Trọng tâm

Trọng tâm: Phê bình

Can criticism help to create a public for contemporary dance? How does critique relate to its object? Given the often intimate involvement of dance critics within contemporary dance scenes, what specific work ethics shape the production of dance criticism? How can essayists and critics create a platform for dance? And what does the critique of dance, particularly when engaged across cultures, have to tell us about our modes of perception – about what we see and do not see?

tanzconnexions explores the relevance, purpose, and background of criticism in a series of texts that highlight just how fruitful critique can be when it engages with the diverse cultural, political, and media contexts of contemporary dance.

Articles

tanzconnexions presents a selection of texts produced by participants of the international workshop for dance critics hosted by the Goethe Institut in Jakarta during the 10th Indonesian Dance Festival. The texts are accompanied by an introduction penned by workshop director Keith Gallasch:
Dance criticism in/as practice. A workshop experience during the 10th Indonesian Dance Festival - Introduction by Keith Gallasch

Dancing to the threshold. The Cross Over Dance Company shows Middle - By Bilqis Hijjas
A dance work revived: faith restored Seruan by Gusmiati Suid - By Devi Fitria
Borderline control. A street performance by Contact Gonzo - By Giang Dang
Aspiration and influence. An evening with Emerging Choreographers - By Joelle Jacinto
Indonesian contemporary dance: multiple personalities. The closing program of the 10th Indonesian Dance Festival - By Melissa Quek
Noise in Contemporary Asian Dance. Darkness Poomba and a performance by Contact Gonzo - By Pawit Mahasarinand
Things you cannot avoid in a globalized world. From Betamax to DVD by Jecko Siompo - By San Phalla
Strange worlds, mutating forms. Kim Jae Duk's Darkness Poomba - By Cat Ruka


A critical panorama of Meg Stuart and Philipp Gehmacher's Maybe Forever examines the work from five different perspectives, presenting readers with the rare opportunity of sharing in the critical perspectives of authors from New Zealand, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Belgium:
Foreign bodies - By Giang Dang
Beyond absence - By Bilquis Hijjas
When does forever end? - By Joelle Jacinto
Such is life, and so is love - By Pawit Mahasarinand
Love and its disconnects - By Cat Ruka


Joelle Jacinto's report details the practical and artistic hurdles she faced together with her brother when they set out to found Runthru – the independent Filipino dance magazine:
Establishing a Dance Magazine and Keeping it Alive - A first-hand report by Joelle Jacinto


German dance researcher and veteran critic Frank Anton Cramer reflects on the economic and ethnic parameters of critique and argues that art should not be dependent on critical opinion:
Some Remarks On the Ethics and Aesthetics of Dance Criticism - By Franz Anton Cramer