Is the State a Choreographer? – Identifying the Origins of Choreographic Power

2025/11/28 by Kahla, Paul Umut
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Diversity and Impact of Dance #Foucault, Power, and Ethics #Political Theology and Sovereignty

paper · doi:10.34762/esah-nc25

openalex publication_date 2025/11/28 · openalex created_date 2025/12/01 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/01

Abstract

In this article, the author uses the figure of the choreographer as a starting point to identify centres of power in a system in which power is enacted and produced through movement. The author relates Foucault’s theories of state power to contemporary discussions of choreography in dance and performance studies while also drawing on historical understandings of choreography. In the analysis, Gerko Egert’s concept of choreopower (Choreomacht) is extended to focus on cores of choreographic power. Drawing on concepts of Judith Butler, the choreographed body is identified as taking an active part in the actualization of power.

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