Spectating Myriam Gourfink’s Dances; Transdisciplinary Explorations

Joufflineau, Coline; Bachrach, Asaf

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-46233-2_7

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Post- (Gourfink) performance, subjects rated their adherence to a list of statements concerning their experience during the performance on a 1–5 scale (from “I totally disagree” to “I agree completely”). The questionnaire was constructed according to our research method, at the crossroads of phenomenology, cognitive science, and lived experiences [ 36 ]. In order to stay as close as possible to the spectators’ experiences during live renditions of Myriam Gourfink’s dance pieces, first-person data formed the raw material of our questions: both our own experience (in our immersion in the practice of Myriam Gourfink), but also input from spectators in earlier sessions, and from the dancers themselves [ 130 , 131 ], in order to better understand the resonance between their experience and those of the spectators.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The study by Warzer et al [ 53 ], using a pointing task before and after a training in Energy Yoga, has shown that the training affects not only the speed of controlled goal-directed segment of a voluntary action (the extension of the arm) but also, and especially, the non-intentional or non-controlled segment of that action (the retraction of the arm). The dancers train for at least 2 h before going on stage, and they continue to practice the different elements of the yoga described above during the dance and so remain in a “state” of meditation in movement during the entire choreography [ 36 ]. Gourfink’s dancers actively work to cultivate “the awareness of the delicacy of the transition between past action and present action” ([ 35 ], p. 28) and this tension brings about “a broadening of awareness” ([ 35 ], p. 28).…”

Section: Slowness Continuum and Duration: The Choreographies Of Mmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We worked with the French choreographer Myriam Gourfink who has been using a contemplative practice for more than 20 years to produce a unique, extremely slow and continuous dance, based on stretched respiration and body-oriented attention [ 35 ]. This study was part of a larger project at the crossroads of aesthetics, phenomenology and cognitive science (labodanse project [ 36 ]). In one precedent study, we quantified the respiratory synchronization between dancers and spectators during the choreography, which we interpreted in terms of entrainment or resonance [ 37 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Synchronization, Attention and Transformation: Multidimensional Exploration of the Aesthetic Experience of Contemporary Dance Spectators

Joufflineau

Vincent

Bachrach

2018

Behavioral Sciences

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The co-presence of bodies in intersubjective situations can give rise to processes of kinesthetic empathy and physiological synchronization, especially in the context of dance: the body and attention of the spectators are oriented towards the dancers. In this study, we investigate the processes of “body-mind” resonance between a choreography and its spectators, and more specifically the lasting impact of this resonance post-performance. We then explore the relation between the observed effects and subjective measures of attention. The study focuses on the work of the French choreographer Myriam Gourfink, who develops a unique movement, based on the slower breathing of dancers: the breathing generates an extremely slow movement without rhythmic ruptures. Phenomenological studies of her work report changes in temporal perception and changes in bodily attentional states. We made use of two cognitive tasks in order to quantify this change in temporal perception: Spontaneous Motor Tempo (SMT) and Apparent Motion effect (AM) before and after a 40-min live performance. Subjective reports were collected at the end of the performance. Physiological data were recorded before and after the performance. We performed a control experiment with a choreography of a distinctly different quality of movement. Post-Gourfink performance, we observed a significant deceleration of SMT and a decrease in its variability, while AM was reported with longer temporal intervals. Neither of these effects was observed in the control condition. Furthermore, an increase in perception of AM was correlated with a slower breathing rate after the performance. Correlations with subjective reports suggest a link between changes in cognitive and physiological dynamics and the degree of absorption of the spectators in the performance. In addition, these changes were related to specific reported attentional dispositions that we interpret as a form of attentional resonance. The ensemble of the results suggests an expansion of the “specious present” that is related to the slowing of physiological rhythms, and an attentional resonance between spectators and the choreography. The intricate relation we observed between inter-personal resonance and temporal cognition, foregrounds the notion of shared present as a neurophenomenological construct.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Slowness Continuum and Duration: The Choreographies Of Mmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Synchronization, Attention and Transformation: Multidimensional Exploration of the Aesthetic Experience of Contemporary Dance Spectators

Joufflineau

Vincent

Bachrach

2018

Behavioral Sciences

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“…We believe that our current protocols promote meta-attention to the interaction but we are still in the process of optimizing appropriate report collection (cf. [ 51 ] for relevant work with dance spectators, and [ 52 ] in the context of music improvisation).…”

Section: Investigating Togetherness: the Ici Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coordinated Interpersonal Behaviour in Collective Dance Improvisation: The Aesthetics of Kinaesthetic Togetherness

Himberg

Laroche

Bigé

et al. 2018

Behavioral Sciences

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Collective dance improvisation (e.g., traditional and social dancing, contact improvisation) is a participatory, relational and embodied art form which eschews standard concepts in aesthetics. We present our ongoing research into the mechanisms underlying the lived experience of “togetherness” associated with such practices. Togetherness in collective dance improvisation is kinaesthetic (based on movement and its perception), and so can be simultaneously addressed from the perspective of the performers and the spectators, and be measured. We utilise these multiple levels of description: the first-person, phenomenological level of personal experiences, the third-person description of brain and body activity, and the level of interpersonal dynamics. Here, we describe two of our protocols: a four-person mirror game and a ‘rhythm battle’ dance improvisation score. Using an interpersonal closeness measure after the practice, we correlate subjective sense of individual/group connectedness and observed levels of in-group temporal synchronization. We propose that kinaesthetic togetherness, or interpersonal resonance, is integral to the aesthetic pleasure of the participants and spectators, and that embodied feeling of togetherness might play a role more generally in aesthetic experience in the performing arts.

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Postural and Emotional Impact of Carsten Höller’s Artwork “Light Corner”

Morize¹,

Kapoula²

2018

Exploring Transdisciplinarity in Art and Sciences

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Spectating Myriam Gourfink’s Dances; Transdisciplinary Explorations

Cited by 5 publications

References 41 publications

Synchronization, Attention and Transformation: Multidimensional Exploration of the Aesthetic Experience of Contemporary Dance Spectators

Synchronization, Attention and Transformation: Multidimensional Exploration of the Aesthetic Experience of Contemporary Dance Spectators

Coordinated Interpersonal Behaviour in Collective Dance Improvisation: The Aesthetics of Kinaesthetic Togetherness

Postural and Emotional Impact of Carsten Höller’s Artwork “Light Corner”

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