Deconstructing giftedness: A relational analysis of the make-up of talent in theatrical dance

Abstract

This article embarks on a sociological explanation of the genesis of talent as an embodied experience and as bodily hexis generated within a system of social and aesthetic relations which are characterised by symbolic oppositions. Using Bourdieu’s theory of artistic production, I argue that talent in theatrical dance constitutes an ideal type materialised through the construction of the dancing body as a site of excellence, only possible through access to specific forms of capital. Drawing on historical and contemporary empirical material to conceptualise talent in dance, the article critiques the notion of talent as an innate gift, contending that virtuoso physical performance is a product of history and practice and acquires meaning within such conditions of engagement.