ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I will unravel the impact of travel on contemporary artists and their creations. Through opportunities to visit other locations, either for work or leisure, I propose that such direct contact with other cultures enriches and complicates choreographers’ sensitivities. I refer to issues of travel and displacement as raised by scholars such as Mary Louis Pratt, Caren Kaplan, and James Clifford, theorizing these complex questions through Nine Songs. In the age of globalization, when travel is quite accessible and even necessary, especially in terms of stepping out and entering the international circuit of arts festivals, I offer an example of how Nine Songs was conceived, what it may represent, and how it has been circulated in various international dance venues.
