Contemporary Directions in Asian American Dance

by Yutian Wong (Editor)

Overview

The definition of Asian American dance is as contested as the definition of “Asian American.” The term encompasses not only a range of national origins but also a dazzling variety of theoretical frameworks, disciplinary methods, and genres—from traditional to postmodern to hip hop.
            The contributors to this volume address such topics as the role of the 1960s Asian American Movement in creating Japanese American taiko groups, and the experience of internment during World War II influencing butoh dance in Canada. Essays about artists such as Jay Hirabayashi, Alvin Tolentino, Shen Wei, Kun-Yang Lin, Yasuko Yokoshi, Eiko & Koma, Sam Kim, Roko Kawai, and Denise Uyehara look closely at the politics of how Asian aesthetics are set into motion and marketed. The volume includes first-person narratives, interviews, ethnography, cultural studies, performance studies, and comparative ethnic studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780299308780
Publisher:	University of Wisconsin Press
Publication date:	12/04/2018
Series:	Studies in Dance History
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	280
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Yutian Wong is an associate professor in the School of Theatre and Dance at San Francisco State University. She is the author of Choreographing Asian America.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments                     
 
Introduction               
Yutian Wong
 
Part I: Dancing Citizenship
1. A New Taiko Folk Dance: San Jose Taiko and Asian American Movements                   
Angela K. Ahlgren
2. We Should Bring Our Muzukashii            
Roko Kawai
3. Asian Canadian Dance: Cross-Cultural Currents in Vancouver’s Kokoro Dance and Co.ERASGA Dance                       
Eury Colin Chang
4. “Started in the Streets . . .”: Reality TV, Neoliberalism and the Performance of Asian American Entrepreneurship on America’s Best Dance Crew, Season 1            
Brian Su-Jen Chung
 
Part II: Choreographing Aesthetics
5. Mediated Meditations: Choreographies of Shen Wei and Kun-Yang Lin            
Ellen V. P. Gerdes
6. An Asian American Land: Eiko & Koma Choreograph Cultural Politics             
Rosemary Candelario
7. Ambivalent Selves: The Asian Female Body in Contemporary American Dance             
Maura Nguyen Donohue
 
Afterword                  
Yutian Wong and Denise Uyehara
 
Bibliography              
Contributors               
Index

Editorial Reviews

"A methodologically diverse and eclectic approach to Asian American dance studies, where dance is both method and content. These essays illuminate the ways that dance shapes, troubles, and pushes against the contours of what counts as Asian American cultural production."—Priya Srinivasan, author of Sweating Saris


"Confirms the vibrant and diverse presence of contemporary Asian American dance on the stage and in the world. This fresh new scholarship inspires us all to consider the strategies and achievements of generations of artists and researchers working at the intersection of Asian American studies and dance studies. An absolute must for anyone concerned with the future of dance scholarship."—Thomas F. DeFrantz, editor of Dancing Many Drums


"A methodologically diverse and eclectic approach to Asian American dance studies, where dance is both method and content. These essays illuminate the ways that dance shapes, troubles, and pushes against the contours of what counts as Asian American cultural production." —Priya Srinivasan, author of Sweating Saris


"Confirms the vibrant and diverse presence of contemporary Asian American dance on the stage and in the world. This fresh new scholarship inspires us all to consider the strategies and achievements of generations of artists and researchers working at the intersection of Asian American studies and dance studies. An absolute must for anyone concerned with the future of dance scholarship." —Thomas F. DeFrantz, editor of Dancing Many Drums

From the Publisher