A critical analysis of the representation of persons with disabilities and disfigurement in ballet

Abstract

Bodily difference has long been a social and cultural target of dominant ideologies. Misconceptions and myths regarding beauty, aesthetics and physical, cognitive, emotional and creative capabilities are in part responsible for this separation between the so-called normal/typical and abnormal/atypical body. While various contexts of difference exist and contribute to the marginalisation of many people, the disfigured and disabled body lies on the very margins of the self-other, ab/normal binaries. Ballet has been linked with countless harmful beliefs – such as intolerant and elitist principles, unattainable beauty standards and physical, cognitive and emotional health problems. Ballet therefore surfaces as another subject that predominantly receives criticism and condemnation in the academic world. Aiming to address and challenge these views, this dissertation seeks to consider three subjects – namely, disfigurement, disability and ballet – within a framework that relies on the notion of multidimensionality. This notion refers to both ballet and the body’s existence and significance beyond a merely visual, tangible and physical dimension. The intention of this study is to free these subjects from the discriminating, excluding and stigmatising ideologies that govern perspectives, understandings, interpretations and representations of them. Contesting popular ideological understandings of body and ballet, Michaela DePrince and Joe Powell-Main, two of many ballet dancers that have been labelled as disfigured and/or disabled, serve as commendable examples of the establishment 1) of a counter-narrative for those bodies that are excluded, stigmatised and marginalised, and 2) of the positive aspects and impact of ballet. Freefall Dance Company is a well-known integrated ballet organisation that celebrates the talent and identities of dancers with cognitive disabilities. By focusing on the personal experiences of these two dancers as well as the art of ballet, stripped from its ideological conventions and thus considered purely for its effects as an art form – as in Freefall Dance Company – I wish to formulate a multidimensional understanding and interpretation of body and dance. A multidimensional perspective in particular on disfigurement, disability and ballet paves a possible path towards restoring these subjects on a physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual level. Such a perspective on body and ballet allows individuals such as DePrince, Powell-Main and the Freefall dancers, who have been excluded, marginalised and stigmatised by dominant social belief systems, to freely engage in the art of dance and benefit from a multidimensional relationship with and experience of ballet. Furthermore, by demonstrating the benefits and restorative potential of this relationship and experience for the body through ballet, the art of ballet itself can also be restored.

Bodily difference has long been a social and cultural target of dominant ideologies. Misconceptions and myths regarding beauty, aesthetics and physical, cognitive, emotional and creative capabilities are in part responsible for this separation between the so-called normal/typical and abnormal/atypical body. While various contexts of difference exist and contribute to the marginalisation of many people, the disfigured and disabled body lies on the very margins of the self-other, ab/normal binaries. Ballet has been linked with countless harmful beliefs – such as intolerant and elitist principles, unattainable beauty standards and physical, cognitive and emotional health problems. Ballet therefore surfaces as another subject that predominantly receives criticism and condemnation in the academic world. Aiming to address and challenge these views, this dissertation seeks to consider three subjects – namely, disfigurement, disability and ballet – within a framework that relies on the notion of multidimensionality. This notion refers to both ballet and the body’s existence and significance beyond a merely visual, tangible and physical dimension. The intention of this study is to free these subjects from the discriminating, excluding and stigmatising ideologies that govern perspectives, understandings, interpretations and representations of them. Contesting popular ideological understandings of body and ballet, Michaela DePrince and Joe Powell-Main, two of many ballet dancers that have been labelled as disfigured and/or disabled, serve as commendable examples of the establishment 1) of a counter-narrative for those bodies that are excluded, stigmatised and marginalised, and 2) of the positive aspects and impact of ballet. Freefall Dance Company is a well-known integrated ballet organisation that celebrates the talent and identities of dancers with cognitive disabilities. By focusing on the personal experiences of these two dancers as well as the art of ballet, stripped from its ideological conventions and thus considered purely for its effects as an art form – as in Freefall Dance Company – I wish to formulate a multidimensional understanding and interpretation of body and dance. A multidimensional perspective in particular on disfigurement, disability and ballet paves a possible path towards restoring these subjects on a physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual level. Such a perspective on body and ballet allows individuals such as DePrince, Powell-Main and the Freefall dancers, who have been excluded, marginalised and stigmatised by dominant social belief systems, to freely engage in the art of dance and benefit from a multidimensional relationship with and experience of ballet. Furthermore, by demonstrating the benefits and restorative potential of this relationship and experience for the body through ballet, the art of ballet itself can also be restored.