1st Edition

The Routledge Companion to Dance in Asia and the Pacific Platforms for Change

Edited By Stephanie Burridge Copyright 2022
    246 Pages 39 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge India

    246 Pages 39 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge India

    246 Pages 39 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge India

    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.

    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

    Biography

    Stephanie Burridge is a research consultant at LASALLE College of the Arts and Singapore Management University. She was Artistic Director of Canberra Dance Theatre (1978–2001) and was awarded the first Choreographic Fellowship at the Australian Choreographic Centre. She is Series Editor for Routledge anthology collections: Celebrating Dance in Asia and the Pacific, and Perspectives on Dance, Young People and Change, co-editor Charlotte Svendler Nielsen, Series Foreword by Sir Ken Robinson. She served as the Research and Documentation Network Co-Chair for WDA Asia Pacific for 15 years and is the recipient of numerous grants for choreography and research from the Australia Council, Arts ACT, NAC Singapore, and Singapore International Foundation.