A creative pursuit as a 'vocation': an anthropological study of a ballet world at work

© 2013 Dr. Yoko DemeliusThis thesis explores the world of ballet dancers, their vocational lives, their aspirations and the larger dance communities in which they are situated. It is based on 15 months of field research at a dance company and dance projects in Switzerland. The aim of this study is to elucidate how creative practice, aesthetic experiences, and self-reflexivity are related to individuals' sense of vocation by delving into ballet dancers' vocational lives. The core questions deal with motivational factors and the ways in which dancers achieve a sense of vocation through their creative pursuits. This thesis contributes to the anthropology of work in its examination of the relationship between 'consumption' and ideas of 'vocation' in a practice-based translocal community