Improvisational Dance as Enactive Cognition: What Do Novice Dancers Teach Us about Embodied Cognition in Dance?
Lindsay Lindberg, A. Marin, Zoe Silverman
Journal of Dance Education September 21, 2021 DOI: 10.1080/15290824.2021.1957480 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study (Design-Based Research with Interaction Analysis) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | University students, specifically one pair of novice dancers |
| Intervention | Improvisational dance workshop |
| Keywords | Education |
| Key findings | Argues that an improvisational dance workshop enabled university students to act autonomously and engage in embodied sense-making, with one pair of novice dancers illustrating how improvisation works as a tool for sense-making. Proposes that treating dance as both content and context for learning deepens the conceptualization of 4E cognition in dance education. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT We demonstrate the ways an improvisational dance workshop provided the opportunity for university students to be autonomous actors and engage in embodied sense-making through dance—two key parts of the conceptualization of enactive cognition. As part of a Design-Based Research project, we use Interaction Analysis to present examples of using autonomy in dance learning in a public art museum. We describe the interactions of one pair of novice dancers engaging in two designed dance activities, and how their improvisational dancing highlights the ways in which dance is a tool for sense-making. This research explores dance as both the content and context for learning, deepening the conceptualization of 4E cognition in dance education.