Intercultural Relations

Front Matter

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Musical Worlds of Sara Tavares

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The Intercultural Dimension of Research on Music and Dance

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Music and Its Intercultural Dimensions: A Review of the Book Na stykach iskrzy: literackie konteksty rocka [ENG: Sparks at the Points of Contact: Literary Contexts of Rock Music] (2023) by Sławomir Kuźnicki Published by Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Opolskiego

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“Le Musiciste” Study Days for an Education in and the Spread of a Stolen Story

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The initiative of the study days dedicated to the history of female musicians, now in its ninth edition, came to light in 2015 due to the need to raise awareness of and re-evaluate the female identity of a social, cultural and artistic nature often forgotten by European musical historiography. The ban on performing in public after marriage, the preclusion from musical positions and careers, the lack of public institutions that permitted the creation of educational pathways for women equal to those of the other sex, have all conditioned the development of female musical art and sometimes even leading to its obsolescence even though many women were protagonists, authoritative professionals and attentive witnesses of the musical society of their time. This legacy, which determined the cancellation of an important artistic legacy from the collective memory, and come down to the present day, can be reversed only thanks to a thorough knowledge of the female contribution to the music of the past and present.

Whose World Music?

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World music might be defined most benignly as an attempt to conceptualise all of the world’s music. More cynically though, world music can be also seen as just an advertising label for all non-Western music. Many scholars have gone even further and argue that world music is a delusional subjective fantasy, an unreal utopia and an oppressive discourse of western hegemony. Defining what world music is really depends on who is asking the question. Whose world musi is it? This paper will focus on the philosophical conundrums of ‘world music’ within the context of the current BA World Music at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick. The paper will be framed through the following questions: what is world music; whose music is it; why should we world music and how it can be done? In this article, I will trace the shifting meanings of world music from its origins as pedagogical framework, to its use as a popular music marketing term and finally its significance as part of a post modern critique of globalisation. I will outline how students at the Irish World Academy engage with ‘world music’ both as a problematic concept but also an exercise in exploring transcultural musical relationships, particularly through practical ensemble work in five different cultural areas: popular music, Javanese gamelan, Indian Classical music, Ewe drum and dance and Turkish maqam. I will also discuss my own journey as a musician and outline how this practice has influenced both my pedagogical and theoretical framing of what it means to be a performer in the contemporary global music landscape.

Tango: An Introduction To Tango-related Topics

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The aim of this article is to present tango not as a choreographic arrangement (although this will inevitably be discussed), but as a social phenomenon with a very interesting history, created in specific historical and cultural circumstances, constituting an extremely popular cinematic and literary motif and, no less importantly, an area of linguistic research. Hence the more general or descriptive nature of the article, in which, in addition to the necessary information, numerous questions, doubts and research paths appear. At the same time, we would like to emphasize the international and intercultural nature of tango, visible primarily in music and dance, but also in all the other threads presented in this article, which makes this dance a subject of broadly understood cultural studies.

The Journey of Italian Belly Dancers

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Commonly referred to as Raqs Sharqi in Arabic, “belly dance” is a choreographic form intricately woven into the cultural fabric of the MENAT region. This paper begins by tracing its transcultural evolution, from colonial influences to recent feminist discourses, illustrating how research on belly dance offers a rich field for examining the complex interplay of culture, ethnicity, religion, gender, and power. The second section builds on this foundation, applying theoretical frameworks to investigate how dancers’ habitus is selectively developed through “reflexive body techniques” (Crossley 2004), exploring how gendered social structures are embodied (Sassatelli 2022) and performed (Butler 2006) by Italian dancers. The third section details the research methodology, employing a mixed-methods approach informed by a narrative-inspired analysis (Greimas & Courtés 1982; Ferraro 2021). A web survey and in-depth qualitative interviews were designed to explore dancers’ perceived processes of transformation. The Greimasian and Ferraro frameworks were operationalised to structure the data according to the Canonical Narrative Schema (CNS), enabling an analysis of the key stages of the dancers’ journeys. The fourth and fifth sections present and analyse data collected from 428 respondents and three in-depth interviews. Using NVivo software, all data were analysed thematically within the CNS framework. Five key themes emerged: Empowerment, Cultural Capital, Vitality, Socialisation, and Identity. These findings are contextualised within Italian society, with an emphasis on gender roles and stereotypes, which have shaped the experiences of Italian women over the past two decades. Given the breadth of data collected, this paper focuses on one key dimension: the perceived experience of personal transformation, which most participants described as leading to the emergence of a “new self.” By examining the different stages of the Italian belly dancers’ journeys, this paper aims to explore how gendered social structures in the Italian context are embodied by practitioners, shaping their learning and performing as a journey of self-discovery.

