Folk dance as a staged attraction in Yugoslavia: A study of an evolving tradition
Sparkis, Sylvia Traska
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/19545
Description
Title
Folk dance as a staged attraction in Yugoslavia: A study of an evolving tradition
Author(s)
Sparkis, Sylvia Traska
Issue Date
1989
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Chick, Garry
Department of Study
Recreation, Sport and Tourism
Discipline
Leisure studies
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Anthropology, Cultural
Fine Arts
Folklore
Recreation
Language
eng
Abstract
This ethnographic study of staged folkloric performances in Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, during the 1988 season and the 39th Dubrovnik Summer Festival provides information about (a) people involved in the presentation of staged folklore, (b) the forms and contents of performances of staged folklore, and (c) the relationship between staged folkloric performance and tourism in Yugoslavia.
Findings of this study indicate that the primary performers of staged folklore in Yugoslavia are amateurs, numbering in the thousands, mostly belonging to cultural arts societies, mainly adolescents or young adults, and are from both rural and urban areas. The folkloric programs observed were of various types, the most frequent being in the concert format, and involving folk music, song, dance, theatre, games or combinations of these. Program contents were found not to vary by type of audience, but by type of occasion. Staged performance of folklore was found to be prolific in the tourist context, especially on the Adriatic coast in the summer, yet also quite common independent from foreign tourism both seasonally and spatially.
The data from this study support the notions that performances of folklore in Yugoslavia in the summer of 1988 were not done solely for foreigners, or for the money that is generated by such performances. Local residents did not appear to have lost interest in such activities due to their staged quality, and did not seem to resent such presentations of Yugoslav culture to foreigners. A conclusion of this study is that the authenticity of folklore is not necessarily lost when it is presented as a staged performance.
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