The biannual magazine of World Dance Alliance Asia-Pacific contains reports from our executive committee, our network chairs and our country chapters, as well as reports from the recent World Dance Alliance Executive Meeting and WDA Asia-Pacific Annual General Meeting.
Some highlights in this edition:
A feature from the Korea chapter, including this year’s International Dance Day message by Korean dancer Kang Sue-Jin;
An announcement of the new website for JEDS, the Journal of Emerging Dance Scholarship;
A report from the World Alliance for Arts Education on recent activities celebrating International Arts Education Week;
…as well as beautiful and inspiring images of dance from across the Asia-Pacific region.
Cover image for this edition, and image above: Dancers from Pichet Klunchun Dance Company outdoors in Paris in December 2021, after the performance of classical Khon masked dance piece “The Combat of Rama and Todsakan,” at Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac. Photo: Korn Takang
Back issues of Channels can be downloaded from here. The archive of Channels dating back to 1996 is available from the Ausdance website.
The Research & Documentation network of World Dance Alliance has launched new website for the Journal of Emerging Dance Scholarship (JEDS).
JEDS is designed to serve the needs of international dance scholars who are currently enrolled in a graduate program or within 5 years of having graduated from a graduate program in dance or a related field. Articles featured in JEDS are selected through a double-blind review process by international reviewers with strong publishing records and established expertise in diverse fields of dance.
The Journal of Emerging Dance Scholarship (JEDS) invites applications for 2022-2023 Guest Editors.
JEDS is an open access online journal produced by World Dance Alliance. JEDS publishes new research from scholars who are enrolled or within five years of earning a graduate degree in dance or a related area. Articles featured in JEDS are selected through a double-blind review process by international reviewers with strong publishing records and established expertise in diverse fields of dance. Articles are selected based on their originality of research and the contributions each makes to the future of dance praxis (theory and practice). The journal is currently produced in English.
The JEDS Advisory Committee is seeking several applicants to serve on a team of Editors for a two year term. The team of Guest Editors will do the following:
Invite and collect articles for submission
Distribute articles for blind review
Assimilate reviews and communicate with authors
Answer questions and assist authors with re-drafting
Ready final drafts for online production by copyediting, captioning images, posting articles to the WordPress online forum
The team will be chosen from the applicant pool to represent the multiplicity of participating WDA regions. The team will work together, dividing the responsibilities in ways that make sense for the team and the journal. The team will need to meet with each other and communicate easily with each other and the JEDS Advisory Committee in order to establish and be accountable to a timeline and best practices in producing JEDS.
Submission Process
Please submit:
CV (with mention of publication, teaching) – not more than 500 words.
A vision statement – not more than 500 words.
Send your application with a cover letter containing your email, contact details.
The biannual magazine of World Dance Alliance Asia-Pacific contains reports from our executive committee, our network chairs and our country chapters, as well as updates on upcoming events.
This edition features:
A report on WDAAP’s project to raise and distribute funds for seed grants for dance makers in India & Bangladesh;
More information about the upcoming SWEAT Hong Kong International Dance Workshop Festival in June, which will host the 2022 World Dance Alliance Global Summit;
A discussion on abuse of power within the dance community, by Paramita Saha of unmute.help, reprinted from Narthaki.com;
…as well as beautiful and inspiring images of dance from across the Asia-Pacific region.
World Dance Alliance Asia-Pacific invites applications for the “Begin Again” Small Grants for Individual Dance Makers, to support young and emerging dancers and choreographers from India and Bangladesh.
In
these challenging times, dancers and choreographers in Bangladesh and
India have undergone a particularly harsh struggle. Not only have
they coped with loss of livelihood, but also with the huge anxiety
and suffering that accompanied the recent wave of COVID-19 illness
and death across the subcontinent.
“Begin Again” Small Grants aim to:
Encourage dance makers and choreographers to “Begin Again” and continue their work, despite challenging circumstances.
Provide funding for young, emerging dancers/choreographers to “kick start” their creativity and innovation and to push the boundaries of their artistic practice.
Connect dancers & choreographers with each other for peer review and feedback.
Enable dance artists to showcase their work to the world through digital channels and platforms while pandemic measures and limitations are in place.
Each
of the ten successful applicants will receive:
USD $300 to put towards the development of a new dance work: a 2-3 minute dance video, in any genre, solo or group, filmed and presented as one continuous take.
Peer review and feedback for the development of the dance video.
