Synchronous movement cooperation and the performing arts

Lead Research Organisation: Brunel University London
Department Name: Life Sciences

Abstract

Across all cultures, people dance. Yet, little is known about what function dance and the performing arts fulfill in society, or why TV shows such as "Strictly come dancing" are so popular. We propose that the appeal of dancing and watching dance partly lies in promoting and communicating successful cooperation between people. Research in social psychology has shown that when two people meet, they become more like each other. They imitate each others' accent, speech rate and syntax; they look at the same things and use the same words; they adopt similar postures, gesture alike and gently sway together. This behavioural coordination studied in social psychology seems to produce feelings of liking and affiliation between pairs of people. Similarly, when small groups of people interact, and move together, they also feel closer to each other and are more likely to cooperate.

We will use dance as a means to study how moving together is linked to liking each other. Similarly, observing other people move together may produce aesthetic pleasure because it showcases successful social interactions. Our research aims to provide novel insights into the role that dance and the performing arts fulfill in modern society. In a set of experiments, we will test this hypothesis by inviting groups of people (non-dancers) to participate in "dance workshop" experiments that teach moving in synchrony. Rather than asking participants to just "do the same", we will work with professional dancers and choreographers to apply principles from dance and choreography to examine different ways of moving together. Following these workshops, we will assess cooperation, sympathy and liking between participants of the workshop and members of the audience. Performers and audience members will be equipped with small motion sensors and we will also record their electrical brain activity. This will allow us to link different ways of moving in synchrony (or asynchrony) to brain activity, cooperation and liking. In a follow-up functional neuroimaging experiment we will link aesthetic pleasure derived from observing collective human movement to specific brain mechanisms.

We will also explore clinical applications of our research project. For example the perception of human movement is impaired in patients with autism. Training to move in synchrony might help to improve such deficits in recognizing other people's actions because it requires to carefully monitor how movements are performed. Similarly, increasing awareness of an action by moving in synchrony may boost memory for an already performed action. In obsessive-compulsive disorder compulsive checking involves a vicious circle in which more checking paradoxically leads to less confidence in memory and impairs attention. Increasing action awareness through "over performing" obsessive actions or moving in synchrony with others could thus reduce obsessive behaviours such as washing by making it easier to remember that the action was perfoermed already.

In summary our research project combines expertise in dance, social psychology and neuroscience (a) to study how cooperation can result form simply moving together, (b) to understand aesthetic appreciation of dance and the perfroming arts, and (c) to develop new treatments for psychological disorders. Further, our research will provide new insights into the role that the perfroming arts fulfill in society and may also yield commercial applications for the creative industries.

Planned Impact

In our research project we explore the role of dance for social cohesion and cooperation in groups. Beyond the impact within the scientific community we will focus on four impact strategies to ensure a wider societal impact of this research project.

1) We will collaborate with internationally renowned dance company Siobhan Davies Dance and Choreographer/Dancer Matthias Sperling to develop movement materials suitable for this research project and develop public engagement activities such as open panel discussions and a dance performance. These activities will take place at Siobhan Davies Studios and will be advertised through the companies website and marketing channels.

2) We will collaborate with Prof Johannes Birringer at Brunel University to document the research project through the website of the Design and Performance Lab at Brunel University. The impact of the DAP live streaming channel has been considerable; since its inception 2011, the channel has produced more than fifty broadcasts that were viewed by circa 15000 viewers worldwide.

3) We will examine commercial applications of movement aesthetics by liaising with the design and fashion industry (Sara Hemming, Art Director Another Magazine, Creative Director DJA). Advertising increasingly moves from using still photography to film and animation. Already, fashion and design magazines routinely hire choreographers to assist in shooting. Accordingly, it is no longer enough to understand the aesthetics of how static visual images are composed, but it becomes increasingly important to understand the principles that mediate aesthetic appreciation of individual and collective human movement. Throughout this project we will explore commercial applications of our research in this field.

