Building innovative capacity in Australian dance through new visualization technologies. Innovation is a core value of contemporary dance and a key driver of dance companies’ artistic and economic growth. This project will enhance the innovative capacity of Australian dance by providing new methods for creating dance that integrates dance artistry with new technological advances in digital imagery.
Capturing Dance: using Motion Capture to enhance the creation of innovative Australian dance. Australian dance companies are dependent on income derived from international markets for their continued survival and growth. Their ability to compete in the global arts market depends on their ability to remain on the leading edge of choreographic development world-wide. This study will provide Australian dance artists with new tools and technologies to enhance their creation of new and innovative dan ....Capturing Dance: using Motion Capture to enhance the creation of innovative Australian dance. Australian dance companies are dependent on income derived from international markets for their continued survival and growth. Their ability to compete in the global arts market depends on their ability to remain on the leading edge of choreographic development world-wide. This study will provide Australian dance artists with new tools and technologies to enhance their creation of new and innovative dance, ensuring their ability to secure international profile and market presence, and contributing to dance internationally a new understanding of, and new technologies for creating, innovative dance.Read moreRead less
Transnational and cross-cultural choreographies: the politics of cultural transmission in Australian dance, 1970 - 2000. This project will highlight the rich cultural diversity of Australian dance and choreography. Its methodology will facilitate critical debate about cross-cultural dynamics in the performing arts with national and international dance artists and cultural scholars. The research outcomes will give a distinctively Australian focus to international dance studies and generate new kn ....Transnational and cross-cultural choreographies: the politics of cultural transmission in Australian dance, 1970 - 2000. This project will highlight the rich cultural diversity of Australian dance and choreography. Its methodology will facilitate critical debate about cross-cultural dynamics in the performing arts with national and international dance artists and cultural scholars. The research outcomes will give a distinctively Australian focus to international dance studies and generate new knowledges about the recent cultural history of Australian dance. And they will give global prominence to the unique transnational influences that shape Australian culture. As a result, the project will shift dance studies in Australia from an embryonic field of scholarly interest to a significant field of cultural research.Read moreRead less
Islam and Ideologies of War, Gender and Class as Determinants of Musical Identity in Twentieth Century Aceh, Indonesia. In the colonial and postcolonial periods, the natural wealth and strategic location of Aceh province brought it fame, foreign contact and frequent war, yet its cultural expressions - which can help explain Acehnese behaviour and the current war situation - are poorly known. Aceh's musical identity is determined by intersections between the music's internal syntax and extramusic ....Islam and Ideologies of War, Gender and Class as Determinants of Musical Identity in Twentieth Century Aceh, Indonesia. In the colonial and postcolonial periods, the natural wealth and strategic location of Aceh province brought it fame, foreign contact and frequent war, yet its cultural expressions - which can help explain Acehnese behaviour and the current war situation - are poorly known. Aceh's musical identity is determined by intersections between the music's internal syntax and extramusical associations arising from ideologies and functions of religion, combat, gender and class; history of noble and religious leadership; and social change. New theories are presented that relate musical style to the ideologies and explain the performing arts' fusion of indigenous, Arabic and other foreign elements.Read moreRead less
Policy Notes: Local Popular Music in Global Creative Economies. In providing the first comprehensive analysis of how music policy is created, the project assesses the viability of local music industries in a time of rapid, global technological change. It forges new ways of planning the different needs of producers, audiences and government in cultural production; and contribute to the economic and cultural health of Australian popular music industries. The project fills a major gap in Australian ....Policy Notes: Local Popular Music in Global Creative Economies. In providing the first comprehensive analysis of how music policy is created, the project assesses the viability of local music industries in a time of rapid, global technological change. It forges new ways of planning the different needs of producers, audiences and government in cultural production; and contribute to the economic and cultural health of Australian popular music industries. The project fills a major gap in Australian and international cultural policy studies in relation to the effectiveness of popular music policy and practice, particularly for industries situated outside the predominant centres of music production in Europe, the U.S. and Asia.Read moreRead less
