Leisure Studies

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Going the distance: locating journey, liminality and

rites of passage in dance music experiences

Dewi Jaimangal‐Jones, Annette Pritchard & Nigel Morgan

To cite this article: Dewi Jaimangal‐Jones, Annette Pritchard & Nigel Morgan (2010) Going the
distance: locating journey, liminality and rites of passage in dance music experiences, Leisure
Studies, 29:3, 253-268, DOI: 10.1080/02614361003749793

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02614361003749793

Published online: 16 Jun 2010.

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Leisure Studies
Vol. 29, No. 3, July 2010, 253–268

Going the distance: locating journey, liminality and rites of passage

in dance music experiences
Dewi Jaimangal-Jones*, Annette Pritchard and Nigel Morgan

The Welsh Centre for Tourism Research, The Cardiff School of Management, University of
Wales Institute, Cardiff, Wales, UK
(Received 5 March 2009; final version received 25 November 2009)
Taylor and Francis
RLST_A_475501.sgm

Leisure
10.1080/02614361003749793
0261-4367
Original
Taylor
02010
00
Dr
djaimangal-jones@uwic.ac.uk
000002010
DewiJaimangal-Jones
&Studies
Article
Francis
(print)/1466-4496 (online)

‘Dance culture’ is the term now used to describe a large number of connected,
inter-related and overlapping music scenes that have emerged from the
warehouse, acid house and rave scenes, and are characterised by electronic music,
dancing and the consumption of illicit drugs. This paper examines the
construction and consumption of these dance music spaces and experiences. The
study adopted a reflexive anthropological methodological package, including
participant observation, field trips, interviews and focus groups. It argues that
discourses of liminality and rites of passage frame the spatial construction of
contemporary large dance music festivals and that travelling to these peculiar
configurations of open, closed and negotiable abstracted spaces is both an act of
journey and pilgrimage.
Keywords: dance music; raves; festivals; events; liminality; pilgrimage

Introduction
Events management is a growing area of academic enquiry, which to date has predom-
inantly focused on the operational practicalities of conceptualising, designing, plan-
ning, implementing and evaluating events (Bowdin, McDonnell, Allen, & O’Toole,
2006; Shone & Parry, 2004; Tum, Norton, & Wright, 2006; Yeoman, Robertson, Ali-
Knight, Drummond, & McMahon-Beattie, 2004). However, a number of scholars are
seeking to expand the field’s conceptual and theoretical base (e.g. Berridge, 2007;
Getz, 2007). This paper makes a significant contribution to this putative critical
perspective in event management studies through its exploration of dance music
events spaces – places which, whilst on one level are operational entities, can also be
interpreted as liminal thresholds of transition and transgression. Today, we understand
space as a site, which we not only physically inhabit, but which all of us, differentially
empowered and socially positioned, actively construct and invest with meaning
(Hubbard, Kitchin, & Valentine, 2004). This conceptualisation of space has opened up
a range of new research horizons and here we argue that such readings of spaces as
cultural productions are not only applicable to broad leisure and tourism landscapes
(Crouch, 1999; Morgan, 2004; Ringer, 1998; Terkenli, 2004), but also to the more
overlooked micro-spaces of dance events, which we suggest can be conceptualised as
liminal places. In particular, we analyse and discuss the significance of journey and

*Corresponding author. Email: djaimangal-jones@uwic.ac.uk

ISSN 0261-4367 print/ISSN 1466-4496 online

© 2010 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/02614361003749793
http://www.informaworld.com
254 D. Jaimangal-Jones et al.

