Ruby MacDougall CWPS Fellow

Symposium Details

The symposium was held from July 14th-17th, 2017 at Xinjiang Arts Institute. It attracted more than 800 representatives from more than 130 institutions from China and from abroad. It was co-sponsored by Xinjiang Arts Institute, Tibet University Arts College, Yanbian University Arts Institute, and Inner Mongolia Arts Institute. It was formally hosted by Xinjiang Arts Institute, The National Dance Professional Committee of China Dancers Association, and Xinjiang Dancers Association.

The Four Minority Groups

“维藏朝蒙”

Uyghur
Tibetan
Korean
Mongolian

The symposium offered a new model for the way in which ethnic minority regions relate to Beijing and the "center" in matters of their own cultural production. The experts and those presenting were almost all from Xinjiang or from the other three areas. Those who are more commonly called upon as experts, (scholars and dancers based at Beijing institutions) were in the audience as observers. This shift in who were the experts and who were the observers created an interesting shift in power dynamics that gave more creative agency, at least for the time of the symposium, to those on the "periphery".

Symposium Format

As an attendee of the symposium I was able to watch incredible performances, listen to engaging presentations, meet many Chinese dancers and scholars, eat delicious food, and visit parts of China that are difficult to visit right now.

The four day symposium consisted of lecture demonstrations, conference paper presentations, roundtable discussions, dance performances, and a final outdoor celebration.

Closing Celebration

Students and faculty from the Xinjiang Arts Institute perform at the final celebration outdoors.

Some elements in this dancing, such as the whirling in circles, evoke features from the Uyghur custom of "Meshrep" which was historically a festive and communal gathering that included poetry, music, dance, and religious discussions. Now, meshreps are banned so it is hard to know if this type of outdoor dance celebration would be currently allowed.

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Symposium Details

The Four Minority Groups

“维 藏 朝 蒙”

Symposium Format

Closing Celebration

Contact me: rubymac@umich.edu

“维藏朝蒙”