Why read Sensational Knowledge?

Book cover of Sensational Knowledge: Embodying Culture Through Japanese Dance

Book description

How do music and dance reveal the ways in which a community interacts with the world? How are the senses used in communicating cultural knowledge? In Sensational Knowledge, ethnomusicologist and dancer Tomie Hahn uncovers the process and nuances of learning nihon buyo, a traditional Japanese dance form. She uses case…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Sensational Knowledge as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Bryan S. Turner

Author

It concerns the complex and demanding process of becoming proficient in dance procedures. The stages involve becoming deeply mindful of the body. The novice has to become attached and subordinated to a ‘master’ who can of course be a woman. Through these rituals the novice becomes enculturated into the dance aesthetic and the wider culture. The core energy required by dance comes from the abdomen to empower the dancer. The training involves self-cultivation. Eventually the mind no longer hinders the expressivity of the body.

From Bryan's list on The best books that make you wish you lived in Asia.