liminality for participants attending large festival-type dance music events and
contend that travel to dance events is socially constructed by their participants both as
a rite of passage and as a pilgrimage or source of spiritual fulfilment.
Since the emergence of the phenomena in the late 1980s, many rave and dance
music culture adherents have had to travel long distances to attend first raves and then
later clubs. In the early days of the acid house scene, many participants travelled from
one side of the country to the other to attend raves and parties and stories of convoys
of hundreds of cars searching for illegal raves were not uncommon around this time
(Bussman, 1998; Collin, 1997; McKay, 1998). The buzz surrounding these events was
created by a number of factors revolving around media coverage of the acid house
scene and the perceived uniqueness of these rare events. The extensive and often
sensational coverage of acid house/rave culture by the British tabloid press and the
fact that there were few events each weekend enhanced their sense of occasion
and meant that participants were willing to travel long distances to experience them
(Reynolds, 1998). In addition, there was also the added incentive of meeting new like-
minded people from other parts of the country through random encounters, which also
heightened the sense of being a long way from home.
Indeed, much of the first author’s own initial involvement with dance events often
required several hours travelling, usually to some remote location in west, mid or
south Wales where the illegal party or rave was being held. Leaving the familiar
surroundings of his locality and going somewhere new always created a tense air of
anticipation, excitement and nervousness. Not knowing what to expect, or what
encounters the night ahead would bring were always a major part of the appeal. Often
travelling late at night, to a remote destination such as a forest, reservoir, smallholding
or a manor house to party created a unique feeling. Such events ranged from a single
sound system to several; a basic array of lights to sophisticated lasers; possibly includ-
ing a makeshift café and bar and involving anything from several hundred to several
thousand revellers, depending on how far the news had spread about the party. These
individuals were all there to meet new people and to have fun, but most importantly
to be a part of something that may never happen again. These events brought people
together from across the UK to party in remote areas of the countryside where the
powers of the Criminal Justice Bill (1994) had not yet reached (see McKay, 1996 and
1998 for a more detailed discussion of the illegal party scene).
Their intangibility, the discourses surrounding experiential consumption within
dance culture and the fact that these events were significantly different from club
events had the effect of drawing people from further afield to participate in them.
Indeed, the greater the complexity and magnitude of an event, the higher the potential
for diverse, powerful and unique experiences. By comparison, regular club events
exhibit a greater degree of similarity rather than difference and thereby offer a less
powerful and unique experience. Therefore, clubs that people attend regularly become
more routine, predictable and as a result less exciting, which in turn reduces the
strength of their appeal and increases the attractiveness of the unknown. Thus, it is a
constant challenge for event organisers to ensure that their products remain fresh and
interesting to maintain their appeal to customers.
The temporary staging of dance events also contributes to their construction as
liminal spaces and experiences as they are not permanent, but sites of fleeting experi-
ential opportunities where individuals congregate for the performance and then return
to their everyday existences (Wilson, 2006). As distinct temporal zones, they come
into being for finite periods as spaces are constructed and commodified then dissolve
 Leisure Studies 255

to be recreated at later dates for new performances. Dance events are places that exist
within yet outside existing social structures, where alternative norms and values hold
sway and everyday identities become largely invisible in the eyes of others. The sense
of flux and mobility, which shape these anonymous yet public spaces of marginality
and transition imbues them with cultural connotations and expectations associated
with abandoning the realities of the outside world, both socially and physically, enter-
ing into a world of beingness and nothingness (Malbon, 1999). When clubbers pass
the threshold of the club or event, they are accepted into the clubbing ‘tribe’ (Bennett,
2004; Maffesoli, 1996a), facilitating a heightened sensitivity to and awareness of the
special qualities of the event. Within these environments it is possible to resist,
transcend and challenge the norms of everyday life, although as in even the most
oppositional cultural formations, some social divisions and patterns of interaction,
particularly with regard to gender and class, remain powerful (Roberts, 2006).
As we will discuss below, the work of French theorist Michel Maffesoli provides
a useful framework for examining the formation of transient communities at dance
music festivals. According to Maffesoli (1996a, 1996b), we are living in a time of
tribes although he does not regard these as tribes in a traditional or anthropological
sense as they have no fixity or longevity; rather for him they are more akin to what
Shields (1996) terms ‘postmodern tribes’ and Hetherington (1992) describes as ‘neo-
tribes’. Maffesoli’s tribes are fragmented remainders of the break-up of mass culture
and are distinguished by their members’ shared lifestyles and tastes (such as particular
types of dress, bodily adornments and shared values and ideals). Developing this work
on neo-tribes, social identity and collective expression, Bennett (2004, p. 154) argues
that the concept of ‘lifestyle’ ‘provides a useful basis for a revised understanding of
how individual identities are constructed and lived out’ in music culture – an idea we
also return to below.

Study methodology
The research was conducted over four years, utilising a reflexive anthropological
methodology, where the researcher also constitutes a tool and resource in the research
process (Davies, 1999). As the first author was himself both a DJ and a participant in
the dance music scene, we draw here on his own experiences in addition to those of
others who participated in the research project. The primary research method used in
this research was participant observation, the most commonly cited format for ethno-
graphic research (Ervin, 2000) and one used effectively by Spring (2004) to trace the
rise and fall of an intense rave scene. Here, it took the form of an omnibus strategy
entailing a number of methods including participation and observation, fieldtrips,
focus groups and interviews, as Ervin (2000, p. 142) comments, it ‘is an omnibus
strategy, an approach that contains a variety of information gathering techniques
that involve various forms of observation – from unobtrusive ones to full-scale
participation’.
Through participating and observing, social researchers can learn a great deal about
social groups and the places where they function. Walsh (1998) and Robson (2002)
identify various levels of participant observation primarily distinguishing between
overt and covert, but also between varying degrees of involvement. Adopting a covert
or overt position (and alternating between the two) can enable researchers to gain
insights into the norms, values and functioning structures of various groupings from
youth cultures to political parties. Participant observation is a means of understanding
256 D. Jaimangal-Jones et al.

