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Summary:

Abstract: Creating with Roots is a critical introduction to the history, theory, and creative practice of Chinese national folk dance, the Chinese-speaking world's most popular contemporary dance form. A complex cultural and artistic phenomenon that resists simple categorization, Chinese national folk dance merges folkloric material with contemporary stage aesthetics and blends rural folk dances of the Han majority with dances representing China's minoritized ethnic communities, bridging cultural differences of geography, economic class, and ethnicity. As such, Chinese national folk dance has become a lightning rod for current debates in the arts worldwide-how to balance local heritage with artistic innovation, how to maintain cultural integrity amid commercialization and Eurocentrism, and the ethics of representation in contemporary multiculturalism. Chinese national folk dance is increasingly a globalized phenomenon: schools, classes, competitions, and performances of professionals and amateurs now exist all across the world. Originally published in Chinese and authored by prominent Chinese dance scholar, Rui Xu, this English translation will be an essential resource for the global conversation about how dancers and choreographers navigate tradition and innovation in contemporary national folk dance choreography. Creating with Roots offers a detailed breakdown of key terms and concepts necessary for understanding Chinese national folk dance and analyzes 37 examples of choreography dating from the 1940s to 2000. The author situates these explanations within the longer history of cultural practice and theory in China and in relation to the international dance discourses of the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and North America.

Author/Creator:

Xu, Rui (Writer on Chinese music history) , author

Contributors:

Wilcox, Emily, 1981- , translator

Michigan Publishing (University of Michigan) , publisher

Languages:

English
Chinese

Language Notes:

Item content: English
Translated from (original): Chinese

Main Work:

Dangdai Zhongguo minzu minjian wudao chuangzuo de shenmei yu zijue [by Xu, R.] (English)

Other Related Resources:

Print version: Creating with roots [by Xu, R.] (Ann Arbor [Michigan] : University of Michigan Press, 2025 — ISBN 9780472077151; LCCN 2024034302)

Subjects:

Folk dancing — China — 20th century

Folk dancers — China — 20th century

Choreography — China — 20th century

Choreographers — China — 20th century

China — Social life and customs — 20th century

General Notes:

Author and translator's names also in Chinese on title page.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Description based on: Print version record.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Call Numbers:

GV1691 .X878 2025eb

ISBNs:

9780472904792 (ebook other)
0472904795
0472077155 (open access ebook)
9780472077151 (open access ebook)
9780472057153 (paperback) [Invalid]
0472057154 (hardcover) [Invalid]

Other Standard Numbers:

Digital Object Identifier: 10.3998/mpub.12912253

Library of Congress Control Numbers:

2024034303

OCLC Numbers:

1450308016