2024 Reimagining the Terrain: Futures of Dance Scholarship

I examine the transmission of Korean traditional dance as an act of translation through the body, focusing on dances recognized as national intangible cultural heritage, whose transmission is methodically regulated for the purpose of preservation. Drawing on Gabriele Klein’s idea of transmitting dance as a practice of translating contemporary choreography, I use the term “translation” to refer to the transmission of intangible material from body to body. I show that in translating Korean traditional dance, the dancing body acts as both the original and the translator; that it is through the act of translation that dance exists, and the tradition continues its life. Considering the process of transmitting dance translationally expands the scope of both dance studies and translation studies, ultimately offering a productive perspective on performance translation by opening up the possibility of a new mode: corporeal translation.

In Spring 2021, Yukina Sato, a Japanese-native dance artist, and Yujie Chen, a Chinese-native dance scholar, created a dance piece titled “Body Negative.” This project was an intermedia live dance performance that premiered at the Motion Lab at Ohio State University. It utilized video projections, soundscapes, and live camera captures. This collaborative embodiment research examined the burden of representing the Japanese female body on stage. Through technology, we explored the expectation of stereotyped East Asian-ness and how the dancer challenges this gaze. Throughout the process, we asked ourselves, "How do we reveal the lived experiences of East Asian women in the United States through dance and technology?"

Nowadays, globalised world can be defined as the locale of multiple decontextualised bodies, moving within blurred borders, various embodied knowledge systems, and worldviews, making us “eternal migrants” shaped and carved by different spaces. From the perspective of these fractal / collage identities, this article investigates the multiple practises of neoclassical North Indian Kathak dance in India and around the globe through the example of my own experience as a Lithuanian Kathak dancer. As a researcher and practitioner, constantly moving between India and Lithuania and continuing practice and teaching in a dance form far from its cultural context, I am using multiple positionalities in this research. The questions of tradition, authenticity, transformation clearly stand out while looking into the different variations of evolvement of the form, being far from natural and unproblematic. Thus, the article delves into “ethnographic present” (Zarrilli, 1998: 48) of Kathak practice in this space and asks questions, highlighting certain issues of historiography, “socio-artistic organization” (Neuman, 1990) and changes in the dance tradition: - How does Kathak tradition evolves in different contexts in India and around the globe, influenced by different circumstances and agencies, despite “dominant narrative” (Chakravorty, 2008, Walker, 2014)? - How do the practitioners negotiate the relationship between traditional and contemporary? - What are the main challenges of navigating personal artistic expression in the web of power dynamics, hierarchised institutional structures, mytho-historical contexts? - How does the identity – or rather multiple identities - impact performance, pedagogy, and aesthetics? - How do the dancers, even those outside the cultural context, “reappropriate” the tradition and create artistic reality with the “new meaning” (Rice, 1996: 117)?

The term Sufi Kathak has gained popularity in recent years, especially on social media, but it is historically and culturally misleading. This article challenges the validity of the label, unpacking why Kathak and Sufi traditions, while both rich and profound, arise from distinct aesthetic, historical, and spiritual lineages. Drawing from dance history, religious context, and performance practice, it argues that merging them into a single term distorts both forms. The piece invites readers to reflect on cultural accuracy, artistic integrity, and informed terminology.

This paper argues that dance is inextricably linked to the political realm. It is viewed as a continuous form of communication and intervention that offers a vital expressive avenue to challenge the standard, often restrictive, verbal representations of human political lives. This research examines the political agency of dancing bodies through a case study analysis of the choreographic work of Ananya Chatterjea, Akram Khan, and Ramli Ibrahim. The central argument is that their performances are not mere entertainment; they are a direct reflection of the larger political climate, serving as powerful tools for social commentary and activism in South and Southeast Asia. The core of this research delves into the concept of "aesthetic citizenship" to demonstrate how these artists—using their diverse dance styles—actively transcend and challenge hyper-nationalist identities, particularly in India, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. By showcasing the transformative power of dance, their work addresses complex international issues and provokes crucial public discourse on the interplay between art, politics, and identity. To unpack their work, the paper employs three main analytical frameworks: cultural diplomacy and soft power in Asia; the idea of aesthetic citizenship, which frames artistic endeavours as a legitimate means of political participation; and the critical theory of "overreading" dance, which connects movement to broader social and political contexts. Ultimately, this research argues that aesthetic citizenship empowers these choreographer-practitioners to transcend national boundaries and significantly influence the cultural and artistic landscape, reshaping the context for both innovative dance developments and broader social movements.