Dancing the Malaysian

Petaling Jaya, Malaysia: SIRD, 2011. First edition. Hardcover. New. 3-9-15. New. On picking up this book one's first impression could be that this is another Malaysian coffee table book; this time about dance. On opening the book, you start preparing for a rethink. There are some black and white photos appropriately scattered throughout the book and a collection of colour plates in the centre, but that's as much of a coffee table book as you're going to get. Instead we have here a fascinating study of how contemporary Malaysian society, struggling to find its identity, uses dance in that search. In fact, the author has unearthed several significant groups in the country who work with the different culture heritages of which the country can boast as well as contemporary international influences. There's enough here to make you want to go and search out these groups yourself. 248 pages. The contents include - A Brief History of Malaysian Dance, Constructing the National Identity, Dancing the Malaysian, Multicultural Dance Education & The Malaysian Artists, There are also Notes, a list of References and an Index. 1.2kg Post free within Malaysia but will incur additional postage charges when posted elsewhere.