Podcasting Diaspora!

Last Saturday, artists and community members used the CounterPULSE stage not for dancing, but for discussion: participants in the Performing Diaspora Symposium took the day to explore the rich, challenging themes that the Festival explores. In three separate sessions, panelists and audience members articulate some of the ideas that each Performing Diaspora artists stirs up onstage. Give a listen here!

Appropriation: Dilemma in Dance
Panelists: Deborah Vaughan, Anne Bluethenthal, & Denise Pate
Facilitated by Laura Elaine Ellis

The subject of appropriation raises questions for the traditional artist: When is appropriation seen as representation? When is it considered merely stealing? What factors determine the difference? A community conversation will delve into the controversial issues surrounding the topic of appropriation â such as race and identity and the impact of appropriation on contemporary and traditional dance forms. A panel of artists will share their professional experiences and informed opinions about the topic.

[gplayer href=”http://www.archive.org/download/PerformingDiasporaSymposium1.2AtCounterpulseNov.7th2009/Symposium1.2Mp3.mp3″]Dilemma in Dance – Listen Now![/gplayer]

Like/Unlike: Whose Standards? Whose Aesthetics?
Panelists:Gregory Maqoma and Russell Rodriguez.
Facilitated by Lily Kharrazi and Sherwood Chen.

What makes a “good” performer or performance? How does an audienceâof insiders, outsiders, or something entirely in between shape, judge and value a tradition-based artists’ work? How do layers of an artists personal and cultural identity impact performative choices, and for whom? Is “innovation” a dirty word for a traditional artist? A sexy one? How do “mainstream” standards of beauty and value compromise or propel an artists’ work? Join us in a participatory discussion about the challenges, expectations and (mis)interpretations of culturally-specific aesthetics and the artistic fidelity to or abandonment of them.

[gplayer href=”http://www.archive.org/download/PerformingDiasporaSymposium1.1AtCounterpulseNov.7th2009_838/Symposium1.mp3″]Like/Unlike: Whose Standards? Whose Aesthetics? Listen Now![/gplayer]