Decolonial Pedagogies Through Dance: A Workshop With Tjimur Dance Theatre
- Date 18 October 2025 - 2.00 p.m. - 18 October 2025 - 4.30 p.m.
- Location Kendrew Events Room, St John's College
In this contemporary body movement workshop based on the Paiwan idea of Varhung, Tjimur Dance Theatre will introduce Paiwan culture, traditional dance steps, songs, and the unique ways that the Theatre adapts these into the Tjimur dance technique. The dances of the Paiwan people originated from their daily lives and traditional ceremonies. Most of their dance steps are presented in the four-step form. Their body rhythms are also guided by songs. There are four parts to the workshop, namely “Beginning with Song (to Dance)”, “Following the Voice”, “Transforming the Breath” and “Creating through Voice”. The artistic director Ljuzem and choreographer Baru will also share the development of the Dance Theatre of extending the traditional Paiwan cultures to contemporary dance movements. The workshop will conclude with a question-and-answer segment with Tjimur Dance Theatre.
This workshop is kindly supported by the St John's College Small Arts Grant and the University of Oxford School of Geography and the Environment Technological Life Research Cluster
Tjimur Dance Theatre
Tjimur Dance Theatre is Taiwan’s first professional dance company that focuses on contemporary Paiwan people. The company is devoted to interpreting contemporary experiences through ancestral songs. They integrate song with dance and use singing as a guide for creating their dance in a display of the exceptional bodily expressions of Paiwan culture and their unique style among Taiwan’s contemporary dance companies. Since Tjimur’s founding 18 years ago, the company has put on over 130 performances in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
Register
This workshop is open to all members of the University of Oxford.
Register here.
Whilst attending the workshop is free, a £7 deposit is required to secure your place and to prevent no-shows. This deposit will be fully refunded when you attend the workshop. In cases of financial difficulty, the deposit may be waived. Please contact the organiser rachael.chan@ouce.ox.ac.uk if you have any queries.