Bodies are not static. They are in constant change. Bodies are flesh, skin, mind (subconscious and unconscious), soul, emotions, thoughts, concepts, ideas, desires, dreams, uncertainties, and doubts. History is transformed in the bodies. We are who we are because of our past.
We are not disconnected from the past nor the present. Bodies are the channels of our thoughts, bridges of communication, and in crucial times, they reflect the edgy, trembling moments of the world around us. It’s very difficult not to become influenced by the unstable present—bodies are mirrors of society.
Foucault revolutionized the way we understand politics and culture, emphasizing that the body must be seen as central to the operations of power and knowledge.[1] The bodies are present, with all the remnants of the past, yet they exist in fluidity and action. Nothing can be more powerful than a body that holds all the sources of knowledge and experience it has conquered.
[1] Adair, Christy, Women and Dance: Sylphs and Sirens, The MacMillan Press Ltd, London 1992, p. 54.