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Thursday 18 April 13:30 — 18:00, STUK Auditorium
Language: English
The symposium is free of charge but registration is required.
Cultural Studies (KU Leuven) and STUK House for Dance, Image & Sound are co-organizing "Dancing Diaspora," a symposium aimed at bringing together dance scholars, practitioners, and interested audiences to explore the intersection of dance, choreography and diaspora cultures.
Despite its outward appearance of neutrality and inclusiveness, European contemporary dance has a historical pattern of excluding choreographic styles from diverse cultural and geographical backgrounds, as well as popular dance forms rooted in culturally diverse communities. However, over the past decade, choreographers of color have been increasingly asserting their presence in the European dance scene. Drawing from their diverse cultural experiences, these choreographers have introduced innovative approaches and highlighted often overlooked aesthetics and embodied knowledge.
During "Diaspora Dance" we will closely examine the aesthetic strategies employed by these choreographers and analyze how they challenge and deconstruct the label of "Contemporary Dance." Our goal is to not only explore how diaspora choreographers disrupt traditional dance conventions but also to investigate their ability to create – or fabulate – counter-narratives that critically reassess how we conceptualize dance and choreography as a discipline.
Speakers: Tavia Nyong’o, Tundé Adefioye and Layla Zami. Oxana Chi and Layla Zami will close the symposium with their performance Corpuscular Cores.
This symposium is a collaboration between STUK and Cultural Studies, KU Leuven. It is a part of the "Contemporary Dance & Dance Studies'' course, initiated under the cultural policy plan of KU Leuven.
The Centre for Cultural Studies (KU Leuven) is a member of CoDA - Cultures of Dance, a Research Network for Dance Studies funded by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO).