Last Updated on July 14, 2023

Living heritage model

The Holistic Framework

Table 42 and Table 43 summarise the discussions in this chapter, which were centered around the elements that compose dance, as identified in the conceptual framework, and the sensitizing concepts that emerged from the literature and the data (authenticity, heritage, transculturality, change/traditions, transmission and influences on heritage).

The picture that emerges is holistic and complex, with tangible and intangible elements interacting through the embodied practice of performance.

Thus, Raqs sharqi is a form of living heritage that, as Lo Iacono and Brown (2016, p. 100) argue is:

Embodied by individuals, in connection with the artefacts they produce and use and the environment they interact with and as expressed through practices, activities and performances.

Living cultural heritage is also constituted by socially and culturally influenced traditions and conventions, as well as by the feelings and emotions of people and the way they relate to this heritage, including taste and perceptions.

Heritage and human beings are indissolubly connected and continuously shape each other in an open-ended fluid dialogue.

Lo Iacono and Brown (2016, p. 100)

I have reproduced Figure 5 below, from 3.7, as it illustrates the above definition of living heritage, showing how tangible and intangible elements of heritage interconnect.

Definition of Living Heritage

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Definition of living heritage table
Table 42 – Authenticity, heritage and transculturality represented for Raqs sharqi (belly dance) – Part 1

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Part 2 of the definition of living heritage and for dance.
Table 43 – Authenticity, heritage, and transculturality represented for Raqs sharqi (belly dance) – Part 2
holistic heritage diagram
Holistic Heritage diagram – Dr Valeria Lo Iacono (2019)

Next Page >> Conclusions Chapter 7 start with the dance research Questions Conclusions (7.1)

Valeria