Danza ed erotismo. Di chi? Per chi?

Abstract

Through the centuries, theatrical dance has been labeled an erotic art, the adjective erotic being applied in a negative sense. The present article tries a synthetic view on how the successive choreographic practices have dealt with the erotisation of dance, and on the public perception of such practices. To the ballerina had long been assigned the role of seducer, but in the XX century a homosexual approach to dance gave the male dancer the possibility of taking over her place. In the meantime, many choreographers went on considering the stage as the right place for the explicit expression of sexual behaviors, developing some kind of exhibitionism, with a violent exploitation of dancers’ bodies. Nonetheless, dance never stopped showing dramatizations of heterosexual attractions and conflicts, such as in the works of Pina Bausch.