The Dance Studies Association’s Asian and Asian Diaspora Dance Studies Working Group is set to host the second edition of its New Books in Asian and Asian Diaspora Dance Studies Virtual Series.
Running from 16 December 2024 to 23 January 2025, the series will spotlight 17 groundbreaking books that explore diverse aspects of dance in the Asia-Pacific region and its diasporas. Six online events will feature discussions with the authors, offering participants a chance to engage directly with their research and network globally.
Organiser Emily Wilcox highlighted the significance of the initiative, noting the rapid growth of English-language scholarship in the field.
“We are thrilled to bring visibility to and generate discussion around this exciting new research. The series invites authors from Asia, Australia, the UK, and the US to share their insights.”
The series opens on 16 December with a session featuring Anna Morcom and Neelam Raina’s Creative Economies of Culture in South Asia: Craftspeople and Performers, alongside The Dancing Body: Labour, Livelihood and Leisure by Urmimala Sarkar Munsi and Aishika Chakraborty, and Sarkar Munsi’s solo work, Mapping Critical Dance Studies in India. These books examine the intersections of dance, labour, and cultural economies in South Asia.
On 19 December, Emily Wilcox and Soo Ryon Yoon will present their collaborative work, Inter-Asia in Motion: Dance as Method, followed by Rui Xu’s Creating With Roots: Contemporary Chinese National Folk Dance Choreography, and Donna L. Kwon’s Stepping in the Madang: Sustaining Expressive Ecologies of Korean Drumming and Dance. This session will explore contemporary and traditional practices in East Asia.
The new year kicks off on 3 January with Amit Sarwal’s The Celestial Dancers: Manipuri Dance on Australian Stage, alongside Mayco Santaella’s Performing Arts and the Royal Courts of Southeast Asia, and Sarah L. Morelli and Zoe C. Sherinian’s Music and Dance as Everyday South Asia. These works collectively highlight dance’s historical and cultural transformations, with a focus on Southeast Asia’s royal courts, global connections, and the everyday integration of music and dance in South Asian cultures.
On 13 January, the spotlight turns to Ann David’s Ram Gopal: Interweaving Histories of Indian Dance, Nan Ma’s When Words Are Inadequate: Modern Dance and Transnationalism in China, and Tara Rodman’s Fantasies of Ito Michio. This session examines transnationalism and the fusion of traditional and modern forms.
A thought-provoking session on 20 January features Priyanka Basu’s The Poet’s Song: ‘Folk’ and its Cultural Politics in South Asia, Kaustavi Sarkar’s Dance, Technology and Social Justice: Individual and Collective Emancipation Through Embodied Techniques, and Royona Mitra’s Unmaking Contact: Choreographing South Asian Touch. These works explore the interplay of dance with technology, politics, and identity.
The series concludes on 23 January with Manujendra Kundu’s Women Performers in Bengal and Bangladesh: Caught up in the Culture of South Asia (1795-2010s) and Laurel Victoria Gray’s Women’s Dance Traditions of Uzbekistan: Legacy of the Silk Road, shedding light on women’s roles and legacy in dance traditions across regions.
Hosted by the Dance Studies Association, a US-based global network of scholars and practitioners, the series reflects its commitment to decolonising dance studies and amplifying marginalised voices. The events aim to foster deeper understanding of the intersection of the arts, humanities, and social sciences, while building a global community of dance researchers and enthusiasts.
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