'In Conversation with Emily Wilcox' (William and Mary, USA)

The sixth event in our Guest Lecture Series 21-22 featured invited speaker Emily Wilcox, Associate Professor in Chinese Studies (William and Mary, USA). In conversation with Dr Kathrina Farrugia-Kriel on Wednesday 11 May, Wilcox discussed her book Revolutionary Bodies: Chinese Dance and the Socialist Legacy, published in 2018 by the University of California Press and winner of the 2019 de la Torre Bueno Prize from the Dance Studies Association. In this comprehensive account of the history of modern and contemporary Chinese dance, Wilcox highlights the role of transnational figures who made major contributions to this history, including diasporic China artist Dai Ailian. Wilcox speaks about theoretical, political, and historical foundations of the contemporary concert dance forms we know today as “Chinese dance” and within the context of East Asian Studies.

Emily Wilcox is Programme Director of Chinese Studies and Associate Professor of Chinese Studies at William & Mary and an international expert on Chinese dance and performance. Wilcox’s first book, Revolutionary Bodies: Chinese Dance and the Socialist Legacy (University of California Press, 2018), won the 2019 de la Torre Bueno Prize© from the Dance Studies Association. Wilcox is co-editor of Corporeal Politics: Dancing East Asia (University of Michigan Press, 2020) and co-creator of the University of Michigan Chinese Dance Collection.

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