Black Bodies in White Spaces: Considering the Black Female Ballet Dancer in South Africa

Authors

• Devon Bailey, University of JohannesburgFollow

Abstract

Considering apartheid in South Africa and the resistance that black (dancing) bodies were met with in white (ballet) spaces, there are clear, prevailing effects of the male gaze on how the bodies of black, female dancers are perceived in the arts. In this paper, I argue that the neglected and overlooked black female/oppositional gaze presents a strong challenge to the white male gaze in relation to how black, female, ballet dancing bodies are perceived, using the example of black, South African, female choreographer Dada Masilo’s interpretation of “Swan Lake.” I take Paul C. Taylor’s sarkaesthetic approach to show how Masilo challenges the white male gaze as it pertains to the kinds of dancers expected on stage and how Masilo breaks stereotypes of conventional physical, aesthetic expectations. I conclude that through the female/oppositional gaze, the black, female ballet dancer in South Africa is empowered with a measure of reclaiming her sense of agency over her own body.