Peripheral Electronic Music

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Tecnobrega is a peripheral electronic music produced since the 2000s in the state of Pará, in northern Brazil. It is marked by the mix of traditional local romantic music, the rhythms from the Caribbean and electronic music globalized by the spread of recording technologies. In the last decade, the tecnobrega unfolded in several rhythm variants. This work presents an ethnography of parties related to new trend called ‘rock doido,’ the main current phenomenon of electronic music in Pará, both due to the size of the parties and the reach in digital media. The article presents the results of field research that were carried out in two events that took place in the city of Belém (capital of Pará state) in 2023. The first experience takes place at the Crocodilo Sound System Party, which focuses on the execution of the repertoire of rock doido. The second is a presentation by DJ Lorran, the main name of the rock doido in Pará today. The research also cross-discusses the spread of Pará production in the context of global-peripheral electronic music, enhanced by digital tools such as YouTube and social media.

Glocalising a Subculture

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The article describes the culture of Japanese Gothic DJs and analyses their figures. The Gothic DJs are a part of the general Gothic art, and Goth subculture intercultural movements, taken from the West and re-invented in Japan. In Japan, those movements are a strong reaction towards the dominant, conservative culture, whereas, in the West, this classical opposition (described by, for example, Dick Hebdige) is not that strong nowadays. Japanese social collectivism is often seen as oppressive towards some artistic and free-spirited individuals. Artists like those DJs are the opposition to this collectivism, and their sets at the parties make a space for other Goths to express themselves in their safe space. This movement is also very innovative due to mixing different aesthetics (keis) and minimising the problem of subcultural gatekeeping. The paper describes the rebellion led by DJs’ performances, music sets, and visual style. It is based on the bigger field research done in 2019 and 2023, where the method used was participatory observation.

Fado – the Space of Intercultural Dialogue between Poland and Portugal

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This article explores fado music as a medium for intercultural dialogue between Portugal and Poland, focusing on the early 21st century while considering its multicultural roots in Lisbon’s marine districts. The study situates itself within broader research on fado’s global reach, including its popularity in Japan. The first section examines fado’s role in multicultural relations, presenting it as a living heritage and space for dialogue. The second section highlights the integration of Polish and Portuguese cultural elements in fado. The third section discusses fado concerts and festivals in Poland, emphasizing their role in cultural exchange, with a case study on Fado Café in Grudziądz.

Flamenco Dance Academies in Seville – a Transcultural Exchange Field

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The objective of this text is to present flamenco dance academies in Seville as a field of transcultural exchange. The theoretical framework is provided by two concepts: Wolfgang Welsch’s idea of transculturality and Francisco Aix Gracia’s concept of the ‘flamenco field’ (campo flamenco). Flamenco dance academies serve functions that extend well beyond the mere execution of dance instructions – they are institutions where individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, including foreigners, Andalusians, Andalusian Roma, and Spaniards from outside Andalusia, interact and negotiate their cultural identity. Flamenco dance schools also may be considered as transcultural platforms for the renegotiation of elements integral to the identities of foreign dancers, including lifestyle, behaviour, language, body, movement, and expression.

Back Matter

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