Epiphanies of embodiment: injury, identity and the balletic body

TLDR

This study adds empirical insight into embodiment within ballet, contrasting with the largely theoretical sociology of the body and fitting into a broader program on vulnerability in the arts, medicine, and society. The study aims to serve as a constructive adjunct to debates on self–society, body–culture, embodiment–identity, and individual–institution interactions within the elite ballet context. The authors conducted ethnographic fieldwork at the Royal Ballet, comprising 20 in‑depth interviews with staff and observations of rehearsals and performances, to examine dancers’ and ex‑dancers’ perceptions of bodily injury and ageing and their impact on career and identity.

Abstract

Our ethnography of the balletic body is a contribution to the relatively small corpus of empirical research studies on embodiment in general and on dance as a social practice in particular. In contrast, much of the literature on the sociology of the body is characterized by its theoretical discussion of the nature of the body. We draw upon our fieldwork at the Royal Ballet (London) where we conducted 20 in-depth interviews with ballet staff, and where we also watched ‘the company at work’(in class, rehearsal and performance). We explored the perceptions, of their bodies and dancing careers, of both dancers ( n= 9) and ex-dancers ( n=11: who are now teachers, administrators and character artists with the company). Furthermore, we especially focused upon the epiphanies of injury and ageing that endanger their balletic vocation, and that may even threaten their personal identity. Although our ethnography of the balletic body is set within the elite and narrow cultural field of dance, we hope that our research is also an appealing and constructive adjunct to discussions on the interactions between self and society; the body and culture; embodiment and identity; and individuals and institutions. Our article is one example of our broader research programme on the embodiment of vulnerability in the arts, medicine and society.