PerformCT, short for Perform Contemporary Tradition, has a unique identity – It is simultaneously an archive of traditional performance genres and a platform for showcasing research and practical work on traditional performance genres today.

As a researcher and teacher of traditional Japanese theater, I have often wished for easier access to performance videos accompany by scholarly input. Resources like this are not only excellent tools in classroom, they are also a critical part of preserving traditional performance genres. Still, change in traditional genres is inevitable as the contexts in which they are performed change constantly. How practitioners, audience, and researchers present, perceive, and analyze the constantly changing traditional genres should also be preserved and shared.

PerformCT archives multimedia and scholarly projects of traditional performance. The first such project is a conference that I organized, with support from the Japan Foundation and the Department of Japanese Studies, National University of Singapore (NUS). The next project is a Kyogen workshop in October, also at NUS.

Another equally important function of PerformCT is to provide information about the Who, What, How, and Where of traditional performance. Through such information-sharing, we will be able to learn more about traditional performance genres in the contemporary world. We hope that PerformCT will be a platform on which information can be shared and ideas can be exchanged.

PerformCT will be updated periodically. Join our mailing list for updates!

Lim Beng Choo
PerformCT Coordinator
Department of Japanese Studies, NUS