‘In‐between spaces’: an investigation into the embodiment of culture in contemporary dance1

Abstract

Beginning with the theory of cultural embodiment, this paper suggests that the work of some contemporary choreographers, because of the use they make of their cultural backgrounds, inhabits ‘in‐between’ spaces. Cultural embodiment, it is suggested, leads to the choreographer’s absorption of movement as a source of historical information and an extension of their cultural characteristics. Shobana Jeyasingh is cited as an example of a choreographer who applies elements of the Indian dance form Bharata Natyam to her contemporary choreography in Duets with automobiles, exploring Rosi Braidotti’s idea of nomadic subjectivity. Similar to Jeyasingh, Akram Khan’s choreography is also informed by both eastern and western cultures. The classical Indian dance form of Kathak is embedded into Khan’s movement vocabulary. With Rush and Zero Degrees, which are analysed, it is suggested Khan produces a ‘double consciousness’ of two cultures. As a result of the cultural hybridity explored in Khan’s works, new identities are formed in the overlapping cultures and it is proposed that Khan’s work exists in ‘in‐between spaces’.