‘Docile bodies’ in the ‘heterothopia’ From the configuration and persistence of romantic ‘ballet’ archetypes to their re-signification in contemporary audiovisual media

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Published 2026-01-28
Patricia Bonnin-Arias

Abstract

This paper begins with a contextual inquiry into the construction and evolution of female archetypes in Romantic ballet, analysing their ideological and aesthetic background within the nineteenth-century context. Through an interdisciplinary methodology that weaves together semiotic and iconographic analysis, critical body theory, gender studies, and visual ethnography, it examines how these models, forged in the stage tradition, have been internalised and transformed within the collective imagination, permeating contemporary visual culture. The study is completed with the analysis of two contemporary films, Las niñas de cristal (2022) and Black swan (2010), in which the archetypes inherited from ballet are rewritten and re-signified, revealing new tensions around discipline, agency, and female subjectivity. Thus, the article offers a critical perspective on the persistence of these imaginaries and their capacity to challenge and problematise current discourses on the body, gender, and power in audiovisual representation, underlining their relevance and transformative potential in contemporary visual culture.

 

How to Cite

Bonnin-Arias, Patricia. 2026. “‘Docile bodies’ in the ‘heterothopia’: From the Configuration and Persistence of Romantic ‘ballet’ Archetypes to Their Re-Signification in Contemporary Audiovisual Media”. AusArt 14 (1). https://doi.org/10.1387/ausart.27771.
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Keywords

ROMANTIC BALLET, ARCHETYPES, HETEROTOPIA, BIOPOLITICS, VISUAL CULTURE, LAS NIÑAS DE CRISTAL (FILM, 2022), BLACK SWAN (FILM, 2010)

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