Кореографија традиционалног плеса на сцени: Кризе, перспективе и глобални дијалози
The Choreography of Traditional Dance on Stage: Crises, Perspectives and Global Dialogues
Contributor(s): Dunja Njaradi (Editor), Miloš Rašić (Editor), Krešimir Dabo (Editor)
Subject(s): Anthropology, Social Sciences, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
Published by: Етнографски институт САНУ
Keywords: Choreography; Traditional Dance; contemporary dance; Southeastern Europe; heritage
Summary/Abstract: The collection of papers Choreography of Traditional Dance on Stage: Crises, Perspectives and Global Dialogues was created as a result of the conference held within the framework of the TradicijaNova ethno-summit, organized by the Ensemble of Folk Dances and Songs of Serbia “Kolo”. This paper, also titled as an introductory discussion, presents the topics discussed at the aforementioned conferences, and opens up space for new re-examinations in the field of traditional and contemporary dance at the local and global levels. The main topics of this text are the artistic transpositions of traditional dance on stage (i.e. the relationship between artistic dance, its discourses and practices, and the discourses and practices of traditional dance), as well as the issue of heritage in both of these dance genres. Finally, we also aim to explore theoretical and practical problems, dilemmas and challenges that arise in the domains of professional stage presentation of traditional dances in Southeastern Europe, and to connect these discussions with global trends and discourses on dance, art and heritage.
- Print-ISBN-13: 978-86-7587-121-7
- Page Count: 263
- Publication Year: 2024
- Language: Serbian
Кореографија традиционалног плеса између локалног и глобалног – уводна разматрања
Кореографија традиционалног плеса између локалног и глобалног – уводна разматрања
(The choreography of traditional dance between the Local and the Global – Introductory Considerations)
- Author(s):Dunja Njaradi, Miloš Rašić, Krešimir Dabo
- Language:Serbian
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
- Page Range:7-26
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:traditional dance; contemporary dance; local; global; heritage; artistic transposition
- Summary/Abstract:The collection of papers, The Choreography of Traditional Dance on Stage: Crises, Perspectives and Global Dialogues, was created as a result of a series of conferences held within the Ethno Summit “TradicijaNova”, organized by the Ensemble of folk dances and songs of Serbia “Kolo”. This paper aims to present topics discussed at conferences and opens space for new re-examinations in traditional and contemporary dance at local and global levels. This paper explores the artistic transpositions of traditional dance on stage (the relationship between artistic dance, its discourses and practices, with the discourses and practices of traditional dance) and the issue of heritage in both dance genres. Finally, our goal is to explore theoretical and practical problems, doubts and challenges arising in the professional presentation of traditional dances in Southeast Europe and to connect these discussions with global trends and discourses about dance, art and heritage.
Formal and informal ways of transferring knowledge and skills of traditional (polyphonic) singing, example of the Lado Ensemble
Formal and informal ways of transferring knowledge and skills of traditional (polyphonic) singing, example of the Lado Ensemble
(Formal and informal ways of transferring knowledge and skills of traditional (polyphonic) singing, example of the Lado Ensemble)
- Author(s):Joško Ćaleta
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Music
- Page Range:27-46
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:Croatian vocal music; polyphonic singing; folklore; original vs. stylized folklore; Lado ensemble
- Summary/Abstract:Vocal musical phenomena represent recognizable identification marks of wi- der communities and integral segments of their cultural and social identity. The term ‘folk music’ in Croatia is closely related to the history of its performance at festivals and parades, where the attitude towards vocal music had a remarkable influence on the development of the parade system. All of the above was a good prerequisite for creating the first profes- sional ensemble in the period of institutionalization, which will also form a recognizable vocal pattern, a recognizable Croatian “voice”. Chest-throat singing, today known as Lado’s singing (ladovsko pjevanje), as a “voice”, is very similar to the singing of the central and northern Croatian plains. In this act, the informal way of learning (oral transmission) is formalized with new ways of learning – spontaneity, which is one of the backbones of the concept of originality, is, in this case, replaced by professionalism represented during the entire process of creating a stylized, staged work of art. Changes in approaches to the stage presentation of vocal music in the seventy-year practice of the Lado ensemble will show a series of knowledge transfer processes that found their place in the stage vocal performances of the ensemble, creating new performance models that simultaneously became new ways of acquiring and transferring knowledge in local communities.