groups of people by learning from them, studying their behaviour and questioning the
significance and meaning behind their actions and words. To understand the
participants’ perceptions of reality, how they see things and the social meanings they
ascribe to various phenomena are some core objectives of ethnography (Spradley,
1980). The discussions in this paper draw on extensive observations made at four
major British dance events (Godskitchen Global Gathering, Gatecrasher Summer
Sound System, Tribal Gathering and Homelands) during 2001–2005.
In addition to the processes of observing and participating, interviews (both formal
and informal) and focus groups also constitute a feature of participant observation.
These enable the researcher to gain a fuller appreciation of the views and perceptions
of individuals in relation to different aspects of their social world. Here, semi- and
unstructured interviews were conducted with eight people who regularly participate in
the dance music scene. They were contacted through snowballing and are referred to
below by a pseudonym they each chose. Their part in the research project spanned two
years, during which time they engaged in a series of interviews and conversations,
ranging from extensive hour-long interviews to briefer conversations before, during
and after the dance music events themselves. Although small, this group of individuals
were committed to the research and provided rich, in-depth interview data.
In addition, an early focus group of five other individuals was also conducted as
an initial way of accessing and understanding the dance culture world. Focus groups
are often used for product and concept testing, however, as a methodology it ‘is
exploratory, with its intent being to provide an understanding of perceptions, feelings,
attitudes and motivations’ (Edmunds, 1999, p. 2–3). The nature of focus groups (being
composed of people sharing a common interest or experience) and the fact that they
may never see one another again also encourages openness and honesty in their
responses (Krueger & Casey, 2000). Thus, the discussions in this paper have been
informed through a package of methods, which are not so much aimed at providing
definitive answers, but at gaining understanding of the social world of dance music
participants and of the multiple layers of meaning surrounding travel and dance
events. Using ethnographic methods to research cultures and groups within society
facilitates analysis and documentation of the specific ways in which people view and
interact with their social and cultural worlds. Such methods also reveal the symbolic
nature of cultural acts and objects and how these all interrelate with each other and the
wider society (Ervin, 2000). As Spradley comments with regards to ethnography:

It reveals what people think and shows us the cultural meanings they use daily. It is the
one systematic approach in the social sciences that leads us into those separate realities
which others have learned and which they use to make sense out of their worlds. (1980,
p. vii)

Results and discussion: why go the distance?

The four major events, which were the focus of this project encompassed between four
and nine different musical arenas, each with different genres of dance music, often
hosted by nationally recognised dance brands, with a line-up of top name DJs
performing in each one. In the pre- and post-event interviews, the significance of jour-
ney, pilgrimage and escape in these dance music festivals soon became evident. One
of the interviewees, who had attended the Gatecrasher Summer Sound System (who
gave herself the pseudonym ‘A Girl’) described how she felt about going clubbing
locally compared to going further afield: ‘travelling to clubs and events is more
 Leisure Studies 257

exciting than going somewhere local … although the journey is sometimes a chore it’s
always exciting going somewhere new and different’. Such comments were typical
amongst the interviewees and reveal that although the travel itself can sometimes be
arduous, the dance music participants thought it worth the time and energy and consid-
ered it at times to be exciting as they eagerly anticipated the new experiences awaiting
them at the venue. Thus, a journey can heighten the enjoyment of a dance event as it
increases the build-up and excitement; indeed, often the greater the commitment and
effort required reaching an event, the more it was anticipated and enjoyed. This echoes
the ethos of the original raves where young people travelled hundreds of miles to
them; in fact this aspect of the early events was what distinguished them from simple
club events (Thornton, 1995). In this sense, travelling to events, meeting new people
and becoming involved in new experiences in different locations all emerge as part of
the appeal of dance events, attractions which are heightened by the thrill of seeking
out unfamiliar experiences far from home (Urry, 2002).
A further thrill of the dance scene is the extensive and varied opportunities, it
presents for adherents to slip between their alternative selves at the events. Sociolo-
gists, anthropologists and consumer behaviourists have argued since the 1950s (e.g.
Goffman, 1959; Martineau, 1957) that individuals have a variety of roles and personas,
which they reflect and reinforce in their differing consumption choices. Thus, we all
have a ‘repertoire of self images’ (De Chernatony & McDonald, 1988, p. 124), from
which we choose our daily styles to reflect our desired selves, roles which may be
quite diverse or juxtaposed and hybrid. Thus, individuals are able to credibly and
comfortably perform roles different from those expected of them in everyday life when
they are in different settings, as the parameters and conventions of social conduct are
shifted (Goffman, 1959). Thus, being away from familiar surroundings often impacts
on an individual’s self-consciousness and conformity to social roles (Shields, 1991;
Valentine, 2001) and here dance revellers’ self-identities become more fluid precisely
because of their distance from their familiar environments. This is not dissimilar to
tourists’ behaviour and etiquette, which varies across destinations due to the prevailing
discourses and social conventions which construct specific spaces and places. For
example, when we are on holiday, we may be less inhibited and restrained by our
social norms and values and more likely to display greater spontaneity and engage in
more risky behaviour (e.g. Apostolopoulos, Sönmez, & Yu, 2002). Acts and interac-
tions deemed unconventional or inappropriate in everyday settings can become
normal, accepted and even expected on holiday (e.g. Doorne & Ateljevic, 2005; Prit-
chard & Morgan, in press). In fact, it has been said that vacation ‘places are chosen …
because there is an anticipation … of intense pleasures, either on a different scale or
involving different senses from those customarily encountered’ (Urry, 2002, p. 3).

