They completed their PhD with distinction in Dance Studies at the University of Salzburg, with a dissertation entitled 'DanceSport’s Economy of Desire – a Dispositive Analysis of the Heteronormative Gender Binary in Latin Competitive Dancing,' soon to be published by Bloomsbury. For their PhD, they received a scholarship from the Austrian Academy of Sciences and two awards, from the Austrian Ministry of Education, Science and Research and the University of Salzburg.
Positions
They have held positions at the Institute of Sociology in Graz, the Institute of Dance Studies in Salzburg, and in Gender Studies at the University of Vienna.
Pioneering Queer Feminist Transformation in DanceSport
Val has worked with the Austrian Task Force on the adaptation of heteronormative competition regulations to include same-sex couples, and is committed to scholarly outreach within the community.
Val was socialised as a leader in the DanceSport world, where they danced until B-class in 10 dance, pre-transition. Even though they feel more comfortable in that role, they have become increasingly more eager to play around with gender fluidity in movement and to explore queer-centred dance practices over the past few years. They also taught the first queer feminist partner dance class in Austria.
Research focus
Their research focuses on body and sexual politics at the intersection between gender, queer, and critical dance studies.
11/2023
Awarded the Gabriele Possanner-Förderungspreis from the Austrian Ministry of Education, Science, and Research
11/2023
Awarded the Erika-Weinzierl-Preis from the Department of Women, Diversity and Equality of Opportunity of the Federal State of Salzburg
03/2019 – 09/2023
PhD in Dance Studies (with distinction), Paris Lodron Universität, Salzburg, Austria, Title: DanceSport’s Economy of Desire. Specialisation in Gendered Body Politics and Popular Culture Studies