Cultural transmission of choreographic knowledge: Fieldwork in Bulgaria with some examples from the United States
Cultural transmission of choreographic knowledge: Fieldwork in Bulgaria with some examples from the United States
(Cultural transmission of choreographic knowledge: Fieldwork in Bulgaria with some examples from the United States)
- Author(s):Daniela Ivanova-Nyberg
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
- Page Range:47-69
- No. of Pages:23
- Keywords:cultural transmission; choreographic knowledge; Bulgaria; continuity; innovation
- Summary/Abstract:This paper discusses the various challenges that the topic of cultural transmission of choreographic knowledge presents but also reveals the fascination with the new avenues for further study it offers. The text includes a theoretical part, fieldwork documents (accompanied by analytical commentaries), and a concluding remark. The theoretical part brings the author’s “dialogue” with the concepts of cultural transmission and choreographic knowledge; the “pre- sentational” one presents fieldwork documents in a search for cultural transmission of choreo- graphic knowledge within the Bulgarian context with some examples from the US. This section includes references to universities’ programs, traces the history of the discipline of Bulgarian Folk Choreography (and the genre of Bulgarian Dance Art Based on Folklore), and presents mentor-disciple influence. The adopted interdisciplinary research method combines historical, anthropological, and ethnochoreological research approaches by incorporating a philosophical perspective. This research leads to the conclusion that there is a strong institutional foundation and well-established practices in offering practical choreographic knowledge/education in Bul- garia which opens the door to further studies on both theoretical and fieldwork sides.
Situating the Choreographer in Irish Traditional Step Dancing
Situating the Choreographer in Irish Traditional Step Dancing
(Situating the Choreographer in Irish Traditional Step Dancing)
- Author(s):Catherine E. Foley
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
- Page Range:71-87
- No. of Pages:17
- Keywords:Irish traditional step dancing; Ireland; political ideologies; choreography; choreographer
- Summary/Abstract:In Ireland, choreographic work in traditional step dancing exists on many levels: amateur to professional and within diverse cultural systems and contexts. These systems and contexts support particular communities of practice, which in- fluence and shape choreographers’ choreographic work and the meanings that these dances/works embody and express. In this paper, I select and examine different Irish traditional step dancing communities of practice and their respective aesthetic sys- tems. In so doing, I explore how choreographers situate their work within and around these systems of cultural practice. Located within specific ideological discourses and epistemologies, I contend that today, choreographers of traditional step dancing either conform to, or challenge, the boundaries of discourses associated with the respective aesthetic systems of these practices. The paper focuses on group dancing and not solo step dancing.
Display, Preserve, Perpetuate. Logics of Performance in some Yemenite Ethnic dance troupes in Israel
Display, Preserve, Perpetuate. Logics of Performance in some Yemenite Ethnic dance troupes in Israel
(Display, Preserve, Perpetuate. Logics of Performance in some Yemenite Ethnic dance troupes in Israel)
- Author(s):Marie-Pierre Gibert
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
- Page Range:89-109
- No. of Pages:21
- Keywords:Change; Dance; Performance; Recognition; Yemenite Jews
- Summary/Abstract:Created in the 1970s, the so-called “Ethnic dance troupes” (lehakot etniot) exhibit the rich cultural heritage of some of the many groups composing the Israeli society: Jews from Yemen, Morocco, Kurdistan, Libya, Iraq, Ethiopia, or India, but also Arabs, Druzes or Circassians. By displaying elements of their culture, these troupes have participated in an important political claim of the 1970s in Israel: to be recognized and treated as equal to other parts of the population of this multicultural State. My anthropological work, conducted in Israel for the last twenty years, has focused on the dance repertoires of Jews coming from Yemen (or whose parents/grandparents came from there). This article intends to show how the repertoires they brought from Yemen have been used to construct the various performances of some Yemenite Ethnic dance troupes within this political framework of cultural recognition, and later, to preserve and perpetuate this heritage. More recently, turning their gaze towards the future of the dance troupes and their perpetuation, dancers and managers are proceeding to a radical transformation of what is performed on stage. The politics and perception of change will be explored, as well as performance logics that I have named “pedagogical” and “aesthetics”.
