Standardizing Movement, Governing Culture: Structural Characteristics of the 12 Sets of Standardized Choreography under State-Led Cultural Governance
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: HRMARS - This study examines the structural characteristics of the 12 Sets of standardized guangchangwu and investigates how these routines manifest the regulatory logic of state-led cultural governance in China. Framed by Foucauldian concepts of discipline and biopolitics, the study approaches choreography as a cultural technology through which bodily conduct, public visibility and collective order are organized. A critical qualitative design was employed, integrating participant observation, video-based movement analysis and semi-structured interviews with elderly dancers in Jinan. The findings show that the 12 Sets are structured through three interrelated dimensions: bodily codification, temporal synchronization and spatial regulation. At the bodily level, the routines privilege precision, symmetry and repetition over expressiveness and improvisation. At the temporal level, fixed rhythms, compressed duration and repetitive cycles discipline leisure into a regulated pattern of active ageing. At the spatial level, grid formations, directional control and hierarchical positioning transform the public square into a visible field of order and surveillance. The study concludes that standardized guangchangwu functions as a choreographic mechanism of governance, translating state ideals of health, harmony and civility into embodied public practice. It also reveals tensions between standardized design and the diverse physical and lived realities of ageing bodies.
Authors: Aonan Zhu, Poh Gee Leng
Institution: Sultan Idris Education University
Language: English
Topic: Arts and Performance Studies
Subfield: Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7156012009
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