Social construction of space and performance

As individuals, we not only have expectations of specific places and how they will
make us feel, but also of how we can experience places which are geographically,
socially and psychologically distant from those of our everyday lives. Since space is
socially constructed, specific spaces (such as dance clubs and event sites) acquire
social meanings through the discourses that surround them and the ways in which they
are accessed and developed (see Dear & Flusty, 2002; Hubbard et al., 2004; Lefebvre,
2002). Different events are perceived as stages upon which various identities are
performed and in dance music culture dress and bodily adornment are the most
258 D. Jaimangal-Jones et al.

immediate and visual elements of individual lifestyles or neo-tribal attachment

(Maffesoli, 1996a). At their most superficial level, they constitute a representation of
the extent to which people belong and fit in specific social settings, reflecting an
individual’s awareness of dress etiquette and ability to apply cultural knowledge in the
process of identity performance and presentation. People use dress to mediate the
interior mental world of the individual and the body and the exterior objective world
beyond the self; thus, dress is one of the ways in which their sense of identity is
constructed and transacted within social contexts and relations. An individual’s
clothes reveal much about the identity they are assuming at any given time (Kaiser,
1990) and as such give credibility to their interactions with others, in our case here, in
dance spaces.
Indeed, just as the tendency of dance revellers to shed their inhibitions is similar
to the behaviour of many tourists, (un)dress and people watching are all important
elements of both clubbing and much tourism activities. Tourists are sometimes
conscious about not being dressed or attired to ‘fit in’ (Bauman, 1995) and in our
study here, the research participants seemed to derive considerable enjoyment from
people watching and were happy to pass comments on their fellow revellers’ dress and
appearance. In fact, this emerges as one of the significant aspects from which enjoy-
ment is derived through attending festival type dance events for some participants and
demonstrates the open and accepting, yet playfully critical views participants from
certain dance music tribes hold towards those from others. These comments also
emphasise the symbolic role of style, dress and identity to participants. ‘A Girl’ said
of the Gatecrasher Summer Sound System: ‘one of my favourite elements was all the
costumed people in their day-glo and fancy dress outfits’ which she found ‘interesting
and funny’. Similarly, a focus group participant ‘Unknown’ said of Godskitchen
Global Gathering: ‘I quite enjoyed the people watching, that was fun, a lot of them
were quite funny’. Elaborating further on this she commented that she also found the
day-glo and fancy dress costumes amusing:

Yeah, some of them were dressed up, some of them I was like, I can’t believe you’re
wearing that and the people [laughs] like all the bloody girls, that seemed to think their
arses were acceptable for fucking G-strings and like hot-pants.

She was neither shocked nor surprised by people’s dress:

No, it didn’t shock me, it did a bit, I kind of expected it … but I think it’s cool that they
made the effort, ‘cos I felt quite boring, you know it’s quite cool that they dressed up so
fair play to them.

This extract from one of the focus group conversations illustrates how many of the
dancers were prepared to attend this event dressed in very revealing and brightly
coloured clothes, which they would not have worn elsewhere. These alternative
approaches to self-presentation through dress not only signify the distinct qualities of
dance music spaces (Malbon, 1999), but also demonstrate the wider role of clothing
within youth cultural groupings as a marker of style and subcultural identity (Hebdige,
1979). Indeed, more recently scholars such as Wilson (2006) have commented on the
range of styles evident within dance culture and whilst participants may dress to
differentiate themselves from other youth cultures there is a significant degree of
conformity within specific dance music scenes (see Bennett, 2004). The temporal and
fluid nature of dance events and their discourses therefore simultaneously espouse
 Leisure Studies 259

identity experimentation whilst encouraging conformity of style – which in turn

facilitates notions of crowd identification and belonging (Malbon, 1999).

In search of experiences
Removed from their everyday lives, identities and locations, these individuals not only
experiment with their sense of self but constantly seek out new experiences. Indeed,
experiencing points of contrast seems a strong motivation for many forms of experi-
ential consumption, including tourism (McIntosh, Goeldner, & Ritchie, 1995) and
here, dance music. Any given geographical area can only offer a limited amount of
dance events and many of this study’s participants regularly seek out a variety of
places:

For me variety is better, I try not to go to the same ones too often, once a month is gener-
ally more than enough depending on who is playing and which club it is. I used to go to
the same club every month for quite a long time but then I got so bored of the place I
couldn’t face going there again for years! (‘Mr Curious’)

Such comments suggest that clubbers become bored and discontented with the same
club as this ‘normalises’ the experience. Although many clubbers do have a very
strong bond with particular events and venues (displaying loyalty to the unique atmo-
sphere created by a particular blend of people), there is always the urge to seek out
and experience other clubs and events. As much of the appeal of clubbing focuses on
the experiential aspects of consumption, over familiarity with a specific venue can
dampen sensitivity to surroundings and therefore reduce participant appreciation of
the event. In this participant’s view, as with many others in this study, becoming too
familiar with a venue or event makes it more routine and even in an environment
dominated by sound and spectacle, routine leads to less spontaneity, which can detract
from the clubbing experience.
This desire to travel to events to discover new experiences is reflected in the
comments of ‘Mr Z’ who noted:

I don’t often travel to clubs due to lack of transport and financial resources, but I
would be willing to travel to clubs if they were worth it. I would consider travelling up
to 150 miles is okay for a really special club.

