Writing dance: Tensions in researching movement or aesthetic experiences

The Sensorium at Work: The Sensory Phenomenology of the Working Body

“…The researcher then presents the observational data to the participant, who points out from her/his own lived‐body perspective the key points of physical effort within the sequence. Coe and Strachan (2002) suggest that the participant examines the narrative of this joint production, adding in sets of personal meanings correlated with each phase of effortful movement; it is at this point that the rich depiction of the relevant sensory data becomes possible. Coe and Strachan advocate an evocative depiction, a salient point when one remembers that within the phenomenological approach ‘the purpose of writing is to bring the essences of the lived experience into being’ (Kerry and Armour, 2000: 9).…”

Grasping the Phenomenology of Sporting Bodies

“…It is at this point that the capturing and depiction of something of the relevant sensory (movement, feeling, hearing, smelling, seeing) data becomes possible. Coe and Strachan (2002) advocate evocation in that depiction, although their examples are not particularly revealing of that genre of writing. This is an important point, when one remembers that within 'the phenomenological approach, the purpose of writing is to bring the essences of the lived experience into being' (Kerry and Armour, 2000: 9).…”

“…Whether via an autoethnographic approach in which the individual is both researcher and participant, or using a combination of researcher and participant (Coe and Strachan, 2002), these ways of capturing something of the phenomenology of sporting activity can offer insight not only into the individual's meaningful sporting embodiment but also into the ways in which sports participants share their embodied experience. In order further to extend and develop the analysis, a potential strategy might be to compile a series of accounts of the sensuous activity experienced in a particular sport.…”

“…The participant then emphasises the key points of physical effort present within the sequence of movement from her/his own standpoint, so the narrative at this juncture becomes an equal co-production. Coe and Strachan (2002) then suggest that the participant examines the narrative of this joint production, adding in the sets of personal meanings that are correlated with each phase of effortful movement in the embodied sequence. It is at this point that the capturing and depiction of something of the relevant sensory (movement, feeling, hearing, smelling, seeing) data becomes possible.…”

“…It involves a dual-phase, researcher and participant approach as suggested by Coe and Strachan (2002) in their research on dance. Their first phase, which they propose, is to incorporate the researcher into the process of recording data, so the researcher observes the embodied activity and records the sequence(s) of movement to produce a description of what is physically happening.…”