Taiwanese Eyes on the Modern: Cold War Dance Diplomacy And

Taiwanese Eyes on the Modern: Cold War Dance Diplomacy and American Modern Dances in Taiwan, 1950–1980 Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Tsung-Hsin Lee, M.A. Graduate Program in Dance Studies The Ohio State University 2020 Dissertation Committee Hannah Kosstrin, Advisor Harmony Bench Danielle Fosler-Lussier Morgan Liu Copyrighted by Tsung-Hsin Lee 2020 2 Abstract This dissertation “Taiwanese Eyes on the Modern: Cold War Dance Diplomacy and American Modern Dances in Taiwan, 1950–1980” examines the transnational history of American modern dance between the United States and Taiwan during the Cold War era. From the 1950s to the 1980s, the Carmen De Lavallade-Alvin Ailey, José Limón, Paul Taylor, Martha Graham, and Alwin Nikolais dance companies toured to Taiwan under the auspices of the U.S. State Department. At the same time, Chinese American choreographers Al Chungliang Huang and Yen Lu Wong also visited Taiwan, teaching and presenting American modern dance. These visits served as diplomatic gestures between the members of the so-called Free World led by the U.S. Taiwanese audiences perceived American dance modernity through mixed interpretations under the Cold War rhetoric of freedom that the U.S. sold and disseminated through dance diplomacy. I explore the heterogeneous shaping forces from multiple engaging individuals and institutions that assemble this diplomatic history of dance, resulting in outcomes influencing dance histories of the U.S. and Taiwan for different ends. I argue that Taiwanese audiences interpreted American dance modernity as a means of embodiment to advocate for freedom and social change. Taiwanese dancers received American modern dance as representations of freedom through the dance tours under the Cold War rhetoric. By practicing modern dance of their own, Taiwanese ii choreographers and audience members repurposed American freedom rhetoric to resist the censorship of the White Terror in Taiwan. Since then, the idea of the modern, for the Taiwanese, has taken the name of freedom: free to explore, free to express, and free to advocate. These ideas do not only happen verbally, but also within the body. This dissertation in this sense provides a fuller picture of U.S. postwar dance diplomacy from Taiwanese perspectives than American views and also shows Taiwanese choreographers’ agencies reacting to American cultural exports and fighting against the Taiwanese government’s social control. This dissertation project takes a mixed approach of archival research, oral history, and performance analysis to illustrate this transnational history of American modern dance’s footprint and after-life in Taiwan and the circulation of dance between East Asia and the U.S. I analyze archival documents, Taiwanese dance reviews, and news reports, as well as American modern dance pieces that toured to Taiwan, and Chinese American and Taiwanese choreographers’ dance works. I situate the Taiwanese reception of American modern dance in the historical context of the Global Cold War and local society, to explore heterogeneous ideas of freedom and dance modernity that Taiwanese audiences perceived. I also display the similarities of choreographic methods and dance aesthetics circulated within these works. In this way, I connect American and Taiwanese dance histories through the global circulation of American and Taiwanese modern dance during the Cold War era. iii Dedication For Mom iv Acknowledgments This journey of writing the dissertation would not be able to completed without all the support from my dear human beings, as well as institutions. First, I thank my committee for guiding me throughout the process of writing my dissertation. To my advisor, Dr. Kosstrin, I deeply appreciate your clear and generous guidance, and also your encouragement throughout the process. You advised me on my research and writing, as well as on being a scholar distributing thinking about social justice. You gave me a great role model, as an enthusiastic scholar, as an inspiring adviser, and as a kind human. To Dr. Fosler-Lussier, your knowledge about cultural diplomacy widened and deepened my thinking in this project. To Dr. Liu, you inspired in me an alternative perspective to think about interactions in various scales. To Dr. Bench, I thank you for jumping in at the last moment. Also, I appreciate your comments directly pointing out the weakness of my writing and clear directions for revising. In addition to this committee, I am indebted to Amy Schmidt, Susan Hadley, Melanie Bales, Valarie Williams, and Daniel Roberts. Thank you, Amy and Susan, for your administrative support in many ways, from warm greetings to solutions regarding financial support. To Melanie, I deeply appreciate your empathy associated with your own experience studying in a second-language environment. I also thank you for editing my dissertation with helpful comments about English writing. To Valarie and Daniel, I v thank you for your warm encouragement that helped me overcome anxiety and frustration during the process. I am also grateful to many faculty mentors who provided support and guidance in multitudinous ways, from casual conversation to inspiring assignments during coursework and beyond. I express my deep appreciation to Dr. Melanye White Dixon, for serving on my committee and mentoring my work until your retirement, to Dr. Dorry Noyes, for your inspiring classes and for serving on my candidacy committee, and to Dr. Emily Wilcox, for mentoring my research project and beyond. To my cohort on the journey of my graduate program, I am grateful to you for giving me hugs, greeting me when I sat in my semi-isolated office area, and sharing your tips of writing applications. I thank you, especially Janet Schroeder, Lyndsey Vader, and Benny Simon, for supporting me in the process of coursework and dissertation writing. Thanks also to Fenella Kennedy, Steven Ha, Kathryn Holt, Rohini Acharya, Mihwa Koo, Kim Wilczak, Dian Jing, Eric Kaufman, and Alissa Elegant. This dissertation would have not been possible without support for research trips and dissertation writing in the form of archival services, and also in the form of scholarships and grants. Thanks to the staff members who helped me access the archival materials at the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the National Archives at College Park, Maryland, the Music Division, the Library of Congress, the David W. Mullins Library at University of Arkansas, National Library of Thailand, National Diet Library of Japan, and National Central Library of Taiwan. I thank Ohio State University’s Mershon Center for International vi Security Studies and the Alumni Grants for Graduate Research and Scholarship, the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, the Ministry of Education of Taiwan, and Taiwanese Oversea Pioneers Grants, for generous research and dissertation writing funding. I thank Cheng Su-gi, Xie Hui-Rong, Yang Mei-Rong, Ho Hsiao-Mei, for sharing with me your stories about Taiwanese modern dance in the researched era. I also thank the contributors of professional organizations for facilitating idea exchanges in the field which inspired me in various ways. These organizations include Dance Studies Association, Performance Studies international, and North American Taiwan Studies Association. I thank my family and friends who supported me in many ways. Thank you, my mom, for being an open-minded parent, a kind friend, and a generous supporter to me. Thank you, Becle, my dear brother, for taking care of all the things in Taiwan and allowing me to pursue me dream without worry. Thank you, Fen, Wesley, Bruce, Jack, Wei-ting, and other friends in Columbus. Finally, to my dear partner, Benz, thank you for your remotely yet long-standing company. vii Vita 2005 B.S. Psychology, National Taiwan University 2013 M.A. Dance Criticism and Culture Studies, Institute of Dance, Taipei National University of the Arts, Taiwan 2016-2020 Graduate Teaching/Administrative Associate, The Ohio State University Publications Lee, Tsung-Hsin, and Chieh-hua Hsieh. “Seeking Communitas in Universiade.” Journal of Aesthetic Education, 226 (November 2018): 26-32. Taipei, Taiwan: National Taiwan Arts Education Center. Fields of Study Major Field: Dance Studies viii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................... v Vita ................................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Freedom Reflected in Taiwanese Eyes ........................................................... 52 Chapter 3: The Cultural Markings of American Modernity ........................................... 128 Chapter 4: American Dreams, Chinese Moves ..............................................................

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