Conversations on the frontlines of the body
Abstract
The Australian performing arts collective Remnant Dance has a partnership with a charity organisation that supports an orphaned community in Myanmar (Burma). The creation of a contemporary dance film with this community generated a performance in which young Burmese participants were encouraged to tell their own stories. The film was set in an abandoned glass factory in Myanmar, using glass as a metaphor for a surface that invites reflection as well as open transparency with the young people from the children’s centre. The story of making the dance film Meeting Places offers a case study for reflection on ideas of interconnection through dance making; and a site for engagement with social justice concerns within diverse communities. The creation of new dance through cross-cultural, multi-arts forms and inter-disciplinary contexts enables narratives to emerge through the frontline of dance’s unique communication.
Keywords
[RstdPub], contemporary dance, social justice, connectivity
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Date of Publication
2014
School
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA)
RAS ID
32454
Copyright
free_to_read
Comments
Coleman, L. (2015). Conversations on the frontlines of the body. In C. F. Stock & P. Germain-Thomas (Eds.), Contemporising the past: envisaging the future, Proceedings of the 2014 World Dance Alliance Global Summit, Angers, 6–11 July. Available here.