Such comments illustrate how travelling substantial distances to seek out new
experiences is typical amongst dance participants, especially if the event or the venue
is unusual or in some way unique. This indicates how much dance participants distin-
guish between events, with particular events being seen as so different and unique that
they are worth the long distances travelled. Secondly, it reflects the importance of
dance events to participants and highlights that experiencing major events and high-
profile clubs is a symbolic demonstration of an individual’s level of cultural
participation and cultural capital, a way of constructing their self-identity, part of their
individual projects of self-creation (Giddens, 1991).

Going full circle

The significance of the journey can be clearly seen in the comments of ‘Ms Thought-
ful’ on the Gatecrasher Summer Sound System event. She related how:
260 D. Jaimangal-Jones et al.

travelling to Gatecrasher was fun and interesting as I enjoy travelling to new places, the
distance was not a problem being a passenger. I had a feeling of curious excitement trav-
elling to and queuing up to get into the event, being uncertain of what to expect was nice
and exciting.

For her, the journey itself was part of the whole experience, akin to tourist travel
where:

The experience of passing through an ever-changing landscape enables the traveller to

catch glimpses of places to which he or she has no lasting commitment. The journey can
be regarded not simply as a means to an end but as a source of pleasure derived from a
sense of freedom through travel. (Aitchison, Macleod, & Shaw, 2000, p. 29)

Journeys to dance events constitute an experience in themselves, seeing new and unfa-
miliar places, enjoying fleeting encounters with distant towns and places you may
never see again. It creates a visual narrative of the passage from one state of being to
another, a time of transition, contemplation, conversation and expectation. In this
respect, the journey could be considered as a rite of passage into the liminal zone that
is the dance event.
It seems then that it is the anticipation of the unexpected and the search for novel,
out-of-the ordinary and new experiences that form a major part of the appeal of many
dance music events. This is a characteristic trait of human nature, but particularly
amongst young people, many of whom are driven by the desire to seek out new and
different experiences as a means of mental and emotional stimulation and personal
development (Aronson, 2003; Epstein, 1998). Travelling to distant places can take
people outside of their comfort zone, as they are unfamiliar with the surroundings and
unsure of what is to come; this is an appeal of many different leisure activities and also
bears similarities with processes of initiation or rites of passage within tribal cultures
when individuals move from one life stage or state of being to another (Turner, 1982).
This sense of journey was clearly evident amongst those interviewed who had
attended Godskitchen Global Gathering (2002). Many had travelled several hundred
miles to the event, which heightened their sense of occasion:

Travelling to it felt like it was, um, pilgrimage you know a, a what’s the word, top of the
mountain and back vision quest almost, like, like a full circle. You’re going to go out,
you’re going to get an acquired result, do certain things, come back, come full circle and
return, with the medicine or with the energy or with the … change. (‘Robin Hood’)

Such comments reveal how travelling to certain events has religious and spiritual
overtones for some participants. Their journey can often be physically and mentally
demanding, but since that journey is part of a greater whole, their discomfort is
contextualised as a part of the experience, much like in pilgrimages, where pilgrims
often endure physical discomfort and hardship as part of their journey (Singh, 2004).
Although he draws parallels with pilgrimage, this participant also reinforces the
spiritual nature of participating in dance music experiences, previously highlighted by
researchers including Malbon (1999), Hutson (2000), Rietveld (2003) and Takahashi
and Olaveson (2003). The work of these and other scholars demonstrates how partic-
ipation in dance music experiences can be motivated by and may lead to profound, if
fleeting, sensations of spirituality and spiritual awareness. Such analyses, however,
have not addressed or reflected upon the spiritual dimensions of the journeys to some
events which can be a significant element of the overall experience for some
 Leisure Studies 261

