Description
This Companion documents and celebrates artistic journeys within the framework of rich and complex cultural heritages and traditional dance practices of the Asia-Pacific region. It presents various dance forms from Australia, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and the South Pacific. Drawing on extensive research and decades of performative experience as artists, choreographers, producers, teachers, and critics, the authors approach issues of dance and cultural diversity from a theoretical perspective while at the same time exploring change, process, and transformation through dance.
The book discusses themes such as tradition, contemporization, interdisciplinarity, dance education, youth dance, dance networks, curatorial practices, and evolving performative practices of dance companies and independents. It also looks at regional networking, curating dance festivals and spaces that foster collaboration, regional cooperation, and cultural exchange, which are essential features of dance in Asia and the Pacific.
This collection will be of interest to students and researchers of pedagogy, choreography, community dance practice, theatre and performance studies, social and cultural studies, aesthetics, interdisciplinary arts, and more. It will be an invaluable resource for artists and practitioners working in dance schools and communities.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Stephanie Burridge
Australia
1. Shaping the landscape
Jill Sykes
2. Treading the Pathways – Independent Indigenous dance
Marilyn Miller
Cambodia
3. I am a Cambodian Classical Dancer: A personal story
Hun Pen
4. Dance education in Cambodia
Chey Chankethya
China
5. Concert dance in contemporary China: Crossing borders while maintaining difference
Emily Wilcox
Hong Kong and the region
6. Balancing acts / Decentering exercises: Asia Network for Dance AND + - A network of its place and time
Anna C.Y. Chan and Angela Conquet (Editors), with contributors Jala Adolphus, Anna Cy Chan, Angela Conquet, Kathy Hong, Ophelia Huang, Faith Tan.
India
7. Imag(in)ing the nation: Uday Shankar’s ‘Kalpana’
Urmimala Sarkar
8. The beauty myth and beyond: Looking at the Bollywood ‘Item Number’
Priyanka Basu
Indonesia
9. Revealing cultural representation in Indonesian contemporary dance
Michael H.B. Raditya
Malaysia
10. Eclecticism and syncretic traditions: Conceiving Malay social dance in the twentieth century
Mohd Anis Md Nor
11. Transnationalism among Malaysian contemporary dance choreographers
Bilqis Hijjas
Philippines
12. The foundation of language: New Filipino dance lexicons from Eisa Jocson
Vanini Belarmino
Singapore
13. Dancescapism: On dance, young people and choice in the Lion City
Peter Gn
14. Interconnections: An overview of the Singapore contemporary dance scene from1990 to 2020
Melissa Quek
Taiwan
15. Identity, hybridity, diversity: A brief history of dance in Taiwan
CHEN Ya-ping
16. Roots and routes of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre’s Nine Songs
LIN Yatin
Thailand
17. Reinventing how we move: The Pichet Klunchun Dance Company in the context of contemporary Thai dance
Pornrat Damrhung and Lowell Skar
The South Pacific
18. Dancing diverse commentaries on wood, sand and concrete: Stories of choreographic collaboration within the South Pacific
Sarah Knox and Rose Martin
