TAPS/East Asian Languages and Civilizations
Wenke (Coco) Huang is a PhD student in the joint program of TAPS and East Asian Languages and Civilizations (EALC). She has worked in Chicago and Beijing as a freelance dramaturg and director. As a scholar-artist, she is interested in the adaptations of classical myths and legends, physical theatre, and dance dramaturgy, in particular the folk dances of ethnic minorities in rural China. Focusing on Han China’s geographical and ethnic periphery, she hopes to investigate the interconnections of four cultural elements all pronounced “wu” in Chinese: martial arts, dance, witchcraft, and (performance) objects. Subsequently, how these expressive devices have consolidated and preserved the cultural identities of ethnic subgroups, manifested in the nation’s classical dance history and performance repertoire, and fused into contemporary choreography by Chinese and international artists.