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Risner, Doug

Doug Risner is Associate Professor of Dance at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. He is editor-in-chief of Journal of Dance Education; publishes original research in several publications including Research in Dance Education, Arts Education Policy Review, Current Selected Research in Dance, and Dance Research Journal.

Stigma and Perseverance in the Lives of Boys Who Dance: An Empirical Study of Male Identities in Western Theatrical Dance Training
2009 0-7734-4661-3
This study investigates the competitive world of pre-professional Western concert dance training and education in the U.S. as experienced and lived by boys and young men, an under-represented population in the field. This work examines the discourses of professional dance preparation through theoretical and narrative approaches that combine to illuminate the highly gendered professional dance world as evidenced through the minds and bodies of male adolescents and young adults.

Stigma and Perseverance in the Lives of Boys Who Dance: An Empirical Study of Male Identities in Western Theatrical Dance Training (softcover)
2021 1-4955-0924-9
With a Foreword by Ramsay Burt. This book addresses the fact that "a lack of scholarly attention has been paid to this burgeoning research area in the U.S., especially in terms of book-length studies."
While research on the topic of boys who dance is scant, the author states that "what we do know, though tentative, provides cause for concern, linked as it is to dominant notions of masculinity, pervasive homophobia, and boys' neglect, harassment, and social isolation."