Institut für Ethnomusikologie der KUG

05/06/2026

Lecture Workshop by Sumedha Bhattacharyya
_______________

Wednesday, 10 June 2026
14:00, SR 150 (Reiterkaserne)
_______________
GLIDING HISTORIES : Meend and the Choreomusical Memory of Kathak

Gliding Histories explores the concept of meend — the glide between notes in Hindustani music— as a framework for thinking through the oral musical memory of Kathak and its layered histories of sound, movement, and transmission. Meend in Kathak is also transition between two motifs.

Drawing from ethnomusicology, choreomusicology, embodied practice, and personal archival inquiry, this lecture-workshop examines how movement and music carry traces of continuity, silence, erasure, and inheritance within the form.

Situating Kathak within its interconnected histories of court performance, hereditary lineages, and the often-overlooked contributions of “tawaif” cultures, the session approaches the dance form as a living archive shaped through oral transmission, repetition, musicality, and embodied memory.

Central to the workshop is the figure of the courtesan woman embodying the interconnected artistic practice of poetry, music, gesture, rhythm, and dance existed not as separate disciplines, but as intertwined modes of knowledge-making and performance.

As a trained Kathak dancer working through intergenerational learning, the lecture workshop reflects on how dancers inherit histories through the body, often without direct access to the absences and silences embedded within national narratives. How do sound and movement remember what archives omit?

_____
📸 Sumedha Bhattacharyya


Kunstuni Graz KUG

02/06/2026

𝕄𝕦𝕎𝕚 𝕒𝕜𝕥𝕦𝕖𝕝𝕝

!! Thursday !!,
11.06.2026 - 11:30 Uhr - SR150

Dr. Rebeka Kunej (Institute of Ethnomusicology, ZRC SAZU, Ljubljana, Slovenia)
-

Negotiating Dance Heritage in the Slovenian Countryside

This lecture examines how dance heritage is constructed, performed, and negotiated in a small Slovenian community. Focusing on a folk dance ensemble in Horjul, it explores the staged representation of heritage in the absence of extensive historical documentation. By contrasting ensemble performances with socially embedded dance practices at veselicas, the lecture analyses how ethnochoreological research contribute to local identity, ideas of tradition and contemporary heritage discourse.
____

01/06/2026

🐆 The Cheetahs are awaiting you! 🐆

🗓 3 June 2026
🕰 13:30
📍SR150 Reiterkaserne, Leonhardstraße 82-84, 8010 Graz

Find the article here: https://ethnomusikologie.kug.ac.at/veranstaltungen/symposien-tagungen-konferenzen/cheetah-lounge-ss26

____



📹 by Kathi Weinhappel
Edit by Julija Novosel (& Magdalena Maria Wolf)
In video also Rachel Ong Shu Ying)

26/05/2026

🐆🛋 It's CHEETAH LOUNGE Time again! 📖

An biannual get-together of institute members, advanced students, (guest) scholars and people interested in the material. There, we discuss current, important topics of ethnomusicology on the basis of changing articles.

Our article of choice for this summer semester is: "Marmone, Giordano. 2025. “Performing Change and Preservation: How Pop Songs Became Ritual Music Among the Pastoral Samburu of Kenya.” Ethnomusicology (2025) 69 (3): 384–414."
Find the link to the pdf in our Website.

See you all in our seminar room on the 3rd of June at 1:30pm for a livley exchange!
Spread the news and see you soon! 😸

____


Kunstuni Graz KUG

18/05/2026

𝕄𝕦𝕎𝕚 𝕒𝕜𝕥𝕦𝕖𝕝𝕝

Wednesday,
20.05.2026 - 14:00 Uhr - SR150

Dr. Jessie M. Vallejo (California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, USA)
-

Challenging Machista & Nationalist Narratives: A Discussion of Women in Mariachi and the Music’s Diverse Roots

Mariachi is often framed as a male-dominated and mestizo (Indigenous and European) regional style of Mexican music that became a national symbol in the 20th Century. Although radio and film have projected this image, the music’s trajectory defies these generalizations. Since its earliest days, mariachi music has included contributions from Afro-Latinos and their music from across the Americas (e.g., Afro-Caribbean). Furthermore, women and LGBTQ+ musicians have been central to defining the style and popularizing it across the Americas and the world for more than 120 years.

Drawing from recent publications by leading mariachi scholars as well as my own performance and scholarly work, my lecture will present common theories about early mariachi music and challenge the simplified categorizations of mariachi as a regional style from Jalisco, a national Mexican mestizo music, and a male-centric practice. Our discussion will both cover key historical moments, musical features, and important female figures (e.g., composers, performers, ensembles, and directors), all of which supports broadening the scope of mariachi music beyond a regional, national, or masculine identity.
____


Kunstuni Graz KUG

14/05/2026

Lange Nacht der Forschung 26 Recap:

Two of our colleagues contributed to this year’s edition of with a workshop and a talk. We explored the danceability of music and how age and gender are reflected in voices: bodies moved, people danced, stereotypes were challenged, and cultural influences were highlighted.
Many thanks to Kendra Stepputat supported by the Latinherz Band and Juan Bermúdez for sharing insights into their research.

____



📸 by Clemens Nestroy (slide 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 12) Hector Morales Zúñiga (slide 4, 7, 8, 12) and Kathi Weinhappel (slide 5, 8, 9, 11)
Kunstuni Graz KUG

13/05/2026

WORKSHOP - Introducing Black and Feminine Influences in Mariachi Sones and Boleros Rancheros

On May 21st from 9 to 11, Dr. Jessie M. Vallejo will lead a hands‑on mariachi workshop - everyone is welcome and no prior experience is required. Bring your own instrument(s) and join us to play together some vibrant sounds of mariachi in a friendly, participatory session.

Don’t miss this chance to try something new and have fun with fellow music‑lovers!

SPREAD THE WORD - SHARE THE NEWS!

In cooperation with the Zentrum für Genderforschung und Diversität

More information:
https://ethnomusikologie.kug.ac.at/en/events/guest-lectures/jessie-m-vallejo

____


Kunstuni Graz KUG

12/05/2026

Highlighting an inspiring guest lecture by Tin Cugelj on "The Ship Was Listening: Sound, Travel, and Sacred Community in the Early Modern Mediterranean". Many thanks to Tin for the thought‑provoking insights and engaging discussion.

Keep an eye on our institute’s media library - guest lectures will gradually be made available there step by step.

____


Kunstuni Graz KUG

05/05/2026

🔝-TIPP 🔜

Tanzen statt stillsitzen im Klassikkonzert: Die Kunstuniversität Graz geht experimentelle neue Wege bei der Aufführung von „nicht tanzbarer“ Musik.

05/05/2026

𝕄𝕦𝕎𝕚 𝕒𝕜𝕥𝕦𝕖𝕝𝕝

Wednesday,
06.05.2026 - 14:00 Uhr - SR150

Dr. Tin Cugelj (University of Nottingham, UK)
-

The Ship was Listening: Sound, Travel, and Sacred Community in the Early Modern Mediterranean

____



Kunstuni Graz KUG
Studienvertretung Musikologie Graz