Showcase of the dance video at SWEAT Festival in Hong Kong during the World Dance Alliance Global Summit events from 22-24 Jun 2022.
To apply for the grant, please read the guidelines in the document below, and return the completed application form to wdaapbenefit@gmail.com.
We have just published our June 2021 edition of Asia-Pacific Channels, the biannual magazine of World Dance Alliance Asia-Pacific.
The biannual magazine of World Dance Alliance Asia-Pacific contains reports from our executive committee, our network chairs and our country chapters, as well as updates on upcoming events.
Featured in this edition:
An intimate and affectionate obituary remembering Dr Sunil Kothari, a long-time member of WDAAP, contributed by arts journalist Sadanand Menon;
An announcement of our Covid fundraising benefit for dance makers in India and Bangladesh, which is coming up soon;
The call for submissions for the 2021 edition of the Journal of Emerging Dance Scholarship;
A new section of reports from our partner organisations, featuring updates from the World Alliance for Arts Education and daCi (dance and the Child International);
…as well as beautiful and inspiring images of dance from across the Asia-Pacific.
Back issues of Channels can be downloaded from here. The archive of Channels dating back to 1996 is available from the Ausdance website.
[Top image: A still from Kabaligtaran ng Gunaw, a dance film choreographed by Ronelson Yadao, directed by Jerrold Tarog, in the Philippines. Photo: Pong Ignacio.
Channels cover image: Hideout, choreographed by Wenjinn Luo, performed by Scarecrow Contemporary Dance Company, Taiwan. Photo: Shi-fan Tsai.]
The Journal of Emerging Dance Scholarship (JEDS), an online open access publication of the World Dance Alliance (WDA). This edition is co-edited by Drs Julie Mulvihill and Ilana Morgan.
This exciting publication is for emerging authors who are within five years of having graduated or currently pursuing a graduate degree. Further, the process and relationship between editor and author is pedagogical, where an editor helps an author with reviewer feedback as well as with mentoring the expansion of thinking and writing.
Innovative scholarship into contemporary or historical dance, research methodologies, critical choreographic analysis, ethnographic studies, pedagogical practices, or other topics which open insights into the field of dance studies are encouraged.
Length can be variable but generally 6,000-8,000 words.
Images, video, and other kinds of performing visual texts are welcome.
All donations to “Building Resilience: A Covid Benefit for Dance-Makers in India & Bangladesh” will be collected through the PayPal account of MyDance Alliance, the Malaysian country chapter of World Dance Alliance Asia-Pacific, and held in trust for WDAAP.
To donate another amount of your choice, use the button below:
We invite you to contribute to a World Dance Alliance Asia-Pacific online video fundraising benefit to raise money for emerging dancers and choreographers in India and Bangladesh.
The following benefit video runs for 1 hour, and features:
Chand: The Reflection of a Wish, a video documentary reflecting on the process of the WDAAP Choreolab at Ocean Dance Festival in November 2019 in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, mentored by Toronto-based artist Sashar Zarif.
A tapestry of short experimental videos made with by the participants of the Choreolab during their post-Choreolab virtual sessions with Sashar Zarif.
About the Benefit
In these challenging times, dancers and choreographers in Bangladesh and India have undergone a particularly harsh struggle. Not only have they coped with loss of livelihood, but also with the huge anxiety and suffering that accompanied the recent wave of Covid illness and death across the subcontinent.
This fundraising benefit intends to bring attention to the situation of these dance artists, and to harness our network of dance lovers across the world to support their continued ability to survive and thrive in dance.
In preparation for this benefit, Sashar Zarif has worked with young people from the 2019 Choreolab in Bangladesh to create videos to share their current perspective, hopes and dreams for the future. Having a dance project to work on together has kept their spirits up and given them something to look forward to. With the proceeds of this benefit, we hope to support many more of their dance projects in future.
Our fundraising target is USD $10,000! Every little bit helps, so please give and share this event with others.
About the Proceeds from the Benefit
Funds collected from the benefit will be distributed to emerging choreographers from India and Bangladesh, to be used as micro grants to support local dance projects.
All donations will be collected by MyDance Alliance, the Malaysian country chapter of World Dance Alliance Asia-Pacific, and held in trust for the organisation. The Executive Committee of WDAAP will coordinate the mechanism and timeline for disbursing the funds, as well monitoring the project outcomes.
