Politics and tactics in revolutionary performance: A Sino-Burmese arts troupe in transnational circulation

The 1990s saw a revival of Maoist revolutionary music and dance in Rangoon’s Chinatown. The Sino-Burmese performing arts troupe Five Golden Flowers led the revival. This paper explores how the troupe, primarily comprised of five sisters all born in Rangoon after the Chinese Cultural Revolution had ended, were nevertheless deeply devoted to representing Maoist revolutionary ideas. It also examines how new social arrangements and political environments have reshaped their Maoist revolutionary expression after they moved to Taiwan, where they continued to perform despite Taiwan’s anti-Maoist political environment.