4) We will explore clinical applications of a movement-based therapy in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder in collaboration with Dr Annemiek Apergis-Schoute and Prof Barbara Sahakian (University of Cambridge). Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a heterogeneous disorder, in which checking followed by washing are the most common compulsions, affecting around 2/3 of adults with OCD. Compulsive checking involves a vicious circle in which more checking paradoxically leads to less confidence in memory and impairs attention. We propose a new treatment of OCD based on "action awareness" where the patient will "over perform" the compulsion - by breaking the action down into components and attending to how the action "feels", as to train higher awareness and memory of the action which is normally an "automatic" compulsive behaviour. Performing movements in synchrony implies action awareness: In order to synchronize movements with others, patients will need to focus on how movements are performed, thus boosting memory and attention for compulsive behaviours. Further, the perception of human movement kinematics is impaired in patients with autism spectrum disorders. Increasing action awareness might help to improve such deficits in action recognition in this patient group.

We have attached support letters from all collaborators involved in the impact activities.

Publications

10 25 50

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Hodossy L. (2017) Moving together: in the body or the mind? in CogSci 2017 - Proceedings of the 39th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society: Computational Foundations of Cognition

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Howlin C (2018) Audiovisual Aesthetics of Sound and Movement in Contemporary Dance in Empirical Studies of the Arts

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Orgs G (2016) Constructing Visual Perception of Body Movement with the Motor Cortex. in Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)

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Vicary S (2017) Joint action aesthetics. in PloS one

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Von Zimmermann J (2016) Verbal Synchrony and Action Dynamics in Large Groups. in Frontiers in psychology

 
Title Group study - a dance piece for 10 Performers 
Description Group Study is a performance developed by choreographer Matthias Sperling for this research, in collaboration with scientists. The choreography consists of a score (a set of instructions) designed by Sperling, made up of a series of decision-making tasks. To perform the score, the ten dancers engage in a live negotiation of these game-like tasks, each time producing a unique outcome. The score is performed without music, allowing the movement to be the focus, and to unfold free of any externally imposed timing. Occasionally, the tasks also involve the use of the performers' voices, as well as their live decisions about how, where and when they move. It is a playful and sometimes humorous performance, in which the dancers skilfully and sensitively work together to navigate the score as a group. Concept: Matthias Sperling and Guido Orgs Choreography: Matthias Sperling Performers: Ben Ash, Andrea Buckley, Antonio de la Fe, Kip Johnson, Michael Kitchin, Evangelia Kolyra, Annie Pui Ling Lok, Rosalie Wahlfrid, Sara Wookey and Robert Vesty 
Type Of Art Artwork 
Year Produced 2015 
Impact The dance piece is the basis for two publications that are currently in preparation. The piece was recorded using video and movement sensors. these recordings are now being used in follow-up experiments and in all events relating to the research study. to our knowledge is the first dance piece that was specifically developed for scientific purposes. The choreographic score and the videos will be published together with the outcomes of the research project. It is also at the centre of two public engagement events relating to the research project. 
URL http://www.brunel.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/news-items/ne_412961
 
Title New performative work by Siobhan Davies Dance 
Description London-based investigative arts organisation Siobhan Davies Dance premiere an ambitious new installation comprised of multiple pieces by choreographers, visual artists, scientists and designers. Exploring how the body feels when in the act of doing, the installation includes live performance, film projection and objects that are presented as an ever-changing arrangement. Each of the works draws upon the library and practices of the art historian Aby Warburg, who collected diverse images of gestures from different times and places and positioned them side-by-side to reveal previously-hidden relationships. As they interrogate the fascinating relationship between mind and body the artists create new works including choreography exploring lost movements from the past, interactive structures examining the postures of an argument and a series of hanging mobiles inspired by Albrecht Dürer's Melancholia. The works appear within a large-scale architecture, which is built-up, dismantled and rearranged, creating new pathways and drawing visitors into a journey of discovery. 
Type Of Art Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) 
Year Produced 2017 
Impact The performance installation took place for a week initially and was widely reported on in the media, including a lead article in the guardian which explicitly mentioned the synchrony project as well. 
URL https://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery/event-detail.asp?ID=19954
 
Title Now that we know 
Description What will change, if and when science discovers how our bodies give rise to our minds? Choreographer and performer Matthias Sperling furthers his investigation into the relationship between mind and body in a new performance lecture exploring a hypothetical future in which that connection is clarified. How will dance and choreography be expanded by this new understanding of the body? And how will our society be altered? This work of science fiction builds on recent findings, taking a choreographic perspective to freely imagine plausible, absurd, thrilling or worrying scenarios. 
Type Of Art Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) 
Year Produced 2016 
Impact The performance was sold out across, reviewed positively and is now touring nationally, e.g. Nottingham. The work challenges traditional approaches to both the sciences and the performing arts, especially dance and routinely generates lively discussions in relation to the need for greater integration of the arts and the sciences, 
URL http://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/2016/matthias-sperling-now-that-we-know/
 
