La danse classique ou la domestication de la transe

Abstract

Through a previous anthropological perspective, links have been established between foundational dances (tribal and ethnic) and their relationship to trance. This article proposes to examine the relevance of bringing our westernized classical academic dance closer to a “tamed trance”. This style of dance, corresponding to a given era and culture, will allow us to understand the context of its emergence and its formative influence on the dancer. By defining the specificity of certain modified states of consciousness (MSC) otherwise known as “trance states”, it appears that the classical ballet dancer can experience “trance-in-dance” states which have certain functionalities. Achieving a daily and professionalized trance state would make it possible not only to subjugate any painful phenomena but also to experience one's body as a medium for uniqueness and association. The symbolic research underlying this choreography of bodies would appear to impose a connection with a supra order, a form of spirituality, even one of transcendence which would indicate a utilitarian purpose of the trance in the dancer.