UCR Department of Dance

New Research in Critical Dance Studies Colloquium Series

Towards Antiracist Futures of Dance in the Post-Pandemic Academy 

Recently, dance organizations and institutions across the country have pronounced themselves in different forms against historical social and racial injustice. They have drafted values intended to prompt commitments to fighting against systemic racism and social marginalization. The colloquium and the Schlundt Lecture are motivated by the premise that in order to implement structural changes there must be a radical change on how we have learned to think, be, feel, care, do, and make in the world and in relation to one another. Presenters will be sharing their radical imagination as we keep the fire burning and the momentum going toward envisioning and building a more equitable and antiracist (dance) world.

Coordinated by Jose L Reynoso
Assistant Professor of Critical Dance Studies

APRIL 15, 2021 Thursday, 1:30-3:20 pm PDT 
ONLINE - Free and open to the campus and broader community

Register in advance for this series (one link for all presentations): 
https://ucr.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMrd-uvqDMqHNT24cUrjoAOV6jJ4lSGa9pq 
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the presentation. 

Download the poster here. 

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Dr. J. Lorenzo Perillo (he/him/his)

“Critical Filipinx Dance on the Edge of Tomorrow” 

What does it mean for Filipinxs to navigate the violent forces of empire and neoliberalism with street dance and Hip-Hop? The predominant Philippine neoliberal and U.S. imperialist paradigms emphasize Filipinxs as superb mimics, heroic migrants, model minorities, subservient wives, and natural dancers. How might a shift away from these ideas inform an anti-racist future for everyone? Dr. J. Lorenzo Perillo draws from his new book to discuss anti-racism in Dance from a Critical Filipinx perspective. Drawing from nearly two decades of ethnography, choreographic analysis, and community engagement with artists, choreographers, and organizers, Perillo investigates the development of Filipinx popular dance and performance since the late 20th century. He argues for a rethinking of a staple of Hip-Hop's regulation, the "euphemism," as a mode of social critique for understanding how folks have engaged with both racial histories of colonialism and gendered labor migration. Employing critical race, feminist, and performance studies, Perillo will draw from his analysis of euphemisms - zombie, hero, robot, and judge - that uncover the ways Filipinx racialization intersects Black dance and the conditions of possibility that gave rise to Filipinx dance phenomena across viral, migrant, theatrical, competitive, and diplomatic modes of performance in the Philippines and diaspora.

Dr. Perillo carves out spaces for dancing truth to power through a blend of interdisciplinary scholarship, community activism, and transnational performance. He is currently Assistant Professor of Theatre and Dance at the University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa. His first book Choreographing in Color: Filipinos, Hip-hop, and the Cultural Politics of Euphemism (Oxford University Press, 2020) blends archival, ethnographic, and choreographic methods to analyze the intersections of Filipino and Black dance cultures in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. He is a member of the Critical Filipinx Studies Collective and an alumnus of Culture Shock, a non-profit dance organization dedicated to community empowerment and the preservation of Hip-hop culture, and his research thus analyzes the role of cultural practices in resisting racism, sexism, and colonialism. In 2014, Dr. Perillo collaborated with Dr. Johanna F. Almiron to co-curate a virtual exhibit entitled "Storm: A Typhoon Haiyan Recovery Project", and flashmob commemorating the survivors of the most destructive storm to hit the Philippines in modern history. His work has appeared in Theatre Journal, Amerasia Journal, Journal of Asian Studies, International Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies, and Hip-hop(e): The Cultural Practice and Critical Pedagogy of International Hip-Hop. Learn more about his book, teaching, and community engagements here: choreographingincolor.com 

This series is supported by the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Dean’s Office Visiting Artist Fund

Information: dance@ucr.edu 

Learn more about series here

As we strive to constantly renew our commitments to social and racial justice as a department, we acknowledge and recognize our responsibility to the original and current caretakers of the land where UC Riverside is located:  The Cahuilla, Tongva, Luiseño, and Serrano peoples (see full land acknowledgement). The life of our department and the upkeep of our facilities are maintained by the labor of so many people we are grateful for. Special thanks to Kathleen DeAtley, Program Promotions Manager, and Lily Chan Szeto, Event Specialist, for contributing their expertise to the production of this Colloquium and Schlundt lecture. 

Photo credit: Carlo Posadas