Choreographing Canada: The Issue with Multiculturalism
摘要
In this chapter we look at the issues with multiculturalism in North America. We begin by critically examining the closing ceremonies of Pan Am and Para Pan Am games in 2015, Toronto, Canada. During these ceremonies, the dance portion featured several cultural performances including, Chinese Tai Chi, Brazilian Capoeira, and Argentine Tango, among others. As a participant in the Tango portion with a ballroom team from the studio I was attending at that time I had an insider view of the process and selection of the participating cultural numbers. In this chapter I recount my experience and relate it larger issues of appropriation, global commercialism, and commodification of dance for corporate and political goals with no regards for cultural authenticity or historical recognition. Next, this chapter reviews the American cultural policy, and compares the 2022 World Games in Alabama to the 2015 Pan Am games in Toronto.