participants. However, it must be stressed that this is not always the case and that it is
only the events which are perceived as being noteworthy due to their scope, scale and
cultural significance where notions of pilgrimage may be experienced.
Scholars such as Gonzales (2003) and Singh (2004) also stress the attraction of
religious sites and pilgrimages to tourists and again this is paralleled in dance culture
as for many individuals dance events constitute a pilgrimage, whereas for others they
are more representative of a tourist experience. When a tourist simply visits sites to
gaze at the phenomenon and spectacle, in order to be able to say they have been to and
witnessed particular events, their relationship with places and the people who inhabit
them are typically more detached. But for the devout followers, it is the entirety of the
experience and not simply the spectacle that is of significance, and as Gonzales (2003,
p. 450) comments, ‘pilgrims attract other kinds of travellers who try to emulate them’.
Dance events also have religious connotations in terms of the significance such events
assume within dance music culture, the media hype they generate beforehand and the
number of participants gathered in one place. For some participants, travelling to and
attending events are the dance music equivalents of pilgrimages or major religious
festivals. Attending major dance events add further value and meaning to the lives of
such individuals just as participation in pilgrimages or visits to sacred sites does for
those with strong religious beliefs. Participation in pilgrimages brings expectations of
life-changing spiritual fulfilment and enlightenment and likewise, participation in
dance events can, for many participants, provide opportunities for ‘learning about
ourselves and others’ (‘Robin Hood’). In many ways, just like many pilgrims’ ‘moti-
vations are often vague and rarely expressed in religious terms, yet many are eloquent
in speaking of their journey as spiritual’ (Slavin, 2003, p. 1), so many dance revellers
who do not adhere to any particular religious faith participate in a range of activities
as a source of spiritual fulfilment.

Rites of passage
This spiritual fulfilment also enhances the ways in which some of their participants
regard dance events as a rite of passage (Van Gennep, 1961). In this individuals or
groups acquire new social statuses or undergo processes of seasonal change. Any rite
of passage contains three phases: (1) separation, (2) transition, and (3) incorporation.
The separation phase entails a ‘detachment of the ritual subjects … from their previ-
ous social statuses’ (Turner, 1982, p. 24), where individuals, cultural groups or whole
societies move from one set of cultural and social values to another, a shift which is
also often accompanied by a physical movement in space. The transition phase marks
a time (and space) of ambiguity and uncertainty outside the influence of normal social
rules and roles. Here, individuals and groups occupy an alternative social and spatial
realm, ‘an intensive bonding “communitas” is experienced, and there is direct experi-
ence of the sacred or supernatural’ (Urry, 2002, p. 11). At the level of a group or
culture, transition means ‘they have been ritually prepared for a whole series of
changes in the nature of the cultural and ecological activities to be undertaken and of
the relationships they will then have with others’ (Turner, 1982, p. 25). Finally, in the
incorporation phase individuals are reintegrated into the wider society, often with an
enhanced and clearly defined social status.
Such rites of passage bear remarkable similarities to the emotions expressed by
many of the dance culture participants interviewed in this study. Separation clearly
relates to moving outside of the normal places of everyday life, a process which
262 D. Jaimangal-Jones et al.

accelerates the ‘loss of social coordinates’ and a transition from one state of being to
another facilitated through travel (Shields, 1991). The rites of passage ‘transition’
phase could be applied to both travelling to events and to the actual events themselves,
as in both these contexts normal social roles are suspended, communitas are
developed and experienced and spiritual experiences can be gained. Such behaviour
has much in common with Bakhtin’s (1984, p. 10) carnivalesque, which, as he says
involves a ‘temporary suspension both ideal and real, of hierarchical rank … permit-
ting no distance between those who came in contact with each other and liberating
them from norms of etiquette and decency imposed at other times’.
Dance music events provide performative stages of drama and role-playing, places
where the meanings and the fluidities of our personal identities – themselves a series
of multiple, multi-faceted reflexive performances (Giddens, 1991) – can be confirmed
or (re)constituted. As many events themselves are themed or fantasy creations, they
allow clubbers and dancers to create their own fantasies and play with their identities
– this might not be who you are, although it is who you might like to imagine yourself
being for this moment. In such ways, dance venues can be sites where ‘resistant
bodies’ (Shields, 1991) challenge convention and norm to traverse social boundaries.
The journey also acts as a time of transition, helping participants move away from
day-to-day ways of being to a more energetic, expressive, open, reflexive and
contemplative state in preparation for the event to come. As ‘M’ (another participant
attending Godskitchen Global Gathering) commented:

I quite like long journeys to somewhere. It makes it feel a bit more special … you know
if you’re just travelling down the road it’s sort of, you’re there before you’ve got the head
space on for being in it. Whereas if you’re going half way across the country by the time
you get there, you’re generally ready for it and … and ready to put in a bit more.

This participant reiterates the importance of travelling distances to dance music

events, noting that it helps him to achieve the appropriate mental state for immersing
himself as fully as possible into the event.
The journey also encourages bonding with fellow travellers, which is further rein-
forced through the actual event experience itself. Communitas is used to describe a
special type of bond between travellers and those undergoing a rite of passage (Slavin,
2003; Urry, 2002). It is similar to communal relationships in which individuals are
more ‘inclined to give … in response to the other’s need’ with less expectation of
directly gaining something in return – ‘they are relaxed about it and have faith that,
over the long haul, some semblance of equity will fall into place’ (Aronson, 2003,
p. 313). Spending time in a common space and sharing a sense of purpose often makes
people more caring and supportive of other participants, even when they have nothing
to gain from such actions apart from an enhanced sense of self and the warmth that
comes with generosity.
The incorporation phase in a typical rite of passage seems on the surface to be less
obviously applicable to dance culture as there is no fixed status derived from having
being at such an event. However, as in a pilgrimage, individuals feel a greater sense
of belonging to a specific group by attending large-scale events and this in turn may
also enhance their social standing and cultural capital within their own peer group.
Forming closer bonds with certain individuals and becoming more accustomed to
communitas and the type of interaction facilitated by such social formations can
develop into closer relationships, although arguably this is a more gradual process
arising through repeated attendance and communitas rather than from one-off events.
 Leisure Studies 263

Attending dance events, particularly large-scale events, which require long-distance

travel, could therefore certainly be considered as a rite of passage for many young
people in contemporary society, allowing them to move away from societal norms,
values and roles into new liminal social and spatial dimensions.

