Kinesthetic City
Dance and Movement in Chinese Urban Spaces
SanSan Kwan
Reviews and Awards
"Kwan writes with a keen sensitivity to the micro-level kinesthetic forces of bodies in motion and the macro-level historical forces that shape place. The result is a series of nuanced and thoughtful readings of the politics of movement, location, and identity."--Anthea Kraut, Associate Professor, Department of Dance, University of California, Riverside
"SanSan Kwan gracefully captures both the experiential dimensions and the larger significance of movement and dance. Her engaging study of choreography and urban space inspires us to think about Chinese identity in original, dynamic, and generative ways."--Josephine Lee, University of Minnesota
"A fascinating portrayal of the texture of the Chinese city recounted from anovel standpoint, grounded both in an impeccable engagement with theory and a profoundly humane understanding of how the ordinary experience of the city is created." --Academia.edu
"Informative and provocative, Kwan's analysis challenges readers to see 'ethnic dance' in a more meaningful, broader context... Highly recommended." --Choice
"The book eloquently gives visibility to Asian and Asian American dance while expressing inherent complexities and multiple perspectives, encouraging scholars in the field to consider how we research, represent, and reconceptualize dance in our globalized world." --Dance Chronicle
"[A] welcome addition to the fields of sinology, dance studies, and urban studies, especially at a time when these areas are being re-examined and even contested." --Dance Research Journal
"Through bold experiments in kinesthetic ethnography, Kwan pushes existing boundaries for how we can think of dance-and, more broadly, movement-as reflective and productive of national, local, and ethnic identities Kinesthetic City offers an expertly designed, theoretically rigorous, and historically grounded inquiry into the production of identity and space through movement, demonstrating methodological innovation and multisited research." --Asian Theatre Journal
"Kwan's analysis challenges readers to see 'ethnic dance' in a more meaningful, broader context...Highly recommended." --Choice Reviews Online
"Kwan distinctly utilizes space theory to explain how bodies and space can be understood as mutually productive. Moreover, her description of concert dance and movement is detailed, vivid, and poetic at times. Kinesthetic City significantly contributes to Asian American dance studies, Chinese dance studies, and Chinese diaspora studies. The book eloquently gives visibility to Asian and Asian American dance while expressing inherent complexities and multiple perspectives, encouraging scholars in the field to consider how we research, represent, and reconceptualize dance in our globalized world." --Dance Chronicle
"[S]triking for the way Kwan weaves vivid portraits of urban movement with research, socio-political analysis and dance. Through processes of visualizing, remembering and experiencing motion, Kwan crafts a deep reflection on Chinese identity and the politics and ideologies of urban space." --In Dance
" [A] fascinating investigation... at how certain Chinese urban spaces 'move', focusing on Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong, New York's Chinatown, and the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles." --Thinking in Practice