On June 2-5, the Department of Theater/Dance’s Dr. Jessica Nakamura hosted the Critical Interventions Lab III conference: “Decentering Japanese Performance”.
“Decentering Japanese Performance” aimed to reevaluate understandings of Japanese performance history and ideas of national cultural production by exploring Japan’s theater and dance outside of the cultural hubs of Kyoto and Tokyo. “Decentering Japanese Performance” took as a starting point that people, events, and artistic production located outside Tokyo and Kyoto have long influenced what has taken place inside of them.
The lab, by moving attention to performances outside of Kyoto and Tokyo, brought Japanese studies, transpacific, and diasporic studies into dialogue with existing conversations in theater and performance studies. Part of the aim of the lab was to revisit definitions of the “center” and “periphery” as it relates to Japanese cultural production. In so doing, the lab identified long-standing regional performance developments, expanded definitions of Japanese performance beyond national borders, and recast Japanese cultural exchange through multi-directional approaches.
We are thrilled to have Dr. Nakamura bringing these vital and transformative conversations to our Department, and cannot wait to learn more from her research and experiences.
