Publications
Chapter | Así fai o quen ben baila: Galician Dance and Cultural Identity
Kalee Rose Prendergast, INET-md researcher pursuing her PhD at NOVA FCSH, contributed with the chapter "'Ai faí o quen ben baila': Galician dance and cultural identity" to the book Beyond sentidiño: New Diasporic Reflections on Galician Culture, coedited by Daniel Amarelo and Laura Lesta García, published recently by Routledge.
Abstract:
This chapter intends to illustrate the role of “traditional” dance in Galician cultural identity. It includes findings from a three-month ethnographic study in Santiago de Compostela which observed an urban community involved in the social practices of “traditional” music and dance known as foliadas, and their advocacy of Galician language use. Thus, it evaluates current objectives and identifying elements of contemporary foliadas and dance expression through the observations, opinions and experiences of individuals interviewed within this field study. Origins of “traditional” practices and their varied forms of cultural transmission will thus be considered. Recognized as a participatory practice, diverse perspectives of participation within the foliada — specifically in dance — will be debated, which infer notions of “authenticity.” This analysis aims to establish modern practices of “traditional” dance as valuable forms of expression for the Galician cultural identity, and therefore Galician language use.
