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Epiphanies of embodiment: injury, identity and the balletic body

King’s College London

Bryan S. Turner

University of Cambridge

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.

Key Words: ballet • body • culture • embodiment • ethnography • identity • injury • self

Qualitative Research, Vol. 4, No. 3, 311-337 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/1468794104047232


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