A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

'Bring down the controlled movements!' Exploring the possibilities of and limitations on achieving embodied agency in ballet and fashion




AuthorsSuvi Satama, Astrid Huopalainen

PublisherRoutledge

Publication year2018

JournalCulture and Organization

Volume24

Issue5

First page 383

Last page407

Number of pages25

ISSN1475-9551

eISSN1477-2760

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1080/14759551.2016.1151424

Web address http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14759551.2016.1151424


Abstract

This paper explores the subtleties of exercising embodied agency within two contexts shaped by ideals and norms: ballet and fashion. Here, we focus on how dancers and models rehearsing offstage towards onstage performances negotiate their potential and limitations for achieving agency over and over. Whereas a ‘turn to embodiment’ has occurred within organization studies, less is known about how embodied agency is choreographed and practised between visible front stages and ‘hidden’ offstages, or in relation to the various human and nonhuman agents present in the field. The empirical material of this paper is derived from two separate ethnographic studies. By combining insights from the two contexts, we make a joint effort to explore a complex phenomenon in more detail. This paper develops our micro-level understanding of embodied agency as a relational endeavour, and offers insights into the surprisingly ‘a-mobile’ discussion of embodied practices within organization studies.



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