„Konik bardzo się zmęczył”. Koń jako metafora ciała doświadczającego
“The Little Horse Is Tired”: The Horse as a Metaphor of an Experiencing Body

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this article is to show that the body of a horse can become a metaphor of an experiencing body understood in opposition to the ideal of the (hyperreal) ballet body. The position and role of horses in the traditional circus, where the animals are being tamed during the performances that manifest human supremacy over the world of nature, is an important context for this analysis. The subjugation of wildness in the circus arena can be seen as a process parallel to the practice of disciplining the ballet body. The other important issue addressed in this article is the relationship between horses and the war. In culture and history, the horse is both the conquered and the conquering. The same can be said about the body, which, on the one hand, must go through the process of repressive and objectifying socialization, and on the other determines the existence of the “self” and defines its identity. To illustrate and support these ideas, Alicja Muller describes the performance The Ninth by theatre collective Via Negativa.

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