One of the things that I put down at the beginning of this year was to deepen my understanding of the research aspect of my work.
I have previously undertaken and published research work within the field of dance education where the methods are located in sociology, cultural studies and education and the out put is usually text. Now I am interested in Embodied Research and Performance or Practice as Research.
What am I discovering and finding out through the practice of my work? What kinds of questions arise? How do they get addressed? And in what form do they get articulated into the wider world?
This took me to Shanghai (July 2019), where I shared the Performance as Research aspects BodyMine (a solo dance-theater performance) as part of the International Federation of Theater Research annual conference. It was very useful for me to see my work in a global/international context, because the structures of embodied and practice-based research that underpin my work come into sharper focus.
Now, I am launching an Embodied Research Lab. It sounds rather ambitious and somewhat scary to me at times. So it helps to break it down.
Embodied: because the body is going to be the focal point of the work. And is going to inform the direction of inquiry.
Research: because the intention is discovery. Skills might be developed, friends might be made, fun might be had; but the primary intention is discovery.
Lab: because it is an experiment. I don’t know what the outcome is going to be. There can be wrong turns, dead ends, frustration and also surprise, delight, understanding.
So is this research going to be rigorous??!
Do we begin with a research question? Yes.
What is the relationship between body, presence and performance?
What is the context for data collection?
We will meet once a week and work with different improvisation structures. Improvisation with the body helps cultivate a sensitivity to the present moment. Because the body is always in the present. Always.
Do we have data collection tools?
We will use the last half hour of each 3 hour session to process what happened. This can be through writing, drawing or moving. We might also document the sessions.
How will we analyze and present this data?
Through performance, articles, video, and possibly other artifacts that are to be discovered!
If you have read this far, and you would like to know more, you can write to me at shabari.slowwalks@gmail.com for more information on how to join the group. It is an ongoing research group and we are open to people joining at any time.