Dancing in the Streets cover art

Dancing in the Streets

A History of Collective Joy

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Dancing in the Streets

By: Barbara Ehrenreich
Narrated by: Pam Ward
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

 From best-selling social commentator and cultural historian Barbara Ehrenreich comes this fascinating exploration of one of humanity's oldest traditions: the celebration of communal joy, historically expressed in ecstatic revels of feasting, costuming, and dancing.

Ehrenreich uncovers the origins of communal celebration in human biology and culture, showing that such mass festivities have been indigenous to the West since the ancient Greeks. Though suppressed by elites who fear the undermining of social hierarchies, outbreaks of group revelry still persist, Ehrenreich shows, pointing to the 1960s rock-and-roll rebellion and the more recent "carnivalization" of sports.

Original, exhilarating, and deeply optimistic, Dancing in the Streets shows that we are innately social beings, impelled to share our joy and thereby envision a peaceable future.

©2006 Barbara Ehrenreich (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc. Americas Ancient Anthropology Customs & Traditions Europe Social Sciences World Tradition

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Dance Your Way Home cover art
The Flowering Wand cover art
On Connection cover art
Witches, Witch-Hunting, and Women cover art
When Things Fall Apart cover art
Modern Nature cover art
Less Is More cover art
Soulcraft cover art
The Wisdom of Insecurity cover art
Save the Cat! cover art
Avocado Anxiety cover art
Emergent Strategy cover art
Divergent Mind cover art

Critic reviews

"A serious look at communal celebrations, well documented and presented with assurance and flair." ( Kirkus Reviews)
"Ehrenreich writes with grace and clarity in a fascinating, wide-ranging, and generous account." ( Publishers Weekly)
All stars
Most relevant
Really interesting, well researched, beautifully stated message about the importance of ecstatic dance throughout history and the loss we have experienced due to it's repression and decline.

Fascinating!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A rare gem that somehow got into the free catalogue. I am a student of Anthropology and I wish I had found this years ago. It isn't overly academic and the narration is great. Highly recommended for everyone who wants to learn more about our society and how we as the humankind have always needed dancing and festivities in our lives

Fantastic!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I found this very interesting, but a little dry. Thought provoking connections and parallels between Dyonysis and rock stars, saturnalia and sports, but ultimately didn’t make me want to go out and dance in the street.

Interesting study of group ecstatic experiences

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It’s a really fascinating broad brushstroke account of history from the ancient Greeks to late 20th century through the specific lens of “collective joy,” which is people gathering together in celebration and festivity, NOT merely being an audience member but a participant. I think if anyone reading this review feels that all they do is work & do chores & consequently wonder if there is more to life than this, this book will be an interesting read. It’s almost impossible to imagine the amount of festivity our society enjoyed before the industrial revolution. I hope it comes back!

Read this book if you are fed up with the 9-5

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
…some curious omissions. There was nothing about dance culture (soul, disco, rave etc) and some of the historical sections were definitely laboured. There are some fascinating sections and this is worth a listen but I feel it could and should have been better

Interesting sections but…

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.