The Journal of Society for Dance Documentation & History

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Asian Dance Journal / September 2026 Vol. 82

A Study on the Aesthetics of the Controlled Body in Akram Khan’s Giselle

아크람 칸 「지젤」에 나타난 통제된 신체의 미학 연구 푸코의 규율 권력 개념을 중심으로

Han Chaeyun, Cha Sujung [Sujeong] 한채윤, 차수정

DOI:https://doi.org/10.26861/sddh.2026.82.281

Asian Dance Journal
Vol.82 pp.281-300

Abstract
A Study on the Aesthetics of the Controlled Body in Akram Khan’s Giselle ×


Drawing on Foucault’s concept of disciplinary power, this study examines the aesthetic meaning and organization of bodies and space in Akram Khan’s Giselle. The “controlled body” is not a replacement for Foucault’s “docile body,” but an operational term for analyzing how force, time, space, and possibilities for action are organized within power relations in a completed performance. The English National Ballet’s 2017 performance recording and official production materials were qualitatively analyzed. The Outcasts’ lowered centers of gravity and ensemble movement served not as evidence of control but as choreographic forms producing a sense of weight and collective rhythm. The wall restricted access and forward movement, while the two-level set visualized distance and isolation between Albrecht and the other Landlords. In the Wilis’ scenes, Myrtha’s organization of collective force and direction constituted relational control; the elimination of Hilarion’s possibilities for movement and choice constituted direct coercion; and Giselle’s deviation from the group’s direction represented limited disobedience. These differences became perceptible as distinct aesthetic forms through weight, rhythm, space, and stage objects.


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