Cultural Policies and the Politics of Performance, 1983-2008

Choreographing postcolonial identities in Britain: Cultural policies and the politics of performance, 1983-2008 Jade Yeow Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for PhD Dance De Montfort University July 2015 1 Abstract This thesis examines the way in which dance work produced by postcolonial dance artists is often misread and exoticised by critics, funders and audiences. Yet the works produced have a disruptive effect and are products and clear indications of the sometimes oppressive processes that create cultural representation and identities. These postcolonial dance artists also have to contend with problematic umbrella terms such as ‘Black’ and ‘South Asian’ which are not fully descriptive of their dance practice and have the effect of stereotyping the work produced. The thesis investigates the artists Mavin Khoo, Shobana Jeyasingh, Akram Khan, Bode Lawal, Robert Hylton and Phoenix Dance Company who have created works that have asserted their individual agency through the use of particular cultural dance practices and have engaged in concepts such as classicism, modernism and postmodernism in order to establish a place within the British dance canon. Choreographic work produced by artists such as Khoo and Hylton have ‘educated’ audiences about the dance traditions that have been ‘passed down’ to them, whilst artists and companies like Phoenix have worked within a primarily Western medium, yet acknowledging that their work is informed by their distinctive African, African-Caribbean and Indian identities also. Although the work produced by these artists is often viewed from a white and Eurocentric perspective and exoticised to fit with conventional notions of ‘Indianness’ and ‘Blackness’, this thesis demonstrates that through the use of methodologies from cultural theory/policy, postcolonial theory and dance studies it is possible to reveal and illuminate meanings in the choreography and performances of 2 postcolonial artists, and open up the dialogue that their works initiate in a multicultural and globalised context. 3 Preface This investigation of postcolonial dance practices in the UK reflects my own experience as a postcolonial subject. The relevance of ‘traditional’ dance forms that have made their way into the British context is a question that has vexed me, especially given my formal dance training which has remained in the high art Euro- American dance forms such as Contemporary, Ballet, Jazz, Tap and so on, and yet, some of the most interesting work that I have encountered has come from postcolonial dance artists who have similar backgrounds to myself. My great-great-grandparents went with the British from Pochan in South China to work and settle in the British colonies of Malaya and Singapore. My father was born and raised in Malaysia. He was a British citizen and lived and worked in Britain for over forty years, before his passing a few years ago. My mother is British and I have led a privileged life as a British citizen. I have lived in the multicultural city of Leicester since birth and although the fashions, tastes, foods of non-Western cultures and other customs have entered into the British context, I have continued to hear and witness racist attitudes to non-white people, their customs and ways of life. I get very angry when I hear people talking about this country being ‘dominated by foreigners’ and about them coming to this country to ‘steal our jobs’ and yet, their contribution to British society and the economic climate is rarely considered by those who say this. The consideration for the predicament and determination to be able to participate actively in the British context by immigrants and migrants and to make a valid contribution to developments of what can be classified as ‘British’ is scarcely 4 acknowledged in a meaningful manner. Nor is there rarely a consideration for the colonial legacy that has brought them to this country in the first place. Having lived in the British context all of my life, I have various feelings about the society at various points; anger, anxiety, hope and an awareness of opportunity and possibility, not only as a human being, but as a dance artist too. Although expectations may be specific as an artist, I have come to realise that art can act as transformer as a society and function as a critical discourse. I am interested in artists that can confront the Eurocentric bias that still pervades and offer a radical alternative to the context of postcolonial reality. Therefore when I was introduced to the work of dance artists such as Khan, I was immediately drawn to the way in which aspects of his identity were being expressed and explored creatively through choreography and performance. This sort of work is able to challenge preconceived stereotypes that are inherent in British society and dominant discourses that I had learnt about throughout my education. Thus, my research project investigates how particular artists and companies forge identities that are both British and South Asian for example, through their choreography, style and aesthetic quality. This also requires an examination of the politico-cultural environment in which dance artists in British work, and how that environment impinges on the act of making and performing and/or the way it is received. If work by ‘other’ artists can make it into the ‘mainstream’ of British dance culture, are all cultural identifiers and discrete nuances always visible? 