Dari Ritual ke Komoditas Digital: Redefinisi Identitas Budaya Generasi Muda Papua dalam Pertunjukan Tari Kontemporer

This study examines the redefinition of cultural identity among young Papuans through dance students’ experiences of Wisisi and their understanding of the relationship between movement, cultural context, and contemporary dance presentation. It adopts a descriptive-interpretive qualitative approach. Thematic analysis identified three patterns. First, digital media expands students’ access to movement references beyond the repertoires they already know, but the materials they encounter do not always explain dance history, meanings, and social functions. Second, the experience of togetherness while performing Wisisi can coexist with one informant’s limited ability to explain the dance’s meaning and function in depth. Third, students’ responses to Earned It and choreographer Geisler Kaisera Mayor’s explanation of Langkah Pulang suggest that contemporary appreciation and artistic choices can offer ways to reinterpret sources of tradition rather than necessarily reject them. These findings distinguish access to movement, embodied social experience, and contextual cultural knowledge. The article discusses ethnopedagogical implications as recommendations for arts education, not as a tested teaching model. Conclusions are limited to the participants and data examined.