Thinking in action: thought made visible in contemporary dance (4D)

Referring back to module one, I have found that an underlying theme of particular interest for me is the theory of reflection in action.   In module one I looked at Donald Schon's theory and how it related to me while teaching; how that knowledge enabled me to change my own process in the moment.   I found that being aware of reflection IN action made my teaching more adjustable.  I was less afraid to change my plan in the moment to cater for the class I was teaching.

With this in mind, I was keen to find any research that has been carried out involving thinking in action in dance.   For me it was evident that the two subjects should go hand in hand as we respond and reflect in the same moment as learning a choreography, as is expected from professional dancers.

I looked at 'Thinking in action: Thought made visible in contemporary dance' by Catherine Stevens and Shirley McKechnie found here:  
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10339-005-0014-x#/page-1

The study discusses the areas of knowledge we engage while learning and watching dance.   In this study Stevens and McKechnie argue that we engage procedural and declarative knowledge as well as expressive nuance and feeling while dancing.   To understand what this means for us we must at first understand the terms.   Procedural knowledge is described as 'implicit, unconsicious'.  Like running or swimming we learn it and once it is learnt it is more resistant to change.   Declarative knowledge is more like learning a sequence, like a movement vocabulary.   This knowledge is argued to be quicker to be acquired.   I agree with this as I find beginner students learn quickest when learning a sequence over a period of time.   Like a movement repertoire.  Finally what makes dance stand alone from other movement activities is the implication of 'expressive nuance'.   What feeling drives the emotion, and what makes dance an art.

The article reflects on 2 studies:  one with a youth group of non dancers and one a professional dance company over a period of rehearsals.  The observation concludes that the creative process was much the same with both groups.  It also refers to the research I have previously mentioned from Calvo-Marino (2004) on the MRI neurological research of non dancers and the time taken to create mirror-neutrons enabling learning from watching dance.  These mirror neurons can be created from ongoing rehearsals and are produced in a matter of weeks.

This is an exciting area for me as presently I have just started a process of rehearsals with inexperienced and professional dancers working on the same piece.   I have 8 weeks to create a 3 minute piece with students of mixed ability and knowledge and also some professional dancers.    I will look for a way to record their experience of learning.  Of course I do not have the knowledge or resources to see what happens neurologically but it would informative to speak to them and see at what point they feel that they can 'dance' the piece and are no longer following the steps from me.  Does feeling and expressive nuance come naturally from the movement or does it need a feeling or emotion given behind it?

Neuroaesthetics and Dance (4D)

The more I look into what I really want to find out about dance in education, the more I realise what I am really interested in is what happens cognitively when we dance or watch dance.  In particular I am thinking about how this knowledge of how the brain learns complex actions could help us to be better informed when teaching dance or indeed teaching academic subjects.   Perhaps there is a way to link dance to teaching maths for example which could help students better absorb knowledge.

On the Athens website I found this essay titled 'Neauroaesthetics and beyond; new horizons on applying the science of the brain to the art of dance' (E S Cross, L F Tacini, 2011).

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11097-010-9190-y

It has helped me to feel one step closer to asking the questions I really want to know:  Why do we enjoy dance?  Are some people unresponsive to dance?  If so, is this an unchanging neurological trait or are there other factors that determine it? How can dance enable long term memory?

Through measuring blood flow, electric and magnetic fields in the brain neuroscientists can track how we 'integrate physical and perceptual experience to learn new movement... components of this network of brain regions work together to process action, information, both during action perception and during action execution' (for comprehensive reviews, see Grafton et al. 2009; Rizzolatti et al. 2009).

The article goes on to explain that we use the same neurological patterns  while watching dance as performing it.   Experienced dancers had more activity watching dance. This observation is explained in one study conducted on monkeys.  'The same neurons that fired when monkeys performed a specific action (e.g., grasping a raisin) also fired when the monkey watched another monkey or a researcher execute the same action (e.g., Rizzolatti et al. 1996a). Subsequent research revealed that these particular neurons do indeed respond preferentially to actions that are either observed or performed, which led researchers to name them "mirror" neurons. 'Not surprisingly, professional dancers had more neurological activity of these 'mirror' neurons watching dance.  

However, what I found profound is that in the study conducted by Calvo-Marino and (published in Cerebral Cortex Oxford journals), it only took non-dancers 6 weeks of dance rehearsals to engage these pathways in the same way while watching dance as performing it.  Cross refers to this study 'Action observation and acquired motor skills: and fMRI study with expert dancers' that can be found here http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/3041/1/1243.pdf.

This proves our ability to learn movement patterns through watching dance.  

The Calvo – Merino project was conducted with specifically capoeira dancer, ballerinas and non-dancers.   I am involved in contemporary dance and I wonder whether this process of learning through action-observation is achievable in the same time-scale.   The reason for this is that ballet and capoeira have, in my experience, a clearer movement vocabulary.  The ‘repertoire’ is learnt as procedural knowledge much like running or swimming.   Contemporary is a lot wider in vocabulary so this could affect the time it takes dancers to produce mirror neurons while watching it.   In relation to my inquiry, i would like to ask the question, how long does it take novice dancers to be able to get to a point where they can atch dance and 'see' themselves perform it as an experienced dancer would.

Further questions could also be, can this ability to effectively reflect in-action and on-action through dance be transferred to learning something else? For example if we engage these pathways, can we connect a feeling or a fact to a movement?

