Year of Graduation
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
MFA: Dance
Directing Professor
Jeffery Bullock
Abstract
Jules Perrot and Jean Coralli’s choreography of Giselle’s wilis continues to influence the essentialized femininity in Ballet Blanc. The folkloric víla origins of the wilis create a direct contradiction to the archetypal ballet woman. The celebrated story of Ballet Blanc’s Giselle conflates the Slavic origins and wili characteristics, while simultaneously abandoning key characteristics of the Slavic víla. Antonia Dougherty’s thesis endeavors to unify these distinct components of the víla and their symbology so that a gender critical analysis of the essentialized femininity of Ballet Blanc’s Giselle may be explored. Perrot and Coralli used the Slavic folkloric víla origins to create the character of the wilis, and the juxtaposition within this thesis proves the essential traits that were lost. The lost characteristics lead to the emergence of the performative of a heteronormative social construct, as outlined by Judith Butler’s gender theory. The Ballet Blanc’s essentialized femininity construct bled into the influence and power of George Balanchine, as seen in Ann Daly’s Balanchine’s Woman. Dismantling Ballet Blanc’s gender norms and reclaiming stereotypical floral imagery, as seen in Art Nouveau’s Alphonse Mucha, serves as the disruption of the wili narrative and an intentional rewrite of the Slavic víla origins. The recasting of the víla integrates agency and autonomy to Ballet Blanc’s femininity through barefoot dancing, improvisations, and shapeshifting as a modifying element in the generation of movement. In conclusion, Dougherty’s personal connections through Slavic matrilineage and her journey reimagining the role and embodiment of the wili, advance an intimate transfiguration of a liberated ballet femininity.
Recommended Citation
Dougherty, Antonia R., "Unveiling the Wilis: Exploring Giselle's Slavic Folkloric Origins and the Ramifications of Essentialized Femininity" (2025). Dance (MFA) Theses, Hollins University. 45.
https://digitalcommons.hollins.edu/dancetheses/45
Performance Access Statement
If you wish to see the creative piece or performance that accompanied this thesis, please complete the Request Form, and you should receive a response from the Dance Department within two weeks.