Productive docile bodies in Zimbabwean dance training : the African body in classical ballet training at Afrikera Arts Trust

Abstract

In this paper, we deploy Foucault’s theories of power to interrogate body politics in ballet training in Zimbabwe. To achieve this, we critically examine instances of ballet-related discourse-induced docility occurring in the Afrikera Professional Dance Training (APDT) students’ bodies during training. From a Foucauldian perspective, we interrogate how a ballet dancer’s body that has been timeously ‘subjugated’ to a standard of expected behaviour by the society and has acclimated to a normalized African body posture which is conditioned to become ‘ideal’ through APTD’s ballet training. Through the intensive case study examination of the Afrikera Professional Dance Training ballet process, we observe possible shortfalls in Foucault’s theories of bio-power in social and community development advocacy.