Notions of liminality
The notion that some culturally produced spaces can also be conceptualised as liminal
zones has become a familiar – although problematic and slippery – notion in cultural
geography and more latterly in tourism studies. Preston-Whyte (2004) notes that
since the concept was first used in 1909 by Van Gennep (1960) to describe the transi-
tion from adolescence to adulthood, liminal, from the Latin word limen for boundary
or threshold, has been used in a variety of social and cultural contexts. Most have
been employed to distinguish and define some transition from ‘the known to the
unknown’ (Nisbet, 1969, p. 4), so that the liminal experience is the metaphorical
crossing of some imagined spatial or temporal threshold. As a result, liminal places
are ‘intangible, elusive, and obscure. They lie in a limbo-like space often beyond
normal social and cultural constraints. In these spaces can be found brief moments of
freedom and an escape from the daily grind of social responsibilities’ (Preston-
Whyte, 2004, p. 350). Tourists have also been described as liminal people, occupying
some kind of threshold state (Burns, 1999; Ryan & Hall, 2001), between places,
times and conventions, but in tourism terms, the concept of liminality is perhaps most
immediately associated with the beach – a place in between, neither land nor sea,
where the normal social conventions need not apply. Much of the work underpinning
this conceptualisation of the beach can be traced to sociology (see Shields, 1991),
social history (see Walton, 2000) and cultural geography (see Preston-Whyte, 2004),
scholarship which in turn builds on the work of Van Gennep (1960) and Turner
(1974). Central to the notion of liminality is its transitory, betwixt nature, whether
manifested in terms of social life, space or time, so that ‘In this gap between ordered
worlds almost anything may happen’ (Turner, 1974, p. 13). By extension, this
conceptualisation of the beach has similarly constructed the seaside resort as a ludic
and unconventional site. Shields (1991, p. 75) has explored the liminal, carnivalesque
and illicit pleasures associated with the British seaside resort of Brighton, which
became ‘the topos of a set of connected discourses on pleasure and pleasurable activ-
ities … without which our entire conception and sense of a beach would be without
meaning’.
Shaped by the same discourses of hedonism, anonymity and adventure, dance
music venues – even more than beaches and seaside resorts – are places ‘out-of-time’
and ‘out-of-place’ in that they are ‘in-between spaces … and [occupy] in-between
times’ (Malbon, 1999, p. 108). Moreover, whilst Shields (1991, p. 73) has argued that
today many Western consumers no longer need ‘to create marginal zones, such as the
seaside was, for reckless enjoyment’, we would argue that dance events remain very
much at the heart of such discourses. In fact, we would contend that the transgressive
behaviour witnessed in dance music events such as the taking of illicit drugs, which
are often central to these liminal experiences (see Jackson, 2004), shares much with
the outpourings of excess and the challenging of norms which was found in the
seaside carnival, described by Shields (1991, p. 94) as ‘a mark of resistant bodies
which at least temporarily escape or exceed moral propriety’. The dance club or
festival is a similarly betwixt transitory space, outside the ordinary of most people’s
264 D. Jaimangal-Jones et al.

everyday social life, distinct from our normal place of home, which we leave behind
when we travel for pleasure. Moreover, it is also a place of anonymity where clubbers
and dancers can ‘disappear’ and where the normal social conventions can be chal-
lenged and flouted. This is no doubt in part due to dance spaces being marked as
special, extraordinary places, a leisure space which is shaped by associations of excess
and freedom from restraint and everyday obligations, a set of discourses, which also
find reflection in the club designs and interiors.
The notion of liminality is, however, more problematic and complex than
perhaps this discussion might so far suggest. Liminal spaces are borderlands between
the mundane and the extraordinary, they are places which, whilst locations of
‘desire’ and ‘dreamtime’ are ‘also places of anxiety replete with darker images of
threat and danger’ (Preston-Whyte, 2004, p. 350). Since, the liminal experience
involves traversing some imagined threshold, boundaries such as the no man’s land
between the First World War trenches, crossroads (seen as magical places and tradi-
tional sites of hangmen’s gibbets) and even sacred sites of pilgrimage have all been
described as betwixt places, crossing points of an uneasy journey into the unknown
(see Preston-Whyte, 2004). The liminal nature of dance events and the journeys that
participants undergo when attending these events facilitate the development and
distinctions of individual identities and perceptions of wider social conventions and
discourses. Participants are able to experiment with new ways of being, testing alter-
native approaches to role performance and living different identities for finite peri-
ods of time before returning to their ‘normal’ lives. In this sense, journeys to and
immersion in liminal spaces also serve to fulfil another function of youth cultural
agendas in terms of pushing the boundaries of society and the ongoing social
construction of ‘reality’. As Turner (1982, p. 28) comments in relation to the role of
liminal places and practices in the development of wider society, liminal situations
constitute:

