ABSTRACT
Starting with the concept of ‘empty subjectivity’, the chapter interrogates provocatively the identity issues of Taiwanese society within the context of the island’s colonial and postcolonial history. It traces the development of dance as a performing art from the Japanese colonial era to the present and examines its trajectory through considering keywords such as ‘hybridity’ and ‘diversity’, concepts that testify to the multicultural nature and highly tolerant mentality of the society and its people. In addition, an eager pursuit of a unique and ever-evolving ‘Taiwanese’ identity through dancing bodies and related theatrical aesthetics is narrated in the chapter against the background of the intensifying trend of dance globalization since the last decade of the 20th century.
