Fanglao, Generation and Prefiguration: Building community and demonstrating futures through dance in Vientiane, Laos

connected to Laos. In this paper I draw on participant observation conducted in a number of Fanglao organized activities in 2019-2020 (dance festival, rehearsals, outreach activities, etc) and one-on-one interviews with key protagonists. Fanglao is one of the exponents of an emerging creative arts scene that has been developing in Laos over the past two decades or so, much in relation to the broader political and economic changes that have taken place in Laos. In this paper I reflect on the importance of Fanglao in contributing to building a creative and social community in the field of modern and urban dance. This is realized through the establishment of their own dance studio (venue), the various activities they host (both online and in person) and the cross-fertilisation with other forms of creative expression (i.e. visual arts) and actors in the broader creative arts scene. Conceptually, I highlight the notion of ‘prefiguration’, the act of realizing in the present a resemblance of a possible future, and how this matters from a generation perspective in a context in which most (aspiring) dancers are confronted with parental worries that excessive time spent dancing and with Fanglao might jeopardise their futures.