Kevan James

Kevan attained an MBA at the University of Brighton in 2001, and recently graduated from the UEA with an MA in American Studies. 

Kevan has worked extensively in healthcare management. He spent ten years in senior management roles in nursing care establishments before moving into a GP Practice Manager role, and also worked for a major private healthcare provider in a local prison for two years. Kevan is currently a Postgraduate Researcher at the University of East Anglia, working with supervisors Professor Thomas Ruys Smith and Dr Malcolm McLaughlin, on a research project looking at the history of American Square Dance in the UK. 

Much has been written of Square Dance in America but little has been said of its impact in the UK, Europe, and other parts of the world. This research project aims to present a thorough investigation of its rapid growth of popularity and, seemingly equally rapid decline to ‘fad’ status. It will concentrate on East Anglia as an example, given the large number of clubs that existed in the area up to the early 2000s, and pose the question of how much influence US military bases had on this level of interest. Comparisons will be made with other parts of the country, and also with other countries with similar bases and interest in the dance (Germany and Japan, for example). 

Research for this investigation will be undertaken in three ways:

• Archival studies: archives of British Square Dance Association (based in Milton Keynes) and a review of specialist UK square dance publications, including “Let’s Square Dance”, which has been published since 1953, and others from other parts of the world; a review of archives of magazines and other documents at English Folk, Dance and Song Society, photographic archives at local US airbase museums (generally uncatalogued), archives at local newspapers. 

• Desk based research: intensive review of existing literature and online sources.

• Ethnographic research/oral history: interviews with those involved with American Square Dance in the UK, especially in East Anglia, but also possibly in locations in other parts of the world.