Dance Is More Than Meets the Eye—How Can Dance Performance Be Made Accessible for a Non-sighted Audience?

Abstract

Dance is regarded as visual art form by common arts and science perspectives. Definitions of dance as means of communication agree that its message is conveyed by the dancer/choreographer via the human body for the observer, leaving no doubt that dance is performed to be watched. Brain activation elicited by the visual perception of dance has also become a topic of interest in cognitive neuroscience, with regards to action observation in the context of learning, expertise and aesthetics. The view that the aesthetic experience of dance is primarily a visual one is still shared by many artists and cultural institutions, yet there is growing interest in making dance performances accessible for individuals with visual impairment / blindness. Means of supporting the non-visual experience of dance include verbal (audio description), auditive (choreographed body sounds, movement sonification), and haptic (touch tour) techniques, applied for different purposes by artists and researchers, with three main objectives: to strengthen the cultural participation of a non-sighted audience in the cultural and aesthetic experience of dance; to expand the scope of dance as an artistic research laboratory toward novel ways of perceiving what dance can convey; and to inspire new lines of (neuro-cognitive) research beyond watching dance. Reviewing literature from different disciplines and drawing on the personal experience of an inclusive performance of Simon Mayer's “Sons of Sissy,” we argue that a non-exclusively visual approach can be enriching and promising for all three perspectives and conclude by proposing hypotheses for multidisciplinary lines of research.

Exploring the Multidimensional Construction of Cultural Identity through Music Elements of Chinese Suzhou Pingtan

“…The expressive dynamics of music, such as performance symbols and bodily expression, are essential in going beyond abstract sounds and focusing on identity (Bläsing & Zimmermann, 2021). Although music is primarily an auditory experience, its significance lies in the physical artistic presentation (Thompson et al, 2023;Bläsing & Zimmermann, 2021).…”

“…The expressive dynamics of music, such as performance symbols and bodily expression, are essential in going beyond abstract sounds and focusing on identity (Bläsing & Zimmermann, 2021). Although music is primarily an auditory experience, its significance lies in the physical artistic presentation (Thompson et al, 2023;Bläsing & Zimmermann, 2021). Different cultures showcase music in various ways, with each piece displaying unique characteristics through incorporated bodily movements and dance styles in different cultural settings.…”

Conceptualizing the stylistic body movements in contemporary Ghanaian dances as performance art form

“…Dance as a musical-kinetics skill, requires the coordination of body movements with rhythmic stimuli, developing the adaptability of the movement (Douka, Zilidou, Lilou & Manou, 2019). In a recent study, Bläsing and Zimmermann (2021) narrate in a reflection on dance as a non-visual multi-sensory experience. Their study describes the experiences of visually impaired individuals on a choreographed dance they perceived without music.…”

“…The narratives indicate that the sound emanating from the dance steps, the rustling of clothes and the breathing of the dancer evoked physical emotions like laughter in the blind person. This possibility can be ascribed to the phenomenon of mental imagery (Bläsing & Zimmermann, 2021). To this end, it is comfortable to assert that dance creates a mental picture in minds of its audience and as such exerts strong visual statements through body movements and gestures.…”

Short Dance Film: Construction of the Arts and Design Project Subject during COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Dance film of short dance film is a range in which the dance is connected to the elements of filmmaker, videography, film script, and storyboard. As described by Bläsing and Zimmermann (2021), a short dance film combines cinematic elements and dance, visual art of dance context that should be enjoyed through a film. In this case, dance film is distinct from the stage dance performance, where the audience can view it from any angle and create their own interpretation.…”