Arts Transcending Borders at the College of the Holy Cross

Performances and workshops by a group of Acehnese women dancers provides the basis for a discussion regarding various points of view on dance performed by women in Muslim societies (in some districts in Aceh, these dances are forbidden). The recitation of Muslim formulae in the beginning and end of the performance, and the belief that the dances were developed by Islamic religious teachers centuries ago, has strengthened the identity of the Acehnese woman. The genre blends Islam and Indonesian cultures in a rare U.S. appearance.