Yiwen Deng
Yiwen Deng is a researcher, critic, and practitioner in dance and performance studies. Trained in research and practice, including Chinese Classical, Ethnic and Folk dance, as well as Modern and Contemporary dance, she is dedicated to integrating Eastern and Western aesthetics and to conveying spirit, culture, and values through movement. As a practitioner, she is passionate about exploring the intermediality of experimentation in dance film; As a researcher, she offers critical insights into performance phenomena and analyzes the underlying logics. She has presented her research at the Dance Studies Association Conference and is a member of both the Dance Studies Association (DSA) and the International Dance Council (CID).
Project Title: Imitation, Creation, and Resistance: The Survival Politics of “Social Shake” on Chinese Social Media
Project Description: “Social Shake” first emerged as a widespread phenomenon on Chinese social media over a decade ago and regained its popularity in recent years. This repetitive, mechanical choreography, setting to high-speed music, reveals a kitschy and grassroots (“Tuwei”) aesthetic that disrupts mainstream social values and has drawn criticism from officials.
The disciplined body gradually exhibits a tendency toward self-identity, subtly and secretly resisting modern forms of bodily regulation. However, the performance embodied a certain strange duality: an attempt to appear cool, trendy and fashionable is expressed through untrained bodies; an aesthetic that mimics high-class tastes yet exposes its grassroots origin. Becoming a “Social Shake” dancer (or “Yaozi”) has been subject to moral judgment, aesthetic ridicule, and social marginalization.
Meanwhile, “Social Shake” functions as a survival strategy for the marginalized people. Through the imitation of popular cultural forms, dancers gain visibility. Group performances, often seen in team livestreams and short videos, encourage participation and foster a sense of community among social periphery. A decade later, its revival among college students reflects a response to economic recession and the pressure of unemployment. Students carry forward the spirit of “Social Shake” expressing anxiety, madness and frustration into sarcastic, orgiastic performances that express humor, irony and raw energy.
Project Inspiration: Inspired by queer, trans, and disability studies, and trained as a scholarly dance student, my perspective was challenged by the popularity of “Social Shake”, a movement in which untrained bodies reshape popular culture in China through their aesthetics, gestures, presence and use of social media. Through the dialogue and transformation, the gaps between categories are narrowing, and boundaries are becoming ambiguous. Confronted with the fluid interchange between the professional/elite/urban and the folk/subcultural/rural, I want to challenge the social values, power structures, and discourses that shape aesthetic norms, and explore how “Social Shake” operates as a survival strategy.
Academic Interests: Dance Studies: Post-modern dance, Dance ontology, Chinese Modern and Contemporary dance history, Chinese popular song and dance history, Dance theater and drama research, Social Dance Body Politics, Corporeal Philosophy, Subculture Studies