Towards an Australian Ecological Theatre . This 3-year collaborative project aims to review the parameters of Australian Theatre and Performance Studies by reconceptualising past and present works in terms of their environmental content. The project expects to generate new knowledge of texts, scenography, attitudes to the natural world and site-specific locations of this under-recognised but vital stream of the performing arts in Australia from 1960 to 2020. Expected outcomes include an enhanced ....Towards an Australian Ecological Theatre . This 3-year collaborative project aims to review the parameters of Australian Theatre and Performance Studies by reconceptualising past and present works in terms of their environmental content. The project expects to generate new knowledge of texts, scenography, attitudes to the natural world and site-specific locations of this under-recognised but vital stream of the performing arts in Australia from 1960 to 2020. Expected outcomes include an enhanced capacity to theorise and evaluate Australian Ecological Theatre and Performance. This should provide significant benefits to the discipline at the national and international level by modelling a new approach that highlights the human and environmental consciousness of the performing arts. Read moreRead less
Power and Performance: Revaluing Theatre in the 21st century. This project aims to examine the changing function of the theatre in Western culture. For millennia, theatre has been valued as a way to bridge questions of a personal and political nature. As the Western cultural sphere is now organised around generating consensus rather than debate, so this foundational function of theatre is being challenged and must be re-assessed. Accordingly, the role of the artist, audience or scholar of theatr ....Power and Performance: Revaluing Theatre in the 21st century. This project aims to examine the changing function of the theatre in Western culture. For millennia, theatre has been valued as a way to bridge questions of a personal and political nature. As the Western cultural sphere is now organised around generating consensus rather than debate, so this foundational function of theatre is being challenged and must be re-assessed. Accordingly, the role of the artist, audience or scholar of theatre is also changing in fundamental ways. There is now a need to re-examine the social value of theatrical performance in contemporary Western culture. This project plans to consider case studies in different global sites to develop a comparative and critical framework for establishing the new cultural politics of theatre and the re-evaluation of the arts.Read moreRead less
Patrick White and Australian Theatrical Modernism: from modern drama to contemporary performance. The project addresses the question of Patrick White, a canonical but contentious novelist, whose contribution to Australian theatrical modernism is under-recognised. This new analysis of White that focuses on his drama and the numerous theatrical performances of his plays from 1961 to 2012 aims to develop a significant new narrative for Australian theatre that maps the journey from modern drama to c ....Patrick White and Australian Theatrical Modernism: from modern drama to contemporary performance. The project addresses the question of Patrick White, a canonical but contentious novelist, whose contribution to Australian theatrical modernism is under-recognised. This new analysis of White that focuses on his drama and the numerous theatrical performances of his plays from 1961 to 2012 aims to develop a significant new narrative for Australian theatre that maps the journey from modern drama to contemporary performance. Drawing on the considerable archive of reviews, photographs and annotated scripts, this study of White’s theatre aims to re-assess the impact of Patrick White on Australian modernism and reposition his work within a twenty-first century context of reception.Read moreRead less
From Muslim devotions to global niveau: the art of body percussion music as expression of cultural memory in Aceh and the diasporas. After Aceh's tsunami tragedy, Australia/ns pledged large amounts of money and effort to collaborate in rebuilding the devastated province. Results of this project can help us approach reconstruction in a more culturally sensitive way. Challenging stereotypes of Acehnese as fanatical and potentially hostile, the project can help explain Aceh's strong commitment to ....From Muslim devotions to global niveau: the art of body percussion music as expression of cultural memory in Aceh and the diasporas. After Aceh's tsunami tragedy, Australia/ns pledged large amounts of money and effort to collaborate in rebuilding the devastated province. Results of this project can help us approach reconstruction in a more culturally sensitive way. Challenging stereotypes of Acehnese as fanatical and potentially hostile, the project can help explain Aceh's strong commitment to Islam, pride in its great cultural achievements, and the continuing war. Improved bilateral and people-to-people relations between Australians and Acehnese/Indonesians can facilitate a more confident and sympathetic interpretation of the needs of our national security. In addition, material results of the project will augment two National Collections.Read moreRead less
The changing identity and sustainability of the music-cultures and worldviews of the Riau Islands' sea nomads and sedentary Malays. This project explores the music-cultural identity and related socioeconomic dilemmas of remote Sea Nomads vis-à-vis the Muslim Malays in the industrialising Riau Islands. It will further Australians' awareness of the intercultural contexts in which they work and help maintain Australia's leadership role and ongoing engagement with the Asia-Pacific.