Title Our True Feelings - Performance Lecture 
Description Drawn from a collaboration with neuroscientist Dr Guido Orgs, Our True Feelings presents findings from cognitive psychological research, examining how humans react, escape, confront, and are duped and seduced by our feelings. Intersecting and colliding with this are performance demonstrations of charged emotional states with images and sounds of travelling vapours. The result is a curious hybrid where performers that seem to be animating text gradually transform, sliding into their own compelling language and revealing an emotional physicality that raises more questions than answers. The tension becomes palpable as the safe rug of scientific knowledge slips from under the audience's seats. Our True Feelings exists as a lecture version that involves audiences in experiments and discussed declaration of their feelings about emotions under certain conditions. We also created a more theatrical version commissioned by The Yard Theatre for NOW'16 festival with additional sound and video layers but with an equally participatory focus. 
Type Of Art Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) 
Year Produced 2016 
Impact To date, Our true feelings was performed twice once at Modern Art Oxford and once at Middlesex University as part of Performance Studies conference on the potentials and limits of collaboration. 
URL https://www.dogkennelhillproject.org/our-true-feelings
 
Description Moving in synchrony is an important aspect of human behaviour. It underlies performative art such as dance and music and is associated with social cohesion and group affiliation. We successfully completed a series of experiments in which we studied the psychological and brain mechanisms of moving together and watching other people move together.

In collaboration with a professional choreographer we developed a set of movement tasks for experimental purposes. These tasks also formed the basis for a dance piece that was used to study the effects of watching other people move together and forms the basis of a series of public engagement events related to this project.

During performing and watching of this choreography, we assessed synchrony of individual acceleration profiles among professional dancers and novices and psychophysiological responses using wrist sensor technology. We also recorded continuous ratings of aesthetic appreciation and perceived group characteristics. Our findings show that behavioural coordination of movement predicts group affiliation among performers and audience enjoyment when watching these synchronised movements.

In a follow-up fMRI study, we identified the neural mechanisms of watching other people move together, as a function of behavioural coordination among performers. In this study we were able to show that correlations in spectators brain activity are closely related to the synchrony of performer movements on stage. Brain activity is more synchronised in expert dancers than in novice observers. Moreover the synchronisation is greatest in brain areas traditionally associated with human movement perception inferring intentions and emotions form observed movement.

We also completed an large-scale online study in which we compared aesthetic perception of movement synchrony across cultures, between UK and Japanese participants using a wide range of videos that either displayed synchronous or asynchronous group activities. Japanese society is often being characterised as collectivistic, whereas Western societies such as the UK are often characterised as individualistic societies. We predicted that Japanese participants would aesthetically prefer synchronous over asynchronous performances. Our results were in line with this idea: Japanese participants enjoyed watching synchronous performances more than asynchronous performances; British participants showed an effect in the opposite direction. These findings suggest that aesthetic judgements of the performative arts can be used as implicit measures of cultural values: People's preference should reflect not only individually acquired tastes, but also the norms and values held in their cultural environment.

In summary, Our findings thus point to an evolutionary function of dance - and perhaps all performing arts - in communicating social signals between groups of people. Movement synchrony is not only associated with increased group affiliation in those who perform synchronous actions, but also predicts aesthetic judgement of performative art. These aesthetic judgement reflect both dynamic culturally held values that concern the relationship between the individual and society.
Exploitation Route Our findings have implications for culture, education, healthcare and the creative economy and future research.

Our research project is the first to study behavioural coordination in groups and performing arts aesthetics (a) using wrist sensor technology to quantify group behaviour and (b) in a ecologically valid live theatre environment. Our findings have attracted substantial interest at academic conferences and two academic papers are currently in revision for publication in high-impact scientific journals. As such we believe that the outcomes of this research project demonstrate that large scale naturalistic experimental studies on group behaviour and performing arts aesthetics are feasible and make an important contribution.

Our findings provide insights to artists and performing arts institutions into how performative movement produces aesthetic impact. Our findings can help to explain why people engage in collective activities such as dancing or making music together, or why attending live concerts collectively can be such a pleasurable experience (Culture/Heritage/Museums/Collections). Our findings have already informed two dance productions that were performed at the Barbican and Sadlers Wells Theatre in London. Both work will continue to tour nationally and internationally.

