Ru
EnL. Mirskaya, V. Pigulevskiy
Aesthetics of academic dance: from grace to grotesque
The article examines the relationship between discourse and the aesthetics of dance in connection with the distinctive features of culture and choreographic style. Historically, the aesthetics of dance performance has encompassed a broad expressive spectrum, ranging from grace to Dionysian ecstasy. Immersed in the rhythm of music and employing the language of gesture, the dancer conveys meaning, while both the content and the mode of expression vary across classical ballet, modern dance, and contemporary dance styles. Accordingly, the aesthetics of dance evolve from grace to improvisation and the grotesque, whereas discourse shifts from mythopoetic foundations toward the expression of the dancer’s emotions and corporeality. In classical ballet, grace is governed by strict conventions whose artificiality is concealed beneath the apparent ease of performance. Modern dance emerged as a response to these disciplinary techniques and formalized rules, placing primary emphasis on emotional expression, artistic renewal, and the “theatre of the body.” In the postmodern condition, the shift from intellectualism to corporeality has given rise to a radical pluralism of ideas, performance practices, interpretations, experimentation, and choreographic improvisation, accompanied by combinations of diverse musical styles with spoken text, video, acting, and performative practices. The essence of contemporary dance is seen in its openness to synthesis and plurality, in the unrestricted combination of heterogeneous elements, the hyperbolization of detail, and the creation of hybrid forms whose defining aesthetic characteristic is the grotesque. Dance is thereby transformed into performance, embracing the conceptual extremes of chaos and non-dance. The highly refined technique of classical ballet, subordinated to musical rhythm and grand narratives, has itself become a classical tradition. The rejection of the aesthetic conventions characteristic of ballet results in a transformation from grace to the grotesque, while the free flow of improvisation initiated by modern dance reaches its anthropological limit in contemporary dance practices.
Key words
art of dance, grace, grotesque, gesture, ballet, modern dance, contemporary dance.
For citation
Mirskaya L., Pigulevskiy V. Aesthetics of academic dance: from grace to grotesque. In: South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2026. No. 2. Pp. 89–97.