 

4A: Questions relating to my practice

Just as choreography is far more than assembling steps, scholarly research is far more than collecting and assembling data. Like dance making, research is a purposeful, creative, interpretive, and intuitive process that is often circuitous and improvisational. The quintessential element of both choreography and research is discovery - we enter without knowing, in order to discover what we need to know to lead us to what there is to know. The skills that we know so well as choreographers are also the skills that we use as researchers'

Hanstein, P. ‘Balancing the Systematic and the Serendipitous' (1999, p.23)

This week I have given a lot of thought into the most prevalent questions I want to ask in relation to my practice, and dance in education in general.  The more time I gave to the task the more sources I read which were directly relevant to my work.   I see the inquiry as a brilliant opportunity to answer a question that will help me progress as a professional, and this in turn has enabled me to give thought to where I want my career to progress too! 

I found Penelope Hanstein's collation between choreography and research very helpful in understanding what we mean by research.  Eraut describes knowledge as clusters of meaning, under the subtitles of 'procedural', 'propositional', 'practical', 'tacit' and 'know-how'.   While choreographing I use tacit knowledge and know how to perform the steps, but I always draw inspiration from watching others dance / other choreographies as well as responding to the group I will be teaching to and their capabilities.   Through this process I engage propositional, practical and procedural knowledge.

Prospective areas fro further inquiry:

One question I would like to explore came from this blog post by Paula and the resulting discussion I had with Lynn Terry.  
 http://paulanottingham.blogspot.ae/2015/10/bbc-article-on-eroding-memory-yes-i.html?showComment=1444550772656#c4789231190377953247

The article proving eroding memory as a result on our dependence on technology made me think of a few further questions.  

Is our reliance on technology in schools an argument for / against arts in education?

Does dance training have an effect on memory in children?

What is the main reason parents of my students see dance as beneficial?  

Have parents given thought to 'digital amnesia' and the relationship their child has with technology?

Have experienced dance practitioners / teachers seen a difference in attention span in children since the technological revolution we have experienced  in schools?

Does a knowledge of performing arts / acting have a positive effect on teaching if studied during (academic) teacher training?

What are your views on these areas?  Have you heard of any research that is related to any of the questions?   Perhaps you have discussed some of the areas with other arts professionals?   I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

  

Asking a question we DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO! Tuesday Skype session

I skyped this Tuesday with Sophie, Kayleigh, Adesola and Paula.  

We spoke about our main concerns and current areas of interest in the course and it emphasised for me the clarity that we can gain upon vocalising your thoughts.   I struggle sometimes to express myself clearly, and actually find it easier to write my thoughts down.  So it's good practice to speak to a group.  I really benefitted this week from hearing other peoples opinions.

My main focus was to discuss the concern that I have that I'm still unsure the area I want to base my inquiry on.   Time ticks away so quickly on the course I felt I should have my question planned out already.   What I took from the chat was that for now I don't need to worry I don't know what I'm going to answer.   Adesola made the point that through research we can then find the aspect of a topic that is personal to us.   For example, Sophie and Kayleigh and I spoke about web 2.0; how reading the theories behind connectivity and networking helped us gain insight into assessing our online 'profiles' and being an intelligent user. 

However the most significant question I took from the chat was that I have the opportunity in the course to ask a question I do not know the answer too, and the freedom to ask something that will benefit me in future in my career.   I think in every day life we ask questions assuming an answer, or just for confirmation that we are right. 

A genuine question truly seeks an answer, as a pseudo question expects no answer, cannot be answered, or has an answer that is already know to the person asking the question." P, Hanstein, (1999, p. 27) 
I have found many extracts from Penelope Hanstein's 'From Idea to Research Proposal Balancing the Systematic and Serendipitous. Researching Dance Evolving Modes of Inquiry' relevant and helpful in providing clarity on some theories around research.  I will use this literature as a resources throughout my enquiry.

 It is daunting setting about a task you don't know the end result of.   I am going to research further areas of dance in education with the knowledge that perhaps this inquiry may not become personal to me until the very end of module 3.  Or perhaps, the inquiry will continue for the rest of my career!  Either way I have faith that through actively learning and staying connected with other people in the course I decide on the best area for inquiry for me.

Bio:
Hanstein, Penelope (1999) From Idea to Research Proposal Balancing the Systematic and Serendipitous. Researching Dance Evolving Modes of Inquiry, Fraleigh, Sondra Horton and Hanstein, Penelope (eds) Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, pp 22-61.

 

World Ballet day and English National Ballet's dance for Parkinson's programme

I'm sure a few others will have watched some of the live stream on the BBC from World Ballet Day?   So great to be able to watch different companies around the World recording their rehearsal and performances.   I wanted to share with everyone this video about English National Ballet's work with people with Parkinson's disease and how they run the sessions.   I am interested in dance therapy, particularly the research that has been done into benefits of dance mentally and physically for people with degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.   Of course there is also the social benefits for people who might otherwise not have much physical contact, or be quite isolated.

I think the section of the video where one of the session leaders talks about how they run the sessions based on characters from the repertoire is interesting.   It makes sense that they are run as a ENB rehearsal so that participants work on embodiment of a character like professional dancers would.  I have previously looked  at Masters programmes in DMT at Dance Voice in Bristol.   It is definitely something I would like to be more involved with when I move back to England in the future.

http://bbc.in/1KXAWhh