Dong Jiang holds a PhD in dance studies and is Research Fellow, PhD supervisor, and former acting deputy director of the Dance Research Institute at the Chinese National Academy of Arts in Beijing. He also serves on the disciplinary appraisal group of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council of China. Dr. Jiang's research areas include the historical development of modern and contemporary Chinese dance, cultural studies of global ethnic dance, intangible cultural heritage textual studies, dance criticism, and dance drama composition. Dr. Jiang is the author of the English-language book Contemporary Chinese Dance, published in 2007 by New Star Press. He has also published numerous Chinese-language books on Chinese dance and comparative Asian dance history and theory, including Gudianwu xinlun 古典舞新论 (Rethinking classical dance), Wu kan ba fang 舞看八方 (Dance from all directions), and Yindu wudao tonglun 印度舞蹈通论 (Survey of Indian dance). Dr. Jiang is a leading dance critic in China and is a frequent invited public speaker and adjudicator for dance in China and the Asia Pacific region.