Romanian dance ethno-choreography: past trajectories and evolving approaches
Romanian dance ethno-choreography: past trajectories and evolving approaches
(Romanian dance ethno-choreography: past trajectories and evolving approaches)
- Author(s):Elizabeth Mellish
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Social Sciences, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
- Page Range:111-135
- No. of Pages:25
- Keywords:Romanian-dance; ensemble; ethno-choreography; choreographers; con- tinuity
- Summary/Abstract:This paper investigates the history of Romanian ethno-choreography and its proponents by drawing from documentary sources and the author’s long-term field- work. It explores multi-layered notions of local cultural norms, choreographic authority and knowledge, presentational performances, and ‘modes of representation’. The first section outlines the history of Romanian ethno-choreography from the early twentieth century, when Romanian dances were included within staged art productions. It outlines the framework of the network of folk ensembles established after the Second World War that contracted between 1990 and 2005, then expanded following a renewed enthusiasm for local culture. The second section follows the choreographers and dance instructors placing these individuals according to their generations and investigates available op-tions for choreographic training both past and present. The third section examines the evolution of the structure of Romanian ensemble performances, and ethno-choreogra- phy styling, the role of the choreographer as mediators between the dance moves and the creation of their dance performances and various strategies used to construct choreographies. Finally, this paper looks forward at the notion of continuity and ethno-choreography in relation to evolving performance in Romania, the future of the gene, its mediators and their pupils, audiences, and funding bodies.
Choreographing eyes in Ukrainian staged folk dance
Choreographing eyes in Ukrainian staged folk dance
(Choreographing eyes in Ukrainian staged folk dance)
- Author(s):Andriy Nahachewsky
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Social Sciences, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
- Page Range:137-154
- No. of Pages:18
- Keywords:presentational dance; folk-staged; eyes; gaze; Ukrainian
- Summary/Abstract:Dancers use their eyes very differently in participatory contexts, as opposed to performances on proscenium stages. In an earlier publication I demonstrated that, during social dances, eyes are very often unfocussed or used casually as in regular interactions. In staged folk dance, the participants are often instructed to sustain strong eye contact with each other (an intra-diegetic gaze), which is used in part to reinforce the illusion of the dance’s imputed setting “there and then” (often in an idealized traditional village in the past), and to help the audience to follow them in their imagination. A second dominant gaze strategy is extra-diegetic (making eye contact beyond the proscenium with the spectators). This option emphasizes the “here and now” of the shared performance event. In this article I extend that exploration and introduce complexity, to focus on how Ukrainian staged folk dance choreographers, Pavlo Virsky and Vasile Avramenko, have manipulated these two dominant and contrasting options differently in their compositions. Standards for intra- and extra-diegetic use of eyes have changed over time in Ukrainian dance. I introduce suggestions on how the cultural and political environments influence choreographers’ decisions on gaze.
Professionals - dancers of folk dances
Professionals - dancers of folk dances
(Professionals - dancers of folk dances)
- Author(s):Iva Niemčić
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology
- Page Range:155-165
- No. of Pages:11
- Keywords:Lado; Croatia; professionals; dancers of folk dances
- Summary/Abstract:In the former Yugoslavia, three professional ensembles of folk dances and songs were founded in the middle of the last century and have been active until today. They are Lado from Zagreb (Croatia), Kolo from Belgrade (Serbia) and Tanec from Skopje (Macedonia). The ensembles are made up of professional dancers and musicians whose task was to artistically interpret former Yugoslavian heritage, but at the present time Croatian, Serbian and Macedonian folk songs and dances in the country and abroad. The author in her scientific research, challenged precisely by the excellent visibility and recognition of the Lado ensemble in the country and abroad, deals with the less visible parts of the mosaic that create the perfect image for the public and the audience. Using the Life History method based on in-depth interviews, she tries to draw portraits, primarily of female dancers and artists who dedicated their lives to the stage. She is interested in what lurks beyond of stage lights, what are all the identities of professional female dancers, both professional and private, how they reconcile and complement each other, and how they have changed in the context of the historical time they live. Through the prism of ethnological questioning of the identity of female dancers, the first question arises about their dancing body, the body as a starting point, and the body that makes that dance visible. For this paper, she focused on the education of dancers, which has changed in accordance and inconsistency with the changes in the artistic policy of the ensemble management. On the other hand, the author points to the working method/ strategy within the ensemble regarding on the inquires how to approach the dancers who have become even more singers due to the changes in the artistic policy.
