Creating with Roots

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 m...

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Main Author: Xu, Rui
Format: Online
Language:English
Published: University of Michigan Press 2025
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Online Access:https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/96877
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author Xu, Rui
author_browse Xu, Rui
author_facet Xu, Rui
author_sort Xu, Rui
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description 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.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1496912025-07-21T15:45:19Z Creating with Roots Xu, Rui Chinese Dance, Chinese Ethnic Dance, Chinese Folk Dance, Contemporary Chinese Choreography, Chinese Concert Dance, Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dance, Peacock Dance, Yangge Dance, Mongolian Dance, Uyghur Dance, Han Folk Dance, Dai Ailian, Wu Xiaobang, Beijing Dance Academy, Chinese Dance Criticism, Xu Rui, Emily Wilcox, Yang Liping, Jia Zuoguang, Chinese Dance History, Chinese Dance Theory, Socialist Dance thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATQ Dance::ATQZ Folk dancing thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATQ Dance thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATQ Dance::ATQZ Folk dancing thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATQ Dance 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. 2025-01-13T15:29:25Z 2025-01-13T15:29:25Z 2025-01-06T11:08:32Z 2025 book https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/96877 9780472077151 9780472057153 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/149691 eng open access image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/96877/1/9780472904792.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/96877/1/9780472904792.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/96877/1/9780472904792.pdf University of Michigan Press 10.3998/mpub.12912253 10.3998/mpub.12912253 b7359529-e5f7-4510-a59f-d7dafa1d4d17 9780472077151 9780472057153 255 open access
spellingShingle Chinese Dance, Chinese Ethnic Dance, Chinese Folk Dance, Contemporary Chinese Choreography, Chinese Concert Dance, Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dance, Peacock Dance, Yangge Dance, Mongolian Dance, Uyghur Dance, Han Folk Dance, Dai Ailian, Wu Xiaobang, Beijing Dance Academy, Chinese Dance Criticism, Xu Rui, Emily Wilcox, Yang Liping, Jia Zuoguang, Chinese Dance History, Chinese Dance Theory, Socialist Dance
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATQ Dance::ATQZ Folk dancing
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATQ Dance
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATQ Dance::ATQZ Folk dancing
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATQ Dance
Xu, Rui
Creating with Roots
title Creating with Roots
title_full Creating with Roots
title_fullStr Creating with Roots
title_full_unstemmed Creating with Roots
title_short Creating with Roots
title_sort creating with roots
topic Chinese Dance, Chinese Ethnic Dance, Chinese Folk Dance, Contemporary Chinese Choreography, Chinese Concert Dance, Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dance, Peacock Dance, Yangge Dance, Mongolian Dance, Uyghur Dance, Han Folk Dance, Dai Ailian, Wu Xiaobang, Beijing Dance Academy, Chinese Dance Criticism, Xu Rui, Emily Wilcox, Yang Liping, Jia Zuoguang, Chinese Dance History, Chinese Dance Theory, Socialist Dance
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATQ Dance::ATQZ Folk dancing
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATQ Dance
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATQ Dance::ATQZ Folk dancing
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATQ Dance
topic_facet Chinese Dance, Chinese Ethnic Dance, Chinese Folk Dance, Contemporary Chinese Choreography, Chinese Concert Dance, Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dance, Peacock Dance, Yangge Dance, Mongolian Dance, Uyghur Dance, Han Folk Dance, Dai Ailian, Wu Xiaobang, Beijing Dance Academy, Chinese Dance Criticism, Xu Rui, Emily Wilcox, Yang Liping, Jia Zuoguang, Chinese Dance History, Chinese Dance Theory, Socialist Dance
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATQ Dance::ATQZ Folk dancing
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATQ Dance
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATQ Dance::ATQZ Folk dancing
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AT Performing arts::ATQ Dance
url https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/96877
work_keys_str_mv AT xurui creatingwithroots