Authentication and (dis)empowerment in ethnic dance commodification....Perspective of eco-migrants

Abstract

This paper focuses on the relationship between tourism development and dance commodification from the perspective of ‘ecological migrants’ in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China. Deprived of their homeland and traditional way of life, ecological migrants have been resettled in the region since 2003, and this study has explored the role and characteristics of ethnic dance in this cultural relocation. Special attention has been given to the role of ‘authenticity’ in the eco-migrants’ experience. Based on 35 in-depth interviews withecological migrants and other stakeholders, the research reveals that dance participants interpret authenticity through engagement in their performances, with this concept having many dimensions. These perceptions are shaped by the role of dance to their livelihood and to their level of empowerment or disempowerment, so that the ways of authenticating dance culture reflects the respondents’ (dis)empowered economic, social, psychological and political status. This paper will outline the relationship between authentication and empowerment status amongst ecological migrant dancers, and illustrate how power status impacts their interpretations of authenticity. The study also provides an insightful overview of the mechanism of (dis)empowerment within ethnic tourism of China, especially within a transitional and disempowered peripheral context