settings in which new models, symbols, paradigms, etc., arise – as the seedbeds of
cultural creativity … these new symbols and constructions then feedback into the
‘central’ economic and politico-legal domains and arenas, supplying them with goals,
aspirations, incentives, structural models and raisons d’etre.

Just as the counter culture of the 1960s and 1970s has had a profound influence on
subsequent generations so too will dance culture, however, change will always also be
resisted as the ‘the struggle between tradition and innovation’ continues (Debord,
1994, p. 130).

Conclusions
The micro-spaces of dance events are liminal cultural productions, fleeting moments
both in and out of time, occupying the in-between space. These liminal spaces are
transitional territories and from the above discussion, it emerges that dance venues are
most definitely places of departure and encounter, borderland spaces between the
mundane and the extraordinary. As we enter them, we enter a ‘displaced’ space, which
is a place of anonymity and ambiguity; to enter a dance music venue is to cross an
imagined threshold into a liminal place which is strange, yet familiar and which may
offer escape from the mundane. The micro-space of the dance event facilitates the
temporary and transient convergence of Maffesoli’s (1996a) postmodern or neo-
tribes, evidenced by their members’ shared lifestyles and tastes. As potentially liminal
 Leisure Studies 265

and transgressive spaces they offer ‘the spatial presence and practice outside of the
norms of the prevailing (enforced) social spatialisation’ (Shields, 1991, p. 210) and
can become sites of ‘resistant bodies’ where normal rules and conventions are able to
be suspended and where personal identities can be resisted and reshaped – if only
temporarily. Such dance events play host to several neo-tribes, frequently marked by
shared dress forms and musical tastes, which in turn signals to others tribal conformity
and belonging. In such spaces, which seem ‘out-of-time’ and ‘out-of-place’, everyday
conventions seem ‘out-of-mind’. We have also discussed the multitude of ways in
which travel, place and notions of distance from normal places of residence influences
the consumption and construction of dance music events for participants. The histor-
ical context of the development of dance culture has ensured that travel is engrained
in the discourses of dance culture as a result of the limited supply of large-scale
events, their intangibility and the resulting uniqueness of events. We have also drawn
several parallels between the attractions of these events and wider drivers of tourism
consumption, revealing how the discourses surrounding travel and dance events
encourage the shedding of everyday social norms and values and enable participants
to engage in alternative role performances.
The journey to these micro-spaces represents, for participants, a rite of passage,
framed by notions of pilgrimage and spiritual fulfilment (Turner, 1982; Urry, 2002;
Van Gennep, 1961). The search for the new and the different, combined with the
cultural significance of many events to participants invoke the process of separation,
transition and incorporation and relate to the ritual process that individuals and groups
undergo in the acquisition of new/altered social statuses. Such were the similarities
that we would suggest that attendance at major dance events and other festivals could
be construed as a rite of passage for certain youth cultural formations in contemporary
society. The participants’ narratives suggest there is a spiritual dimension to travelling
to and participating in such events, with several individuals discussing notions of
pilgrimage in relation to attending major events.
Finally, our paper has sought to expand work on dance music culture and to
advance critical explorations in the field of event management. Such research is not
intended to replace the established focus of events management research but to
complement it, enriching and enhancing the events management research field and
creating a more holistic approach to research topics, which are currently ‘ghettoised’
into the compartmentalised research fields of events management and leisure studies,
each of which has their differing dominant epistemic traditions. Moreover, acknowl-
edgement of the relatedness of the fields of events management and leisure studies in
the creation of new knowledge about events experiences recognises that they are not
two totally separate knowledge communities but rather two cognate and overlapping
knowledge networks (Ren, Pritchard, & Morgan, in press).

Notes on contributors
Dr Dewi Jaimangal-Jones is based in the Welsh Centre for Tourism Research at the University
of Wales Institute, Cardiff. His research interests include music events and festivals; the social
construction and consumption of these events and the role of media discourses in such
processes.

Professor Annette Pritchard is director of the Welsh Centre for Tourism Research at the
University of Wales Institute, Cardiff. Her research focuses on: tourism and social justice;
tourism and gendered visual rhetoric; hopeful tourism scholarship and destination marketing.
266 D. Jaimangal-Jones et al.

Professor Nigel Morgan is based in the Welsh Centre for Tourism Research at the University
of Wales Institute, Cardiff. His research interests are: destination marketing; tourism, citizen-
ship and social justice and hopeful tourism scholarship.

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