New York
For Seymour's identity, New York City represents individuality. There, he is accepted for who he is, and his skill (poetry) is rewarded with honor and approval by those who hear him perform it. In other words, New York represents the order of being able to be himself, instead of the chaos of being rejected. New York City is also pluralistic and diverse, so his daily life is not defined by homogeny and ritual, both of which he is averse to because of the trauma of his past.
The reservation
This imagery is like a case study in how location imagery really works. The imagery of the imagery is sublime and impossible to Seymour, because it is proof that his childhood—which seems like the epic past—was real. His family is still out in Washington on the reservation, just the same as they were when he left. His encounter with this tribal West Coast imagery is both difficult and rewarding as he remembers his journey of self-acceptance and practices being in his community despite their unfair rejection.
Identity as a performance
Both in his poetry and in his spectral identity (being most himself in New York and being more reserved among his tribe), we see an imagery of performance. The title points to this identity-dance, as do the tribal ritual dances that go by the culturally relevant name "fancydancing." The truth of identity as Seymour shows is that one's self is far to emotionally complex and dense to ever be completely expressed in one's personality, and if one is going to choose which aspects of their self to show and which to hide, that can easily slide into shameful territory. That imagery defines the tone of the novel.
Community and shame
Shame is the emotion that helps a person's mind adjust to the social expectations of their tribe or community. The problem for Seymour is that he is genuinely gay, but his community has harsh, archaic opinions on that subject so that throughout his childhood, Seymour was made to feel ashamed (disapproval) because of his true identity. This shame spirals into self-hatred so that by the time Seymour finally accepts himself, he is so traumatized that the imagery of his tribe is highly triggering to his depression and his thoughts of self-hatred.
