Skanberg Dahlstedt, Ami

Whose knowledge? A critical perspective on knowledge production in the arts. No discussion of knowledge and art can avoid gender theory and postcolonial perspectives. Whose knowledge are we discussing? Ami Skånberg Dahlstedt, a Swedish performer and originator, phD student, researches Japanese performance techniques, especially the gender codified movements of Kabuki, with and through her own body. She puts herself in the middle of the traditional Japanese theatre training, grasps the tradition of teachers in Japan: masters, geishas and Living National Treasures. Next, she explores the new information, received and embodied, and responds to it in experimental work. The experimental work consists of dance, text, video, and music. She has looked into certain national (Japanese) body constructions, for example the sitting position Seiza, and the walking method Suriashi. What do they consist of, and what happens if they are looked at in a critical way, and analyzed with the help of gender theory and feminist perspectives? Do the physical constructions loose their nationality and their claim for consanguinity when performed in a transnational, and critical context? Ami Skånberg Dahlstedt invites the participants to a 25 min presentation, followed by a 30 min collaboratory exploration of physical constructions. Ami will perform with Frej von Fräähsen

Cross-gender exploration in traditional Japanese dance theatre, as an extended artistic expression

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