The term “traditional” has done a huge disservice to forms that have developed along the years, adapting to society’s evolving standards and tastes. This workshop offers a critique to the assumption of fixed and unevolving traditional form, using Malay dance as a case study. Through this critical lens, participants are made to ask the question of relevance, change and modernity’s demands of the “traditional” to reveal intricacies and nuances that are necessary for a given cultural form to grow and be resilient. This is a workshop suitable for an aspiring choreographer with background in perceived “traditional” forms trying to make sense of the globalised world they live in.
The workshop participants will see this as an entry point to some of the discourse and debates they will face in their practice as “traditional” artists. The workshop aims to equip them with an awareness of such realities and offer them with initial critical thoughts as they craft their practice.