Плес у контексту наслеђа: три случаја традиције на савременој плесној сцени
Плес у контексту наслеђа: три случаја традиције на савременој плесној сцени
(Dance in the context of heritage: three cases of tradition on the contemporary dance scene)
- Author(s):Dunja Njaradi
- Language:Serbian
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
- Page Range:167-179
- No. of Pages:13
- Keywords:dance history; dance tradition; heritage
- Summary/Abstract:This paper represents a contribution towards a growing discussion on staging history and tradition in scholarly debates and artistic circles. Reconstruction of the iconic historical works as well as staging of different traditional dance material from all over the world have become part and parcel of contemporary choreographic approaches. These trends in artistic strategies have opened many significant questions that relate to our sense of history and our understanding of heritage. In attempting to tease out some of these questions and problems, this paper will introduce three different choreographic case studies that, each in different ways, deal with the notion of tradition in contemporary discourses of dance as heritage.
Establishment and the process of development of Turkish national folk dance institutions
Establishment and the process of development of Turkish national folk dance institutions
(Establishment and the process of development of Turkish national folk dance institutions)
- Author(s):Mehmet Öcal Özbilgin
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
- Page Range:181-193
- No. of Pages:13
- Keywords:folk dance; institution; Turkey; establishment; development
- Summary/Abstract:In 1947, Madame Ninette De Volais was invited to Turkey to open a ballet school in order to establish the National Turkish Ballet. Halil Oğultürk was appointed as a teacher of the ‘national dances’ class. In 1951, Ensemble of People’s dances and songs of Serbia “Kolo” gave a concert in Ankara opera hall as part of the culture week organized by the Yugoslav Embassy. The staging power and cultural aspect of this performance had a great impact. As a result, Halil Oğultürk was sent by the government to former Yugoslavia for a year to do research on how to teach, document, choreograph and orchestrate dances. Thus, folk dance staging started to increase and turn into a modern presentation form in Turkey. The State Folk Dance Ensemble was established in 1975 under the Ministry of Tourism and Promotion as the first official professional folk dance ensemble. The innovative stage arrangements of the State Folk Dance Ensemble, which presents traditional dances with a modern staging approach, added a new dimension to the understanding of folk dance staging. The training activities for the professional dancers of the State Folk Dance Ensemble and the staging approaches created by the famous dance choreographers of the period would be the basis for the creation of the sports and performing arts courses included in the curriculum of the Turkish Folk Departments. In this study, I will discuss the effect of professional folk dance ensembles established in Eastern Europe on the establishment and development process of National Turkish Folk Dance Institutions. The social, economic, and political development of Turkish folk dance performances from the Republican period will be examined. The effect of Eastern European Professional Folk Dance Ensembles in the process of Turkish folk dance departments becoming an independent art branch in universities will be evaluated under this title.
The Choreography of traditional dance in Serbia in artistic crisis: towards an anthropological interpretation
The Choreography of traditional dance in Serbia in artistic crisis: towards an anthropological interpretation
(The Choreography of traditional dance in Serbia in artistic crisis: towards an anthropological interpretation)
- Author(s):Miloš Rašić
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
- Page Range:195-212
- No. of Pages:18
- Keywords:The choreography of traditional dance; art; original; stylized; #MeltingPot
- Summary/Abstract:Serbia has a long ethnochoreological tradition, while the art of the choreography of traditional dance is a relatively recent phenomenon, created after the Second World War. Although it is an artistic practice, the choreography of traditional dance is often based on the opposition original:stylized and perceived as a practice that “preserves identity”, “tradition”, and “heritage”. I argue that the tendency towards division within the genre is not in favor of art. On the contrary, framing attempts and insisting on a clear commitment to the approach when creating choreography led to limiting the art of the choreography of traditional dance. This paper aims to present the processes by which the discourse on “original” choreographies was built and then to point out the limiting attempts of sub-genre classification of choreographies. Finally, this article will present the show “#MeltingPot” performed by the students at the Ballet High School from Novi Sad. Namely, in this performance, traditional dances inspired professors and students to create new choreographic forms and bring the choreography of traditional dance out of years of hibernation.
