Corporal Artistic Training Influences Attention: A Pilot Study

Abstract

This study assessed the effect of the Body Rhythmics (BRIM) on actors' attentional processes. BRIM is a combination of exercises using numbers and rules that enact musical parameters in the moving body through displacements. Male actors (N = 22) participated in the study: 7 in the BRIM (Study) group and 15 in the Control group (groups were equivalent on mean Raven's IQ). The Continuous Performance Test (CPT-II) was administered before and after an intensive period of BRIM training. There was no significant difference on the CPT-II before training. Group results for before vs after training showed a significant difference for reaction time for the Study group. There was also a trend to increased errors of commission in the Study group after BRIM training.

Actors and fighters: Predictors of motor health, cognitive health, and well-being in actor-combatants

“…Indeed, reaction time may be improved through corporal artistic training in actors (Ribeiro et al, 2014). Corporal artistic training is a type of physical theatre training for actors involving concepts from music, dance, and theatre to train the body as an artistic instrument.…”