The movement tasks developed for this research project may also find applications in schools and extracurricular activities. In particular, children with learning difficulities or social anxiety may benefit from the prosocial effects of moving together. We are also preparing a grant application in collation with the National Gallery that will explore the role of embodied practices such as dancing to increase engagement with classical visual art (Education/Healthcare)

To the extent that video and film gain increasing importance in advertising and the creative industries (e.g. fashion) our findings inform about the aesthetic impact of collective movement (Creative Economy). The PI has taken up a scientist in residence post with the advertising agency adamandeve/ddb, contributing to pitches and campaigns that relate to collective sports or entertainment, e.g. sky sports.

Despite difficulties with clinical partners and patient access for this high risk study, our research yields potential fro developing new performing arts based treatment for neuropsychological disorders with a strong motor component and and compulsive behaviours such as OCD or Autism (Healthcare).
Sectors Creative Economy

Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software)

Education

Healthcare

Culture

Heritage

Museums and Collections

 
Description The findings of our project were presented at a series of public engagement events and performances (see engagement activities). The events communicated our findings to the general public and more specifically - engaged with performing artists, arts managers and curators. The events were reported on widely on social media and were reported in The Guardian national news paper. Our research project has directly provided input to three dance productions that were performed at the Barbican and Sadlers Wells theatres respectively, and are now touring nationally and internationally. The PI has also taken on a role as "scientist in residence" at the advertising agency adamandeve/ddb, contributing to to pitches and campaings that have a link to synchronised activities, e.g. for sky sports or body and face perception, e.g. Max cosmetics. The outcomes of the project are currently feeding into a new research pilot project investigating immersive theatre as a tool to help children with autism spectrum disorder.
First Year Of Impact 2014
Sector Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Healthcare,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
Impact Types Cultural

Societal

Economic

 
Description (Neurolive) - The Neurocognition of Liveness
Amount € 1,927,120 (EUR)
Funding ID 864420 
Organisation European Commission 
Sector Public
Country European Union (EU)
Start 09/2020 
End 09/2025
 
Title A new measure for whole body behavioural synchronisation 
Description Using accelerometers acquired as part of the research project, we have developed a new method to quantify behavioural synchronisation based on cross-recurrence of velocity profiles. Importantly, this method is suitable for ecologically valid, real-life situations and captures whole body movements, even though acceleration is only assessed at the wrist of one arm. 
Type Of Material Physiological assessment or outcome measure 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact We are currently preparing an invited paper that will report this new measure and its potential applications. The method will become publicly available upon publication. 
 
Description Developing a new questionnaire on Dance Sophistication 
Organisation University of Hertfordshire
Department School of Computer Science
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution We will be contributing expertise to the development of a new questionnaire on dance sophistication in the general population. Guido Orgs and Matthias will be contributing to item development, conceptualisation and initial validation of the instrument.
Collaborator Contribution Dr Pete Lovatt is an expert in Dance Psychology with a specific on developing Dance for Parkinson's interventions. He and his research team will contribute clinical expertise and ensure the relevance of the new questionnaire for applied research
Impact The collaboration will officially kick off with one day workshop for scientists and practitioners to take place at the end of March. The questionnaire should have a variety of applications that range from clinical purposes as well as to audience research
Start Year 2016
 
Description Siobhan Davies Dance 
Organisation Independent Dance, Siobhan Davies Studios
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution We are hosting two public engagement in collaboration with Siobhan Davies Dance. The first one took place in 2015 and focussed on interdisciplinarity and dance/science collaborations. The second one will take place in May 2016 and will present the outcomes of our research project, including restaging the dance performance that was specifically developed for this research project. Additionally the research has contributed to public engagement events and dance performances at the Barbican, Sadler's Wells, the Wellcome collection.
Collaborator Contribution Siobhan Davies Dance provides facilities, technical assistance, media engagement, marketing and advertising of the events. Siobhan Davies Dance have also invited us to participate
Impact Two public engagement events
Start Year 2015
 
