Kinaesthetic Empathy

A key interdisciplinary concept in creative and cultural practices, kinaesthetic empathy is the ability to experience empathy purely by observing the movements of another human being. Natalia Duong (a professional dancer) explores kinaesthetic empathy as therapy for those unable to use their limbs properly. Mirroring and following closely using nonverbal communication are the core elements of our disciplines. 

Such a moving and inspiring TedTalk so thought it needed to be shared!

It got me thinking about how movement can be so contagious without even realising it, you can literally dance with a pure stranger and connect without having to even know their name. Neuroscience discovered the mirror neuron system in our brain involved in this aspect of empathy. Even a simple yawn can be contagious. 

It's so amazing to explore other scholars who also had "little wonders,"  and have actually made such a huge difference in people's lives. 

It's during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.

During the last couple of weeks, I feel as though my inquiry topic has been switching and I have been struggling to pinpoint the exact path I want to go down. Communicating with others on the BAPP course and individuals away from the course has really helped me to establish what it is that I am truly interested in. Plus, after discovering my inquiry focus, I have revealed that there is so a lot more literature out there than I realized.

I am aiming to focus on why nonverbal communication is important in both education and performance settings with the main focus being speech and language therapy. My 5-year-old nephew has recently started a new school with a speech and language base so I think this is a great way to explore deeper into understanding the different methods of learning.  I am hoping that it will be possible to observe at the school that focuses on speech and language difficulties and compare the methods of teaching to how they would be in a regular school. 

My practice is transdiscplinery, meaning it has been very much about the performance part of the industry whereas it's more about the transition from performance to education and passing on my knowledge of the industry. This is the reason why I am eager to discover more about learning techniques for those with learning difficulties. 

As I am starting to write my practice-based inquiry proposal, I feel so eager to discover more about this topic, but the main focus that I have learned from the first module is that I need to analysise what I am saying more and explain what I am saying in more detail. This is why I am not just studying my topic of inquiry, I am also studying how to describe it in a clearer and more precise way.