus on the integration of sAA assessment into longitudinal studies and different disease states to prove its applicability as a marker of sympathetic neural functioning in the genesis and prognosis of disease.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:39:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 323254 bytes, checksum: 2c62424495ae8a6e925738dfec1dbb14 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The following work intends to investigate, through the Semiotics of Culture, united to literary-critical studies of MPB, the intersemiosis in the samba, more precisely, the inter-semiotic dialogue between two systems of distinct languages - the poetry of samba song (verbal language), and the samba ballroom (non-verbal language) -, from a synchronic analysis involving three choreographies mediated by the songs: Deixe Isso pra Lá (Alberto Paz and Edson Meneses) by João Sabiá (2007), Aquele Abraço (Gilberto Gil, 2000) and Pilotando o Bonde da Excursão (Marcelo D2, 2004). Such investigation will go of how this dance, understood as a modeling system of seconddegree (as well as the poetry), with an own code and endless combinatorial possibilities will can, in a choreographic representation, not just replicate the poetic system of the song, but modeled, in his own system, new insights and meanings in dialogue with the song. And, this way, contributing to mutual enrichment between the sign systems involved, creating a dynamic for change among languages that define the inventive character of culture in the samba. / O seguinte trabalho pretende investigar, através da Semiótica da Cultura unida aos estudos críticos-literários da MPB, a intersemiose no samba, mais precisamente, o diálogo intersemiótico entre dois sistemas de linguagens distintas - a poesia da canção de samba (linguagem verbal) e a dança samba de salão (linguagem não-verbal) -, a partir de uma análise sincrônica envolvendo três coreografias mediadas pelas canções: Deixa isso pra lá (Alberto Paz e Edson Meneses) por João Sabiá (2007), Aquele Abraço (Gilberto Gil, 2000) e Pilotando o Bonde da Excursão (Marcelo D2, 2004). Tal investigação partirá de como esta dança, compreendida como um sistema modelizante de 2º grau (bem como a poesia), com codificação própria e possibilidades combinatórias inesgotáveis, poderá, numa representação coreográfica, não apenas reproduzir o sistema poético da canção, mas modelizar, em seu próprio sistema, novas percepções e significações em diálogo com o da canção. E, desta forma, contribuir para um enriquecimento mútuo entre os sistemas de signos envolvidos, gerando uma dinâmica transformadora entre linguagens que definem o caráter inventivo da cultura no samba.

The purpose of this study was to discover the impact of ballroom dancing on the marital relationship. In order to do this the researcher first conducted a literature review on numerous aspects such as the marital relationship, movement therapy, the history of dancing, ballroom dancing and different theoretical approaches to marriage counseling. From the literature and personal experience, the researcher developed four hypotheses. To possibly answer these hypotheses and discover what the impact is of ballroom dancing on the marital relationship, the researcher utilized a qualitative research methodology. A sample size of three couples were randomly chosen to participate in the research study. Ethics and issues of validity and reliability were addressed throughout the research process. In-depth interviews were conducted with all three participating couples and from these interviews four different themes emerged. Four categories were then developed from the information obtained from the interviews as well as from the literature review. The research results indicated that the participating couples felt that through ballroom dancing they acquired improved communication in that it occurred more frequently and was more in-depth. The participants were of the opinion that their intimacy levels had enhanced. They related having more physical contact with one another, feeling early courtship emotions again and reinstating the importance of the marital relationship for them and their extended families. The couples seemed to develop strategies for conflict management as they went through the process of learning to dance. In the early stages of their dancing the couples recounted incidences of arguing however they all seemed to progressively make conscious decisions to ulitise strategies for conflict management which they found effective. Negotiation, investment and cooperation appeared to be essential tools for the couples to succeed in dancing. Added to this the couples seemed to be of the opinion that they became more competent in these behaviours as they progressed with their dancing. / Dissertation (MA (Counselling Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Psychology / unrestricted