“Nossa casa é bailão”: idealização, identidade e performance em casas noturnas de Pelotas, RS

Abstract

This work focuses on the bailão, a particular type of nightclub in Rio Grande do Sul, and specifically examines some of the bailões in the urban area of Pelotas, a city in the southern part of the state, currently in operation. The emphasis is on Sul Brasil / Point Beer, a bailão located in the Três Vendas neighborhood, in the northern part of the city, but the work also covers episodic experiences in other bailões, broadening the observation panorama. The methodology employed in this ethnographic research involved floating observation, documentary research, semi-structured interviews, and bibliographic research. The data produced shows a prolific and diversified scenario of dances oriented towards paired dance, whose racial, age, and gender composition can vary in each context. Following a regional circuit of nightclubs, the bands generally practice musical genres such as vaneira and bandinha, and aim for an idea of professionalism that combines aesthetic criteria, communication strategies, and particular performances.