Local Interactions and Practices: A Case of Eastern Tibet's Reba Dance, China

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52152/heranca.v7i4.973

Keywords:

Reba Dance, Folk Groups, Local Intellectuals, Interaction, Agency

Abstract

The Reba dance of Eastern Tibet, a vital aspect of China's intangible cultural heritage, has been significantly influenced by national cultural policies since the 1980s. This context necessitates an examination of the practices of folk groups and local intellectuals, as practical subjects, which have been overlooked in previous studies. By using the ethnographic method and Bourdieu's concept of agency, this study seeks to analyse how these two practical subjects collaborate and interact in the practice of art festivals, performances, and teaching under the structure of national policies. By exercising their agency, the study emphasises that in the preservation process, folk groups and local intellectuals play crucial roles as primary practical subjects. This study argues that, in the preservation and inheritance process of Reba dance in Eastern Tibet, the relationship between the state, local intellectuals, and folk groups is not a one-way operation of the government and intellectuals but involves a strategic interaction of multiple subjects' practices. while the state appropriates and shapes folk dance through its policies, folk groups and local intellectuals, as the practical subjects, strategically respond to these policies, further facilitating the inheritance of Reba dance.

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Author Biographies

Zixuan Gao, PhD, Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Zixuan Gao is currently a PhD student in dance studies at the Faculty of Creative Arts, Universiti Malaya. She held a B.A. in music and dance from Southwest Jiaotong University and an M.A. in music and dance from Tibet University, China. Her research interests are Chinese ethnic and folk arts, dance anthropology, and the intangible cultural heritage of China.

Sang Woo Ha, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Dr Sang Woo Ha (Corresponding author) received a Ph.D. in Critical Dance Studies at University of California, Riverside. She also held a B.A. in Dance and an Ed.M. in Physical Education from Ewha Womans University, South Korea. She is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Creative Arts, Universiti Malaya. She is pursuing dance/cultural research in socio-political and cultural contexts as well as gender studies in dancing bodies.

Premalatha Thiagarajan, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Dr. Premalatha Thiagarajan is a Senior Lecturer and the Deputy Dean (Undergraduate and Student Affairs) at the Faculty of Creative Arts, Universiti Malaya. She received her Ph.D. in Critical Dance Studies from the University of California Riverside, USA, in 2012. She pioneered the study of Indian dance practices in Malaysia, emerging as a leading academician-scholar in the country. She is an editorial board member of the distinguished Conversations Across the Field of Dance Studies under Dance Studies Association (DSA). Her research interests range from Indian dances in Malaysia to dance therapy/rehabilitation for breast cancer survivors, and most recently, arts heritage/indigenous tourism.

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Published

2024-11-26

How to Cite

Gao, Z., Ha, S. W., & Thiagarajan, P. (2024). Local Interactions and Practices: A Case of Eastern Tibet’s Reba Dance, China. Herança, 7(4), 132–145. https://doi.org/10.52152/heranca.v7i4.973

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 4 (2024): Herança – History, Heritage and Culture

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Articles (Regular Review EUR450)

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