Glossary

Here are some terms that were important to take a look at along the creation process: culture, tradition, identity and traditional dances.

We researched about those terms in the same way we have approached investigation in Blurry Identities project: approaching information through the Internet in the most superficial manner, trusting the Web to be the most popular approach to investigate and get to know about the world nowadays. 


Culture:

"The way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a particular group of people at a particular time" Cambridge English Dictionary

"Social domain that emphasizes the practices, discourses, and material expressions, which, over time, express the continuities and discontinuities of social meaning of a life held in common." James Paul, Anthropologist 

"Glue that holds us all together" common say by politicians all around the world

Cultural values... What is important? Social interaction... collective individualism of uniqueness... is the connection that we celebrate... promotion of otherness... needing otherness.



Tradition

Wikipedia:

A tradition is a belief or behavior passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. Traditions can persist and evolve for thousands of years—the word "tradition" itself derives from the Latin tradere or traderer literally meaning to transmit, to hand over, to give for safekeeping. 

While it is commonly assumed that traditions have ancient history, many traditions have been invented on purpose, whether that be political or cultural, over short periods of time. 

The concept of tradition, as the notion of holding on to a previous time, is also found in political and philosophical discourse. For example, it is the basis of the political concept of traditionalism, and also strands of many world religions including traditional Catholicism. 

A number of factors can exacerbate the loss of tradition, including industrialization, globalization, and the assimilation or marginalization of specific cultural groups. In response to this, tradition-preservation attempts have now been started in many countries around the world, focusing on aspects such as traditional languages. Tradition is usually contrasted with the goal of modernity and should be differentiated from customs, conventions, laws, norms, routines, rules and similar concepts.

Visit Switzerland!!! 

 Visit Peru!!! 

Identity

Wikipedia:

In psychology, sociology, anthropology and philosophy, identity is the conception, qualities, beliefs, and expressions that make a person (self-identity) or group (particular social category or social group). Identity may be distinguished from identification; identity is a label, whereas identification refers to the classifying act itself. Identity is thus best construed as being both relational and contextual, while the act of identification is best viewed as inherently processual.That process can be creative or destructive.

However, the formation of one's identity occurs through one's identifications with significant others (primarily with parents and other individuals during one's biographical experiences, and also with "groups" as they are perceived). These others may be benign—such that one aspires to their characteristics, values and beliefs (a process of idealistic-identification), or malign—when one wishes to dissociate from their characteristics (a process of defensive contra-identification) (Weinreich & Saunderson 2003, Chapter 1, pp 54–61).

A psychological identity relates to self-image (one's mental model of oneself), self-esteem, and individuality. Consequently, Weinreich gives the definition "A person's identity is defined as the totality of one's self-construal, in which how one construes oneself in the present expresses the continuity between how one construes oneself as one was in the past and how one construes oneself as one aspires to be in the future"; this allows for definitions of aspects of identity, such as: "One's ethnic identity is defined as that part of the totality of one's self-construal made up of those dimensions that express the continuity between one's construal of past ancestry and one's future aspirations in relation to ethnicity" (Weinreich, 1986a).

Do we need a national Identity? No... it's part of the modern world... it's potentially empowering... it's excluding... it's narcissist... its fascist... flags... destruction... created aggression... clashes... it's a false premise... you can have a cultural identity, global identity, religious identity...


Traditional dance...         ???
Folk dance...       ???
Ethnic dance...                            ????
Tribal dance...                                            ???
 Religious dance????
...???


Wikipedia:
In artistic contexts, tradition is used to decide the correct display of an art form. For example, in the performance of traditional genres (such as traditional dance), adherence to guidelines dictating how an art form should be composed are given greater importance than the performer's own preferences. 

There are different ideas about what constitutes "folk", "ethnic", "traditional" dances (etc), much of it adopted to further a political agenda. The categorization by Richard Duree is the one that seemed to us more suitable to what we needed to label.

"Ethnic" does not mean "non-white."

"Folk" does not mean "rural."

Ethnic or traditional dance: 

Its any dance form which can be identified as originating with an ethnic culture and expressing the movement aesthetics of that culture. It includes all ethnic cultures, whether European, American, African, Polynesian, Asian, Middle Eastern — all of them. It includes village folk dance, urban popular dance (swing, tango), classic dance (Kathak, Bharat Nayam), tribal dance, tap dance, and many more, It does not include the classic theatrical forms of ballet, jazz, and modern dance, but notice that there are theatrical forms included. The primary criteria is simply identification with an ethnic culture of origin.

Ethnic dance includes several sub-categories: "folk," "theatrical," "religious," "tribal," "social," and so on. Our major interest is to Folk dance, but we'll take a quick look at the others.

Folk dance:

It requires not only an ethnic identification, but a "participatory" and aesthetic tradition. It is dance that is an integral part of the culture, thus the traditional village dances of Europe, the Hawaiian hula, the American clog, the Mexican Hat Dance, and the Argentine tango are "folk" dances.

Theatrical dance:

"Theatrical" forms of ethnic dance are well-known, primarily in Asia, where professional dancers perform dances that are prescribed by tradition. The dances are found in India, Japan, and throughout Southeast Asia, and are highly developed with extraordinary costume, makeup, props, and sets, usually telling an ancient fable for the entertainment of select audiences.

Tribal dances:

Generally originates in a "pre-industrial" culture, created in a subsistence environment, and functioning as an integral part of life. The tribal dance is communication with the supernatural, a rite of passage, a courage builder for battle, a celebration victory, or a mourning ritual in defeat. It is serious and rarely performed as recreation.

Religious dance:
It relates to certain kind of group or individual dance that takes the dancer into a trans. Usually, this kind of dances are supported by religious Institutions.

Social dancing or ballroom:

Social dances are generally intended for participation rather than performance and can be led and followed with relative ease. They are often danced merely to socialize and for entertainment, though they may have ceremonial, competitive and erotic functions.

Here a list of ethnic and traditional dances all around the world by Wikipedia

SOME THOUGHTS TO MAKE IT CLEAR:

Ballet, jazz, and other forms of theatrical dance fall outside the umbrella of "ethnic" dance, because they are cross-cultural and have lost any ethnic identity they may have had. They do not express any ethnic identity or aesthetic, nor is that their intent; rather the focus is ever-more difficult and fantastic technical performance.

At "Blurry Identities" we research Ethnic or Traditional dances into Contemporary practices to analyzed concepts like cultural and body Identity in this Globalized world. This takes us to re-investigate dance compositional aspects, different understandings of the body as well as historical aspects of each dance we approach to.