18/04/2025
NusPARC International Talk Series 2025
Date: Saturday 26th April 2025
Time: 11:00 am-12:30 pm
Location:
Nusantara Performing Arts Research Center, 30A First Floor, Jalan Datuk Sulaiman, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 KL
(Parking; Street Parking or at Maybank Parking)
Topic: Gaana Street Dance Style Contributes to the Construction of Tamil Identity Within the Local Community
Presenter: Professor Dr. Kristen Rudisill, Bowling Green State University
Abstract
As a recipient of the ACC (Asian Cultural Council) Fellowship, Professor Dr. Kristen Rudisill has come to Malaysia and Singapore to conduct research for her book project The Rise of Gaana Dance, Cinema, Competitions, and Global Tamil Identity. NusPARC is facilitating her research within the Tamil diaspora in Malaysia to examine and interrogate Gaana Dance, an energetic, expressive and upbeat form of street dance that originates from South India. This dance form places huge importance on the folk genre, percussion beats and is often referred to as a symbol of celebration and festival. Her research involves discourses on dance practices, Tamil theatre and literature of the Tamil diaspora in Malaysia and Singapore. She will present her research trajectories on Gaana street dance style within the rubrics of emic-etic research analysis.
Bio:
Dr. Kristen Rudisill is a Professor of Popular Culture and current Director of the Asian Studies Program at BGSU. She has a background in religious studies and earned her PhD in Asian Studies from the University of Texas in Austin. Her research focuses on Tamil theatre, dance, and literature in India, Sri Lanka, and the Tamil diaspora. She has had two Fulbright Fellowships in India and sees Chennai as a second home. Her book Honeymoon Couples and Jurassic Babies: Identity and Play in Chennai’s Post-Independence Sabha Theatre was published with SUNY Press in 2022. She has published in a number of edited volumes and journals such as the Journal of Popular Culture, the Indian Theatre Journal (for which she serves on the editorial board), the Asian Theatre Journal, South Asian Popular Culture Journal, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies Journal, Ecumenica, and Studies in Musical Theatre.
Free Admission & Limited Seats;
If you are interested, please call Zidane 012 8411017 before Wednesday 23rd April, 2025
