The launch of this groundbreaking book takes place at Birmingham City University on May 1st. It is an all day event with a variety of presentations and discussions and all are welcome.

To find out more about the book: https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/northern-soul/

Im very pleased to have been invited to contribute a chapter to the book, details below:

I'm Still Looking for Unknowns All the Time: The Forward (E)motion of Northern Soul Dancing

Paul Sadot

Description

Drawing on the author’s embodied knowledge as a Northern Soul dancer, and his work as a practice research scholar investigating popular dance forms, this chapter investigates two distinct Northern Soul scenes: the ‘oldies’ and the ‘newies’. It places in dialogue notions of space, temporality and musical taste to examine how each scene constructs and relates to Northern Soul history and the different movement vocabularies that result. In doing so, the chapter discusses evolving musical diversity on the northern soul scene, set against notions of fixity, historical re-enactment and pastiche, and their relationship to a version of northern soul dancing that has gripped the imagination of outside UK media and academics for some time. It explores how these corporeal myths are often acted out by insiders on the oldies scene and examines the possible impact on the dancing styles of younger participants.

Citation

Sadot, Paul. I'm Still Looking for Unknowns All the Time: The Forward (E)motion of Northern Soul Dancing. The Northern Soul Scene. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 292-310 Feb 2019. ISBN 9781781795583. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=36971.