TITLE:
The Royal New Zealand Ballet and the Power of Dance in Prison
AUTHORS:
Jana Skorstengaard, Sylvie Frigon
KEYWORDS:
Ballet Initiatives, Arts Initiatives, The Royal New Zealand Ballet, Docile Bodies, Arts-Based Practices, Dance in Prison
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.10 No.10,
September
22,
2022
ABSTRACT: The
following article is based on research conducted with the Royal New Zealand
Ballet in May 2020. Within this article, we explore themes around the impact of
dance on the incarcerated body as well as the physical and emotional transformative power of this art form
utilizing Foucault’s docile bodies framework. We also explore the idea
of dance as a humanizing art form, allowing prisoners to improve their
self-esteem, as well as their connections to their others. Finally, we situate
this research within the Canadian context and outline why a program such as the
Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Prison Program is a positive step toward
rehabilitation. This article seeks to understand and discuss the ways in which
dance can help to bring a sense of joy and meaning to the lives of prisoners,
thus, improving many aspects of their lives.