Description Sport Science and Psychology at Brunel University 
Organisation Brunel University London
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution We have contributed scientific expertise, experimental design and research materials to conduct a Neuroimaging study on synchrony perception. Additionally, we have contributed to a study on the influence of music during exercise in collaboration with the Sport Science department at Brunel University London. The study was conducted using the mobile EEG system that was purchased by Brunel University in order to support this grant.
Collaborator Contribution The Departmtent of Psychology (Dr Adrian Williams) has provide) scientific expertise specific to neuroimaging. Brunel University provided access to the MRI scanner.
Impact We have completed a neuroimaging study related to this research project. the data is currently being analysed and should result in one publication in a high impact neuroscience journal.
Start Year 2015
 
Description Springfield Hospital 
Organisation St George's Hospital
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Hospitals 
PI Contribution Together with Dr Apergis-Schoute, the clinical part of the research project is conducted at Springfield Hospital, National and Trustwide Services for Obsessive compulsive Disorder/Body Dismorphic Disorder. We provide research expertise, equipment and cognitive tests to examine the role of awareness of one's own actions in OCD, testing in-patients in the facility.
Collaborator Contribution The OCD Unit at Springfield Hospital provides both patient access and testing facilities.
Impact Data Collection on this study was supposed to start in May 2016. However, despite regular attempts to recruit patients, we have had no response from the hospital.
Start Year 2015
 
Description A broadcast conversation to the Naked Scientists radioshow/podcast about crowd behaviour 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact I was interviewed to talk about the psychology of crowds for the Naked Scientist, which is a radio show which is broadcast on the BBC local stations, on the world service, and as a podcast. I mentioned our work on group movement and its psychological consequences.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
 
Description BBC Worldwide Interview 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Interview as part of BBC Healthcheck,
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p059tl3p
 
Description Cognitive Science Conference, symposium speaker, Cognitive Science and Society 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Around 200 people from across Cognitive Sciences attended a panel discussion and symposium on Cognitive Science in Society, where I was an invited speake.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
 
Description Dance Engaging Science Meeting 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Thirty participants from ten countries came together to share their work and perspectives on neurocognitive aspects and processes involved in dance and choreography. I gave an invited talk on movement synchronisation in dance and performing arts aesthetics. The event was interdisciplinary with a specific focus on developing new ideas for collaborative projects.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL https://www.uni-bielefeld.de/%28en%29/ZIF/AG/2015/04-23-Blaesing.html
 
Description Dancing Museums Talk and Interactive Workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact This event accompanied a performance installation at the National Gallery that aimed to explore dance as a means to alter engagement with visual art. The EU funded event had previously taken place at museum, the Netherlands and Austria. Guido Orgs and Daniel Richardson also provided a workshop to curators and staff at the national gallery on scientific approaches to study aesthetic experience and the importance of social feedback an information in the museum context.

the lecture/performance event at Siobhan Davies was attended by approximately 100 audience members.

We are currently working together with the Education Team at the National Gallery on a grant application to study the embodied practices such as dance or drawing in engaging audiences with classical visual art.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL http://www.siobhandavies.com/whats-on/talks-events/dancing-museums-seventh-residency/
 
Description Departmental Colloquium, Central European University, Budapest 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact An hour's symposium talk to faculty and students at the Central European University discussion our work on body movement, dance and social cognition
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
 
Description Exhibition at the Barbican - Station to Station 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Station to Station was a 30 day live-event at the Barbican Galleries. The project drew together international artists from the world of contemporary art, music, dance and cinema to question 'what is the creative landscape in the 21st century'.

As part of the project, we presented our research on synchronous movement in a hour session, including a video of the piece "Group Study", which was specifically developed for this research project. The presentation took place in the barbican gallery, people could walk in and out at any time.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL http://www.siobhandavies.com/whats-on/performance/station-station-siobhan-davies-dance-residency/
 
Description Games Workshop, Wellcome Trust and the Sanger Institute, May 2016 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact I took part in a workshop, at the invitation of the Wellcome Trust, bringing together scientists and creators from the gaming industry, with the goal of developing more social and interactive games.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Our research cited by playwright in New York Times article 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact We carried out research on the physiology of audiences at a live theatre performance. This work was mentioned by a playwright, Ayad Akhtar, in an article for the New York Times.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/theater/ayad-akhtar-steinberg-award-digital-dehumanization-liv...
 
