UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title From Community to Humanity: Dance as Intangible Cultural Heritage Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1hj6h8px Author Petkovski, Filip Publication Date 2021 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles From Community to Humanity: Dance as Intangible Cultural Heritage A dissertation completed in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Culture and Performance by Filip Petkovski 2021 © Copyright by Filip Petkovski 2021 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION From Community to Humanity: Dance as Intangible Cultural Heritage by Filip Petkovski Doctor of Philosophy in Culture and Performance University of California, Los Angeles, 2021 Professor Anurima Banerji, Co-Chair Professor Janet O’Shea, Co-Chair Abstract My dissertation project examines the gradual phases of recontextualizing, folklorizing, heritagizing, and choreographing dance in Macedonia, Serbia, and Croatia, and in the Former Yugoslavia in general. In order to demonstrate how dance becomes intangible cultural heritage, I combine UNESCO archival materials with ethnographic research and interviews with dancers, choreographers, and heritage experts. While I trace how the discourses around folklore and intangible cultural heritage were used in the construction of the Yugoslav, and later in the post- Yugoslav nation states, I also write about the hegemonic relationship between dance and institutions. I emphasize dance as a vehicle for mediating ideas around authenticity, distinctiveness, and national identity, while also acknowledging how the UNESCO process of safeguarding and listing culture allows countries such as Macedonia, Serbia, and Croatia to achieve international recognition. By studying the relationship between dance, archives, and UNESCO conventions, we can understand the intersection between institutions and issues ii around nationalism, but also how discourses of dance shifted dance production and reception in various historical and political contexts during and after the existence of the Yugoslav state. In the first chapter, I explore the creation of the folkloric discourse and the processes of constructing national archives, based on fears of disappearing culture amidst of modernization. I also elaborate on the institutionalization of dance through folklore research and the emergence of specific methods of study that conceptualized social dances as of national importance. In the second chapter, I discuss the transformation of the archive into a choreographed repertoire that depicts issues around authenticity, exoticism, and stylization. I show the development of amateur and professional dance ensembles that were responsible for popularizing dance as heritage and further demonstrate how heritage is safeguarded through performance. Finally, in the third chapter, I uncover the bureaucratic process through which dance becomes intangible cultural heritage. I demonstrate how through the process of heritagization, dance becomes both a commodity and a medium through which post-Yugoslav nation states can market their cultures in a global arena and affirm their national identities. Keywords: dance, intangible cultural heritage, UNESCO, choreography, folkorization, heritagization. iii The dissertation of Filip Petkovski is approved. Elsie Ivancich Dunin Anthony Shay Janet O’ Shea, Committee Co-Chair Anurima Banerji, Committee Co-Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2021 iv I dedicate this dissertation to my dearest friend Ana Mojsovska, my eternal ray of sunshine. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract of the Dissertation i List of Figures viii Acknowledgements x Vita xiii Introduction 1 Main argument and significance 4 The Balkans and Yugoslavia 8 Key discussions 12 Methodology 38 Chapter breakdown 41 Chapter 1: Searching for Dance Heritage 45 Kolo 52 Kopachkata 55 Nijemo Kolo 58 In search for folk culture (19th and early 20th century research on dance) 63 Developing the “folk dance” discourse through the formation of ethnochoreology 73 Institutionalizing folklore and dance research 78 Reframing the folkloric discourse post- 1990 86 Concluding remarks 92 Chapter 2: Choreographing Dance Heritage 93 Heritage as choreography 100 vi Early attempts of choreographing dance heritage 106 Choreographing Yugoslav socialist ideology 110 Stylizing and spectacularizing dance heritage 116 National dance ensembles 121 Choreographing authenticity 132 Local dance groups 144 Towards a new aesthetic: Contemporizing heritage choreography 153 Concluding remarks 158 Chapter 3: Safeguarding Dance Heritage 160 Heritagizing dance 166 Inscribing dance as ICH 174 Safeguarding identity 188 Commodifying heritage in the face of globalization 198 Safeguarding