Ivan Ivančan – Family, Tradition, Folklore
Ivan Ivančan – Family, Tradition, Folklore
(Ivan Ivančan – Family, Tradition, Folklore)
- Author(s):Suzana Ajhner-Starčević, Krešimir Starcevic
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
- Page Range:213-225
- No. of Pages:13
- Keywords:Ivan Ivančan; LADO Ensemble; folkdance; traditional culture; heritage
- Summary/Abstract:It is not easy to be called Ivan Ivančan and not to work in folklore. Already in records from the last century, we find information about grandmother Eva Ivančan, her son Andrija and grandson Ivan Ivančan. The latter (Ivan Ivančan, PhD) is one of the most famous Croatian ethnochoreographers and ethnochoreologists. In the Ivančan family, folklore was the basic fabric of life, so it was almost impossible to grow up in such an environment and not to work with folklore. Ivan Ivančan, who is described in this paper, is the son of Ivan Ivančan (PhD) and he was born in 1953. in Zagreb. As early as 1975, he started his career in the Ensemble of folk dances and songs LADO. He spent 41 years in the Ensemble, including 24 years as artistic director. During the years he spent as artistic director, he put more than forty new choreographies and four hundred musical pieces of secular and sacred characters into the repertoire. He designed and staged about a hundred special programs for various occasions. During his tenure, the Ensemble received as many as 24 Porin discography awards, of which Ivan Ivančan personally received as many as 9. He prepared a representative musical monograph: Hrvatska tradicijska glazba i sastavi [Croatian traditional instruments and ensembles]. At the School of Classical Ballet, he taught folk singing and the basics of choreography. Since 1983, he has been teaching folklore singing and dancing at the School of Folklore of the Croatian Cultural Association [Hrvatski sabor kulture]. All the above, which is only a part of Ivan Ivančan’s rich and diverse folklore activity, without a doubt ranks him among the greats of the folklore scene.
An Image that Resonates: Yang Liping and the Evolution of Contemporary Chinese Folk Dance
An Image that Resonates: Yang Liping and the Evolution of Contemporary Chinese Folk Dance
(An Image that Resonates: Yang Liping and the Evolution of
Contemporary Chinese Folk Dance)
- Author(s):Emily Wilcox
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
- Page Range:227-239
- No. of Pages:13
- Keywords:Chinese dance; contemporary folk dance; peacock dance; Yang Liping; Yunnan
- Summary/Abstract:Yang Liping (b. 1958) is China’s most successful contemporary folk dance choreographer. Beyond being famous among dancers, she has achieved the status of a mainstream popular celebrity, balancing her reputation as a fine artist and cultural purist with success in the commercial arena. Drawing on nearly two decades of ethnographic and archival research in China, as well as analysis of Yang’s dance performances, interviews, and visual media representations, this article asks how Yang achieved this unprecedented success through contemporary folk dance choreography. The paper examines Yang’s rise to fame since the late 1970s through her transformation of an iconic Chinese folk image: the peacock dance. Peacock dance uses elements of a mythological story from Buddhist literature with a type of village dance performed in one particular ethnic group in China and adapts it into a multimedia national image that gets reproduced in film, visual art, and dance choreography. The paper shows how Yang has deftly adapted the peacock dance into her own signature brand through a series of multimedia platforms, while she maintains an emphasis on dance, a charismatic public persona, and a unique yet constantly adapting contemporary folk aesthetic as the core of her appeal.
Revisiting Teshkoto Again. The Process of Signifying the Folk Dance Teshkoto with its Artistic Reflections
Revisiting Teshkoto Again. The Process of Signifying the Folk Dance Teshkoto with its Artistic Reflections
(Revisiting Teshkoto Again. The Process of Signifying the Folk Dance Teshkoto with its Artistic Reflections)
- Author(s):Sonja Zdravkova Djeparoska
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
- Page Range:241-255
- No. of Pages:15
- Keywords:Teshkoto; Macedonia; signifying; acceptance; dance replicas; social reflections
- Summary/Abstract:The folk dance called Teshkoto has a special meaning for the Macedonians. It does not only belong to the traditional sequence of folk dances, but it is also a form which has accumulated a plethora of meanings. With the aim to research the associations related to this topic, I have included participants who helped me as a researcher to form a full picture about the perception of the dance. The survey results served as a basis to analyze Teshkoto not only through its original form but through its art replicas as well. The responses to the question on generated meanings are a result of many decades of “signifying” this folk dance. I have researched the transfer of those signified elements in current art works, but also the expansion of the same and the additional meanings they acquire. In this paper, the focus is on one ballet and one contemporary dance. The phenomenon of the general perception and interpretation of Teshkoto folk dance and its popularity not only of its traditional folk dance form, but also because of its specificity regarding esthetics and expression, tells us about its unique value.
Biographies of the authors
Biographies of the authors
(Biographies of the authors)
- Author(s):Author Not Specified
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
- Page Range:257-262
- No. of Pages:6
