Article Title：The BBC Young Dancer and the decolonising imagination
Abstract：
The process of decolonisation requires a radical re-imagination of how we construct our identities - one that steps away from fictions of independence and essentialism to acknowledge the complex webs of dialogue and interdependence. It requires a self-conscious abandonment of identities that privilege nostalgia for an idealised past, whether this is perceived as lost through geographical dislocation or through the changes of history. This is a nostalgia that tends to underplay cultural interweaving in favour of cultural essentialism. This article discusses the televised competition, the BBC Young Dancer, which offers a model, albeit imperfect, for navigating between essentialism and assimilationism, thereby contributing to a decolonised imagination of our future. It includes a South Asian dance category that is situated as equally representative of 'British' dance. In this way it helps us to imagine a decolonised future, which acknowledges the past to allow us to shape new identities.
Keywords: BBC Young Dancer; bharatanatyam; kathak; South Asian dance; British identities
DOI: 10.1080/19438192.2019.1568537
Source：SOUTH ASIAN DIASPORA
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