dance heritage for the future 204 Concluding remarks 209 Conclusion 211 Bibliography 219 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1. Dancers performing Kolo during festive occasion in 2013 54 Figure 1.2. Dancers performing Kopachkata during festive occasion in 2014 58 Figure 1.3. Dancers performing Vrličko Kolo during festive occasion in 2017 62 Figure 2.1. Dancers from Posavski Bregi— members of Seljačka Sloga, photographed in the 1930s 107 Figure 2.2. Dancers from the Rashtak group, performing on the “Oceania” boat in Hamburg in 1937 109 Figure 2.3. Dancers from The Serbian National Ensemble “Kolo” performing Kolo from the region of Šumadija in 2019 122 Figure 2.4. Dancers from The Macedonian National Ensemble “Tanec” performing Kopachkata in 2009 125 Figure 2.5. Dancers from The Croatian National Ensemble “Lado” performing Vrličko Kolo in 2019 129 Figure 2.6. Dancers from ensemble “Branimir 888” performing a custom that includes Nijemo Kolo in 2018 148 Figure 2.7. Dancers from the dance group “Kopachka” performing Kopachkata at a festival in Pehchevo in 2016 149 Figure 2.8. Dancers from the Croatian national ensemble “Lado” performing Kontrada in 2010 155 Figure 2.9. Dancers from the folk dance department in Novi Sad performing Melting Pot in 2018 156 viii Figure 3.1. Screenshot from www.blic.rs that reads “UNESCO: The Serbian Kolo is new cultural heritage of humanity” 167 Figure 3.2: Screenshot from www.kultura.gov.mk that reads “The Macedonian dance “Kopachka” on the Representative List of UNESCO 168 Figure 3.3: Screenshot from www.hkm.hr that reads “Nijemo Kolo- From the Dalmatian Hinterland to the world stage” 169 Figure 3.4: DVD disc of a documentary movie about “Kopachkata in UNESCO” 202 Figure 3.5: A group of singers from Split, Croatia selling CDs of “Traditional Dalmatian Singing protected by UNESCO” in 2018 203 ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As I come to the culmination of this dissertation, I am reminded of the generous help and support of many people who made this process easier and more enjoyable. I would first like to thank the faculty and staff at the World Arts and Cultures/Dance Department at UCLA for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime. At UCLA, I had the opportunity to work as a Teaching Assistant at three different departments: The Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, The Department of Art History and The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures. I thank the professors with whom I worked for giving me an opportunity to teach, and for mentoring me in becoming a future professor and scholar. In 1966, a young woman named Elsie Ivancich (now Ivancich Dunin) wrote her Master’s thesis on the Silent Dances of Yugoslavia at UCLA. Later on, she would begin her career as an emerging dance ethnologist, conducting research in Croatia and Macedonia. Her work on the National Ensemble of Folk Dances and Songs of Macedonia “Tanec,” as well as her works on Romani dances have been influential not only for me, but for many generations of ethnochoreologists in the Balkans and throughout the world. During my Master’s studies at the Choreomundus Program, I decided to continue her research on “Tanec” and write about choreographing dance in Macedonia. While I was conducting research about my Master Thesis, I came across the works of Anthony Shay, who wrote about choreographing dance in the Former Yugoslavia and the Middle East. His works have inspired me to continue my research on the relationships between dance, ethnicity and nationalism. I thank Elsie and Tony for motivating me to continue researching dance in the Balkans, but also for reassuring me about the importance of my project. By writing this dissertation, I am continuing their legacy. x I also thank my two co-chairs, Janet O’Shea and Anurima Banerji, who introduced me to the fields of dance and performance studies and helped me to successfully navigate through my Ph.D. studies. Their scholarship on dance and performance opened my eyes to new perspectives and new ways of analyzing cultural performances. I thank Janet O’Shea for helping me shift from the British into the American system of writing, for teaching me how to strengthen my analysis, and for giving me expert advice needed to engage with my materials. I also thank Anurima Banerji for giving me useful comments, whether about my writing process, or academia in general, for her many questions, notes, and suggestions that strengthened my dissertation, and for imposing high standards when it comes to producing scholarly work. I thank them for their support, patience, and the willingness to read my work at every stage of the process. My research would not be possible without the help of many professors, scholars, dancers, choreographers,