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.

摘要

在这篇论文中，我们运用福柯的权力理论来审视津巴布韦芭蕾舞训练中的身体政治。为了实现这一目标，我们批判性地检查了在培训期间发生在 Afrikera 专业舞蹈培训 (APDT) 学生身体中的与芭蕾相关的话语引起的服从的实例。从福柯的角度来看，我们询问芭蕾舞演员的身体如何被及时“征服”到社会预期行为的标准，并适应了正常化的非洲身体姿势，通过 APTD 的芭蕾训练成为“理想的”。通过对 Afrikera 专业舞蹈训练芭蕾舞过程的深入案例研究，我们观察到福柯的生物权力理论在社会和社区发展倡导中可能存在的不足。