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

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

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.