Interactive Installation

Personal Project

Kinesthetic Togetherness: Decoding the Elements of Dance That Unite Us

Overview

"Kinesthetic Togetherness" is an interactive video projection installation that harnesses the power of the 'mirroring' exercise from dance/movement therapy to cultivate a sense of community. The project is designed to dissect and understand the crucial elements that forge a feeling of togetherness among individuals.

Eighteen young adults participated in the study, with their movements being recorded and integrated into the installation. Observations and post-experience interviews with these participants did not yield definitive answers but instead raised further questions about the definitions of 'togetherness,' its importance in our social lives, and how immersive technologies might reshape this experience.

Keywords: Kinesthetic; empathy; community; togetherness; immersive technology; flocking.

Context

Before written language was developed, dance had already taken root in human culture. It manifests in two primary forms: presentational dance, which is choreographed to convey stories to an audience, and participatory dance, which fosters social interaction without necessitating specific interpretations. Historically, participatory dance has been integral to religious ceremonies and remains popular at contemporary social events like weddings and festivals. Despite its pervasive influence across various cultures and its potential for positive impact, dance does not universally enhance everyone's experience. This project seeks to delve into the elements of dance that contribute most significantly to its positive effects, aiming to understand why it resonates differently among individuals.

Initial Exploration

I initially hypothesized that learning basic dance movements would help individuals express emotions and enjoy dance more fully. To explore this, I interviewed two groups of young adults: those curious but inexperienced in dance, and those with minimal dance experience. They cited the substantial time and effort required to master fundamental dance skills like balance and choreography as major deterrents.

To address these concerns, I integrated playful elements such as toys and immersive environments into dance workshops to simplify and enhance the experience. Although this approach attracted initial interest, participants were skeptical about its long-term appeal.

My goal was to pinpoint the key aspect of dance that facilitates enjoyment with minimal time and energy investment. Given dance's prevalence across cultures, I believed there must be an inherent element within dance that universally resonates and can be easily accessed.

Mirroring Exercise in Dance/Movement Therapy

Mirroring is a technique used in dance/movement therapy to foster empathy between a therapist and client. In this exercise, both parties continuously react to each other's movements, either by mimicking or performing complementary movements, without a designated leader. This process emphasizes kinesthetic empathy rather than conveying specific meanings, helping to build trust and connection.

Sometimes practiced in groups, participants form a circle and follow the same non-competitive and responsive principles. In larger groups, however, synchronization becomes more challenging, and interactions tend to be more localized among immediate neighbors, leading to a more decentralized and complex dynamic.

Unlike traditional dance classes, mirroring does not rely on music, which allows for freer movement expression. This simplicity and the equality of all participants—who can all initiate movements—make mirroring a fundamental and inclusive way to explore the essence of dance without prior preparation or extensive energy investment.

Mirror Neuron

The mirroring exercise is a fundamental and widespread method used in dance/movement therapy to foster empathy. Its effectiveness is underpinned by scientific studies on mirror neurons, which activate both when an animal performs an action and when it observes the same action performed by another.

While the mirroring exercise typically involves two participants enhancing their mutual empathy, its dynamics change significantly in larger groups. This scale-up bears resemblance to flocking behavior, as observed in various simulations. These simulations reveal patterns akin to those in large-scale mirroring exercises, highlighting how individual actions influence collective movement. The relationship between mirroring and flocking behaviors will be further explored in the subsequent section.g section.

Flocking

Flocking behavior, observed in species like birds and fish, was simulated in Craig Reynolds' "Boids" program in 1987 using three principles: limited perception, local rules, and no assigned leader. Agents adhere to three simple rules—Separation, Alignment, and Cohesion—to avoid collisions, move in average directions, and stay central among neighbors, respectively.

This mirrors the dynamics seen in dance/movement therapy's mirroring exercises, where participants follow simple local rules to interact in a decentralized system. The visual harmony of flocking underscores a sense of unity, a concept this project explores by simulating large group mirroring to investigate the elements that enhance communal connection.

Conclusion

The study intends to gain reflections from the participants about what element contributes to their sense of ‘togetherness’ created by this installation. It did successfully create a sense of ‘togetherness’ for some participants. From the feedback, I learned that it is primarily related to space, time, the anonymous silhouette, and the frame shape. However, the sense of ‘togetherness’ is still very abstract and undefined.

Based on this study, instead of coming to a particular answer, it drives me to ask more questions: What is the sense of ‘togetherness’ and how is it a positive experience? How is empathy related to the sense of ‘togetherness’? How is digitally together different from physically together? How interactive/ immersive technology could alter people’s understanding of ‘togetherness’?