Re-defining the ‘contact zone’: Translation, transformation and the space in-between
Loukes, R
Date: 1 December 2016
Journal
Choreographic Practices
Publisher
Intellect
Publisher DOI
Abstract
This article explores the space ‘in-between’ in intercultural arts practice. Drawing on my engagement as an academic participant in the ArtsCross/Danscross project, I unpack Mary Louise Pratt’s term ‘contact zone’. Pratt defined contact zones as ‘social spaces where disparate cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other’ (Pratt ...
This article explores the space ‘in-between’ in intercultural arts practice. Drawing on my engagement as an academic participant in the ArtsCross/Danscross project, I unpack Mary Louise Pratt’s term ‘contact zone’. Pratt defined contact zones as ‘social spaces where disparate cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other’ (Pratt 1991: 4) and in exploring the processes that took place at Beijing Dance Academy and The Place, London in 2012 and 2013, both in the rehearsal studio and in the seminar room, I re-define the idea of the ‘contact zone’. Drawing on theories of translation and pragmatist philosophy as well as ideas from performer training and Chinese aesthetics and etymology, I move towards a more nuanced understanding of the ‘in-between’ as a productive space both for the creation of new artistic works and as a strategy for intercultural working practices.
Drama
Collections of Former Colleges
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