Choreographer George Balanchine was known for rejecting the premise that his ballets were abstract. Yet, a closer look into his comments on abstraction reveals a greater degree of ambivalence toward the concept than previously noticed. His influential words found response in dance critical writing, where the term “abstract” continued to circulate, but was often applied in vague ways, such as “so-called abstraction.” This and other softened terminological variations formed an ambiguous collection of abstractive terms, like a vague word cloud around the dance concept. This article explores abstraction in Balanchine’s particular ballets, and makes a two-fold argument. On the one hand, by emphasizing the visual aspects of Balanchine’s compositions, we may uncover ways to untangle his dilemma about dance abstraction. Visual theories of “semantic abstraction” by Harold Osborne, and of “the gesture of abstraction” by Blake Stimson, may help us to understand the abstractive modes in several of Balanchine’s black-and-white ballets. On the other hand, whether discussed or not, Balanchine’s abstractive gestures have created powerful representational shifts in some cases. In particular, by examining the interracially cast duet from the ballet Agon (1957) as a visual case study, we may see how Balanchine’s rejections of the concept, amplified by critics’ vague terminological invocations of, or silence about, abstractive choreographic gestures, occluded the work’s participation in the discourse of abstraction. Simultaneously, unnoticed yet potent choreographic gestures of semantic abstraction may have promoted whiteness as a normative structure, one that relies on a hegemonic “bodily integrity” (as discussed by Saidiya Hartman). Such an analysis leads to a recognition that Balanchine’s abstraction could have been a subversive form of dissent similar to Kobena Mercer’s concept of “discrepant abstraction.” However, I posit that, as a result of the Balanchine dilemma and its influence, the interlinked gestures of an abstract nature that have not been recognized as such promoted the self-regulative structure identified by Bojana Cvejić as “white harmony.” Ultimately, a more specific and clear application of the term “abstract” in ballet is needed, as it can help to dismantle or disrupt the system of white supremacy operative in dominant ballet structures.

中文翻译：

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Balanchine困境：“所谓的抽象”与黑白芭蕾的规避修辞

编舞家乔治·巴兰钦（George Balanchine）以拒绝芭蕾舞为抽象这一前提而闻名。但是，仔细观察他对抽象的评论，发现与以前相比，人们对该概念的歧义程度更高。他的有影响力的单词在舞蹈批判性写作中引起了反响，“抽象”一词在这里继续流传，但经常以模糊的方式使用，例如“所谓的抽象”。这种和其他柔和的术语变化形成了抽象术语的歧义集合，例如围绕舞蹈概念的模糊词云。本文探讨了Balanchine特定芭蕾舞的抽象概念，并提出了两个理由。一方面，通过强调Balanchine作品的视觉效果，我们可能会发现各种方法来解开Balanchine关于抽象舞蹈的困境。哈罗德·奥斯本（Harold Osborne）的“语义抽象”和布莱克·斯廷森（Blake Stimson）的“抽象手势”的视觉理论，可以帮助我们理解Balanchine黑白芭蕾舞中的抽象模式。另一方面，无论是否进行讨论，Balanchine的抽象手势在某些情况下都产生了强大的表示性变化。特别是，通过检查芭蕾舞演员的异族二重唱阿贡（1957）作为一个视觉案例研究，我们可能会看到Balanchine对概念的拒绝，被评论家对抽象编排手势的含糊术语调用或沉默所加重，阻碍了作品对抽象论述的参与。同时，语义抽象的未被注意但有力的编排手势可能已将白度提升为一种规范性结构，这种结构依赖于霸权的“身体完整性”（如Saidsai Hartman所讨论）。这样的分析导致人们认识到，Balanchine的抽象可能是异议的颠覆形式，类似于Kobena Mercer的“ discrepant抽象”概念。但是，我认为，由于Balanchine困境及其影响，未被认可的抽象性质的相互关联的手势促进了BojanaCvejić所确定的“白色和谐”的自我调节结构。最终，在芭蕾舞中需要对“抽象”一词进行更具体，更明确的应用，因为它可以帮助拆除或破坏占主导地位的芭蕾舞结构中的白人至上主义体系。