French choreographer Maurice Béjart used the third space in performance to fracture notions of fixed gender identity by removing it from facile and binary definitions. Postcolonial
theorist, Homi K. Bhabha, originated the concept of a contradictory and ambivalent third space in which new cultural identities may be constructed. Using this concept, an analysis of Béjart's
choreography will show how the choreographer exploited the fundamental ambiguity and instability inherent in gender performance in dance. Third space uncertainty produced new possibilities of
interpretation between the signifier of biological sex and the significance of gender identity in performance. Much of Béjart's work bypassed ballet's rigid dichotomizing view of the sexes,
which allotted an artificial lightness and refined delicacy in pointe work for women and exhibitions of spectacular jumps and strength in partnering for men. Béjart redefined gender in dance
by employing the indeterminacy of the third space to shift the boundaries between male and female gender identities which were ordinarily defined as contradictory opposites. The
choreographer's concentration on the male dancer destabilized gender boundaries in dance and challenged established cultural authorities. Béjart's passage through the third space constitutes
a generative interval for queer performativity. The presumed distinctions between the two opposed genders were subsequently destabilized and deconstructed by the introduction of a third
differentiation. By his passage through the third space, Béjart transformed gender identity and incorporated the themes of gender instability and inclusiveness into a creative aesthetic.
Within the traditional performance framework of ballet, Béjart created fluid gender formations through the resignifying potential of the third space. By his acquisition of "otherness," the
performer participated in the formation of gender as a creative process. Béjart's male dancer inhabited a third space of an "otherwise male." / A Dissertation submitted to the Program in Interdisciplinary Humanities in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2014. / October 23, 2014. / dance, gender, Homi K. Bhabha, Maurice Béjart, queer performativity, the thrid space / Includes bibliographical references. / Tricia Young, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jennifer Atkins, Committee Member; Ilana Goldman, Committee Member; David Johnson, Committee
Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_253400 |
| Contributors | Duncan, Roanne Michele (authoraut), Young, Tricia Henry, 1955- (professor directing dissertation), Leushuis, Reinier, 1969- (university representative), Atkins, Jennifer (committee member), Goldman, Ilana Sasha (committee member), Johnson, David F. (David Frame), 1956- (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Arts and Sciences (degree granting college), Program in Interdisciplinary Humanities (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (145 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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