About World Dance Alliance Asia-Pacific
World Dance Alliance Asia-Pacific (WDAAP) is an independent, non-profit, non-political organisation that serves as a primary voice for dance and dancers throughout the Asia-Pacific region, and encourages the exchange of ideas and the awareness of dance in all its forms. The WDAAP country chapters are our main network, providing information and coordinating the dance activities within their country boundaries.
For this benefit, WDAAP is working closely with WDA-India and with the Bangladesh country chapter Nrityajog.
The first Ocean Dance Festival was held from 22 to 25 November 2019 in the seaside town of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, organised by Nrityajog, the Bangladesh chapter of World Dance Alliance. The even featured a scholarly conference, showcase performances, workshops, and more opportunities to meet, network and share experiences and connections.
As a lead-up to the event, dance artist Sashar Zarif mentored a 15-day Choreolab from 7 to 21 November, with emerging choreographers and dancers from Bangladesh, India and other WDAAP nations. The participants formed a tight-knit community as they learned and laughed together during this intense experience. For the opening day of the Ocean Dance Festival, they performed a short work choreographed by Sashar Zarif with the participating artists entitled Chaand: The Reflection of a Wish.
About Sashar Zarif
Sashar Zarif is an internationally renowned performing artist, educator, and researcher. For the last three decades Zarif has toured across forty countries; and has spent his professional life promoting cultural dialogue through intensive fieldwork, residencies, performances, and creative collaborations. His award-winning, multi-disciplinary dance projects are steeped in the artistry and history of traditional, ritualistic, and contemporary dance and music of the Central Asian, Middle Eastern, and North African regions. Zarif is committed to developing his own practice, grounded in a deep, mystical connection to dance. His creative approach Living Stories / Moving Memories explores the physical, mental and emotional aspects of memory. Zarif is an external research associate at York University’s Centre for Asian Studies. More info: http://www.sashardance.com
Benefit Credits & Acknowledgments
Organizers: WDAAP Artistic and production director Sashar Zarif Media Design: Nancy Baltazar and Manuel Garcia Donation Collection Administration: MyDance Alliance, the Malaysian country chapter of World Dance Alliance Asia-Pacific
FEATURED ARTISTS:
CHAND FAMILY (Choreolab Participants / Chaand Performers) Arunima Dutta (India) Brishti Bepari (Bangladesh) Durga Madher (India) Farhad Ahmed Shamim (Bangladesh) Hasan Ishtiaque Imran (Bangladesh) Jhuma Das (India) Kanika Baidya (Bangladesh) Maria Farih Upama (Bangladesh) Pritha De (India) Sandhya Karmakar (India) Shovan Das (Bangladesh) Sneha Anandan (India) Srabasti Ghosh (India) Srimayee Chatterjee (India) Sukanya Das (India) Sumedha Bhattacharya (India) Tanushree Chatterjee (India) Wei Ming Pak (Hong-Kong) Yasin Arafat (Bangladesh)
SPECIAL THANKS TO World Dance Alliance Asia-Pacific Ocean Dance Festival Nancy Baltazar, Manuel Garcia and Marwan Bahrar The 19 generous souls of the Chaand family The people, land, ocean, sun and air of Inani Beach, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
&
The lands we have been living on and the spirits of all who have been contributing to our journey in life.
InternationalDanceDay is celebrated on 29 April every year, and commemorates the birthday of French dancer, ballet master and reformer Jean-Georges Noverre. This year’s IDD message is by Friedemann Vogel, principal dancer of Stuttgart Ballet. He writes:
“Everything starts with movement – an instinct we all have – and dance is movement refined to communicate. Much as flawless technique is important and impressive, it is ultimately what the dancer expresses inside the movement that is the essence.
“As dancers, we are constantly on the move, aspiring to create these unforgettable moments. Regardless of the dance genre, it’s what every dancer strives to achieve. So, when all of a sudden, we aren’t allowed to perform anymore, with theatres closed and festivals cancelled, our worlds come to a standstill. No physical contact. No shows. No audiences. Never in recent history has the dance community been so collectively challenged to stay motivated, to find our raison d’être.
“Yet, it is precisely when something precious has been taken away from us that we truly appreciate how vital it is what we do, and how much dance means to society at large. Dancers are often celebrated for their physical prowess, when in fact we are sustained even more by our mental strength. I believe it is this unique combination of physical and psychological agility that will help us overcome, to reinvent ourselves to keep dancing, and to keep inspiring.”
