Liquor-Based Canned Cocktail Production: Fizzy with the Rizzy; The Underbelly of Ballet: The Exploitative Empire of American Ballet Companies

Despite perfect and ideal connotations of ballet, there exist hierarchical and gendered structures in American ballet companies that have persisted since its initial formation. In the 19th century, dancers in the Paris Opera Ballet were sold to wealthy benefactors for sex. Many of the largest American ballet companies today have male artistic directors and choreographers, domineering over a largely female dance company. Misogyny still exists in the idealized pre-pubescent, overly thin ballet body that appeals to the male fantasy of deflowering a virgin, and in the infantilization and discipline of female company dancers. This research paper evaluates the role of the perception of female dancers and capitalism on the establishment of these power structures using actor network theory. Network analysis methodology is used to evaluate journal articles and research studies that identify and codify the role of gender in American ballet companies as well as the impact of the culture of capitalist exploitation. Many fields including engineering, business, and medicine, exhibit similar power structures, implicit and explicit, that disparage women and other minority groups in American society. This study will illuminate the factors that contribute to longstanding systems of power on the basis of sex and will provide insight into how they might be dismantled in these other contexts.

School of Engineering and Applied Science
Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering
Technical Advisor: Eric Anderson
STS Advisor: Bryn Seabrook
Technical Team Members: John Fitzgerald, Bryan Murphy, Steven Nguyen, Reagan Scaglione