A queer feminist anthropologist exploring the realities of culture, gender, and sexuality in contemporary Asia
This Valentines Day, I had planned an evening at home with the people that I love, but my evening soon went tits-up when we realised we couldn’t find the cat. Her owner, who had just received her engagement ring in the post and was heading out to show it to her fiancé who hadn't seen [...]
Together on the dance floor, the three dancers sway lithely, snaking around one another, curving and arching their spines, alternately wavering and burning intensely. Kestelman watches Kela – her own, younger self or a misremembered memory of herself? – dance with the two men as feelings are sparked and a relationship is kindled. Their fun, [...]
The late great Pina Bausch is a legend of contemporary dance. Her work is renowned for having changed the scope of what we consider ‘dance’, and is so individual it is almost a genre in its own right. So how does one review a Pina Bausch piece and do it justice? In fact, how does [...]
Arguably one of the most influential female artists in contemporary Flamenco, Eva Yerbabuena is known for having a unique approach to Flamenco, which includes dramatising storylines, creating group choreography and mixing dance styles in her works. She tours worldwide, both as a solo artist and with her company Eva Yerbabuena Ballet Flamenco, and is celebrated [...]
I first saw Missing on my last day at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, just a few days after the final performance of our own show, A Writer's Lot. It was the most expensive show I paid for throughout my time at the Fringe (I'd seen a lot of shows for free) but it was the [...]
London International Mime Festival: Fet a Mà's Cru Catalan circus duo Fet a Mà present Cru, a delightfully playful yet strikingly potent piece about everything and nothing at the same time, as part of the London International Mime Festival 2014. Pre-set on stage in the Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room, Marta Torrents struts high-heeled back and [...]
This was my first ever review at The Place, one of London's major dance venues. I had, of course, been there before, but this was also my first experience of their annual Resolution! festival, which showcases three new works every night for a month, between mid-January and mid-February every year. It's a great place for [...]
On Wednesday this week I went to the launch of the London International Mime Festival. I was reviewing the later (and darker) of the two shows by Compagnie Non Nova that kicked off the famous festival. The festival itself was set up in 1977, and is the longest running event of its kind worldwide. Phia [...]
The potential to miss our biggest and best opportunities is part and parcel of life. It's finite nature, our mortality, is what makes life worth living to the absolute full. Knowing I have missed past opportunities, and could let future chances pass me by, fuels my ambition and makes me work harder to achieve the [...]
A few weeks ago, I had a Bridget Jones moment. I know you know what I mean; we all have them. Those times when all you want to do is sit in front of the telly wrapped up in your duvet, while you eat ice cream and drink far too much wine. Not exactly a [...]
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