5 Acknowledgements Special thanks to my supervisors, Ramsay Burt and Tony Graves. They have offered guidance, advice and support throughout the research project. They have ready many drafts and offered expert knowledge on the subject and I am extremely grateful. Prarthana Purkayastha has also offered constructive criticism on drafts of the work and her help and support was really appreciated. 6 Table of Contents Title page 1 Abstract 2 Preface 4 Acknowledgements 6 Table of Contents 7 Introduction 9 • Widely held but unconsidered ideas about exoticism and fusion in dance by postcolonial British choreographers 18 • Aesthetics 30 • Developing an approach to aesthetic appreciation beyond Eurocentric Modes 34 • Culturally specific aesthetic appreciation 37 • Aesthetics and politics 40 • Identity politics 43 • ‘Mainstream’ dance in Britain and ‘conventional aesthetics’ 47 • Introduction: Conclusion 56 Chapter 1 59 • Postcolonial theory and cultural policy 59 • Cultural Diversity policies and their effects on Arts Funding in Britain 64 • Cultural Policy in Britain: Trajectories of Policy Shifts 66 • Multiculturalism and Racism 75 • Dance and Multicultural Britain 82 • Choices available for postcolonial artists 86 • Chapter 1: Conclusion 95 Chapter 2 97 • Critical Methodology 97 • Interrogation of terms 104 • Modernism and dance 104 • Modernity in the context of colonialism 109 • Postmodernism and Dance 111 • Classicism and Dance in relation to the nationalist project 118 • ‘Tradition’ 123 • ‘Reconstruction’ 128 • Chapter 2: Conclusion 128 Chapter 3 130 • South Asian dance 130 7 • Bharata Natyam 131 • Kathak 133 • British South Asian Dance: Context 135 • British South Asian Dance Case Studies 142 • Case Study 1: Shobana Jeyasingh 143 • Career and development of work 144 • Key issues and themes 150 • (h)interland (2002) 164 • Shobana Jeyasingh: Conclusion 169 • Case Study 2: Mavin Khoo 171 • Career and development of work 176 • Key issues and themes 179 • Devi: The Female Principle (2006) and Devi: In Absolution (2008) 187 • Mavin Khoo: Conclusion 193 • Case Study 3: Akram Khan 196 • Career and development of work 199 • Key issues and themes 204 • Zero degrees (2005) 207 • Akram Khan: Conclusion 216 • British South Asian Dance: Conclusions 219 Chapter 4 223 • Issues surrounding the term ‘Black Dance’ 223 • Black British dance history 230 • Characteristics and Aesthetics 237 • ‘Black’ social forms and hip hop 242 • The development of work by British based dancers who are Black 249 • Adzido Pan-African Dance Ensemble 257 • British based artists who are Black case studies 262 • Case Study 1: Phoenix Dance Theatre 265 • Career and development of work 267 • Key issues and themes 281 • Phoenix Dance Theatre: Conclusion 287 • Case Study 2: Bode Lawal 290 • Career and development of work 294 • Key issues and themes 298 • Aseju (2005) 309 • Bode Lawal: Conclusion 314 • Case Study 3: Robert Hylton 318 • Career and development of work 319 • Key issues and themes 325 • Verse and Verses (2006) 329 • Robert Hylton: Conclusion 331 • British based dancers who are Black: Conclusions 333 Chapter 5: Conclusion 335 Bibliography 339 8 Introduction Since the 1990s, dance practice in Britain has demonstrated greater diversity and fluidity, with many specifically cultural and traditional dance forms from the Indian subcontinent, Africa and also the Caribbean, having made their way into the white ‘mainstream’ dance sector. There are many reasons for this shift, which include the effects of colonialism and immigration, societal factors such as globalisation, changes in political agendas, technological improvement, new patterns in the artistic and aesthetic field and cultural policies. This thesis aims to read and analyse the choreography, performance, identity and cultural politics in postcolonial dance work and its relation to mainstream white contemporary dance in Britain. Focusing on examples of work by the artists and companies Shobana Jeyasingh, Mavin Khoo, Akram Khan, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Bode Lawal and Robert Hylton, I will investigate the relationship between multicultural

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