Description Panel Discussion at Siobhan Davies Dance 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Together with Choreographer Matthias Sperling (member of the research team) we hosted a panel discussion, reflecting on our current art/science collaboration and the broader questions that arise from it. We invited a panel of neuroscientists and choreographers/Dance Practitioners: Lutz Förster (Artistic Director, Tanztheater Wuppertal), Siobhan Davies (Choreographer and Artistic Director, Siobhan Davies Dance), Jonathan Cole (Clinical Neurophysiologist and Professor, University of Bournemouth) and Annemieke Apergis-Schoute (Cognitive Neuroscientist, Cambridge University). The focus of the interactive panel discussion was interdisciplinarity with a specific focus on dance-neuroscience collaborations.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL http://www.siobhandavies.com/whats-on/talks-events/dance-vs-neuroscience-panel-discussion/
 
Description Performance and Panel Discussion at the Wellcome Collection 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact During this event Matthias Sperling and Guido Orgs discussed Sperling's most recent choreographic work, 'Now that we know', exploring how culture might shift in response to future developments in the brain sciences. The performance and lecture considers what will change if scientists discover precisely how our bodies produce our minds, and how this new understanding could expand dance and choreography. Sperling will perform an excerpt of the work before being joined in discussion by Orgs.

The event took place twice on the same day and was visited by approximately 100 visitors.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL https://wellcomecollection.org/events/now-we-know-0
 
Description Performance and Talk at Modern Art Oxford 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The performance lecture was a result of a collaboration with the performance collective "Dog Kennel Hill project" and combined a scientific lecture elements on emotion recognition and perception with live dance and performance.

The event was attended by approximately audience members and was followed by a lively discussion on the links between the performing arts and scientific enquiry
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL https://www.modernartoxford.org.uk/event/kaleidoscope-live-dog-kennel-hill-project-our-true-feelings...
 
Description Plenary address to the International Symposium on Perception, Action, and Cognitive Systems, Seoul National University, South Korea 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact I gave a plenary address on the psychology of collective behaviour to 120 industry, government and academic researchers from the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence in Seoul, and participated in a panel discussion on the role of AI in society.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL https://bi.snu.ac.kr/~btzhang/PACS-2015.pdf
 
Description Public Engagement talk at Live Lab, Hamilton University, Canada 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact This was an invited talk to the general pubic at Hamilton University, Ontario, Canada. I spoke about our work with groups and collective action and movement, and fielded questions about dance, advertising and politics from the general public
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
 
Description Symposium Embodied Dance Aesthetics 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A second symposium on "Embodied Dance Aesthetics" at the International conference on Empirical Aesthetics (August 2016, Vienna) was recently accepted. We will present the outcomes of the research project with a specific focus on its relevance for psychological and neuroscience research on aesthetics. In addition to a talk from the PI, the symposium brings together four experts in dance neuroscience, including Dr Emily Cross, Bangor University, UK, Dr Beatriz Calvo-Merino, City University London, UK, and Dr Corinne Jola, Abertay University, UK. The conference is an internationally renowned event for scientific research on aesthetics. The symposium will communicate the outcomes of the research public to a wide audience of researchers in the field. Further it aims to promote and increase visibility of psychological and neuroscientific research that involves dance.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL http://www.science-of-aesthetics.org/congresses.html
 
Description Symposium International Conference on Spatial Cognition 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact We organised a symposium on "Synchronous movement, cooperation and the performing arts". In addition to three talks presented by members of our research team, we invited external speakers from the University of Western Sydney, Australia (Prof Kate Stevens) and the University of Oxford, UK (Dr Emma Cohen) to present their work. The conference is an internationally renowned event with a specific focus on Embodied Cognition and served as an important outlet to communicate the outcomes of our research project to the wider research community.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL http://www.icsc-rome.org/symposia/
 
Description UCL Knowledge Exchange at the British Museum 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact People from industry, government and the media came to the British Museum for an all day event. With a selection of UCL researchers, I talked about my work and how it might impact society.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Whitehead Lecture on the prosocial effects of moving together 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The Whitehead Lecture series is an interdisciplinary public lecture series hosted by the Computing and Psychology Department of Goldsmiths, College, University of London. The lecture was attended by approximately 60 members of the public, scientists and students. The lecture established new links between staff members at the University and helped to establish new links with potential external collborators in particualr the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Art/Science charity (CW+).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL http://www.gold.ac.uk/calendar/?id=8982