BALLET'S DIGITAL ENCORE

Sight 

The interaction between sight and kinesthesia is present in dance before online classes, however the experience of online classes heightened the awareness of this connection by way of it being in absence or more challenging in an online environment. Many dancers learn through mimicry, watching another dancer attempt or succeed at a step and then trying it out themselves. This could be how a dancer moves through space, adjusts their positioning of their limbs, or shifts their weight to enable the sequencing of steps. Often in a class, dancers help each other by sharing tips about which muscles to concentrate on, or which leg to put more or less of their weight on, and more. Additionally, it can often help to be stood behind someone at the barre or in the centre who is quicker at picking up the exercises as they’re verbally given by the teacher to be able to follow along once the music starts, for example. 

 

Learning how others accomplish movement by watching and replicating was very much impacted in the online classes. Dancers were not able to see each other as clearly or chat quietly with the dancer next to them between exercises. It was also impacted by the online ‘mirrored view’ of Zoom which showed the faces of other dancers, rather than their backs. This required the students to adapt how they copied what the teacher or other students were showing on screen. What might look like the left foot moving in a specific direction was actually the right foot, for example. 

 

Touch

As previously identified, the interaction between touch and kinesthesia can be explored through the lens of space and spaciousness. For the teacher and choreographer, the space constraints meant altering the approach to teaching students how to orient within their home spaces. Especially for less-experienced students who may not have a grasp on more complicated steps or ballet vocabulary, the teacher interviewed was less able to rely on demonstrating his own movements through space as Zoom would present his environment as mirrored. He described having to be creative in his instructions and relying more on words than on the ability to show the steps. He recounted an example of giving instruction to one dancer in relation to the home of the dancer saying, "turn to the bookshelf." 

 

The interaction between touch and kinesthesia has another interaction - the touch-based approach to teaching. Teachers will often use physical manipulation as a teaching technique - placing the legs, feet, and arms for the dancer into the correct position to help them learn how to feel the placement such that they might learn to replicate the feelings of the muscle engagement and movement in order to replicate the step. The ‘muscle memory’ that dancers will refer to when learning steps, combinations or more complicated choreography are developed, in part, from these touch-based teaching techniques as dancers learn their bodies and what specific moves feel like. 

 

The physical corrections, of course, were a missing element in the at-home classes. Dancers talked about missing the feeling of the teacher placing their foot for them, or providing a ‘tap’ on the knee to remind them to stretch it further, or perhaps correct alignment. This element was sorely missed by dancers who appreciate these types of corrections as they strive to improve their technique. Additionally, a friendly tap to the knee or poke in the back (which usually means, “stand up straighter”) can be less intrusive than a verbal reminder or correction that might interrupt the dancer’s connection with the music. Once again, these descriptions demonstrate the interconnectedness of the sensory experience of dancing. 

 

Sound

Finally, a common way instructions are given are verbally. This is how teachers will introduce a combination and provide corrective instructions while dancers are performing their exercises or choreography. It is not uncommon to walk past a dance studio and hear music playing, see dancers dancing and hear a teacher call out, “stretch that left leg,” or “lift your elbows!” Real-time feedback is a comment element of ballet class where students will be constantly correcting and adjusting during the exercise based on what the teacher might be seeing, and therefore saying. In addition to the musical connection to kinesthesia, the sound of a teacher’s voice during a rehearsal or class intersects with the sense of kinesthesia as often these corrections are being given mid-motion and directly impact the dancer’s movement as they alter their body or movement based on the correction given. 

 

Online technical issues with sound meant that often dancers couldn’t hear the teacher if they were calling out instructions or corrections while music was playing during the exercises. Sometimes, internet connectivity issues meant that there were lags in the sounds or videos, meaning that from the teacher’s perspective, it was hard to tell if everyone was in sync, if dancers were in time with the music or if they were struggling with the tempo. The experience of using Zoom for classes also impacted the social element of ballet as dancers couldn’t speak to each other as easily, if at all. The mute button was both loved and hated. It was loved in that, when enabled, the music was mostly uninterrupted by other dancers’ microphones picking up sounds. However, it was deeply disliked in that it got in the way of being able to chat, comment on an exercise after it was completed or, as above, share tips on how to improve or accomplish a step. 

 

Given the definition of kinesthesia is the knowledge creation by way of movement, the intersection with the senses of sight, touch and sound all interact with kinesthesia as part of the direct learning experience of dancers in training. The online classes heighten the awareness of where the conventional senses were negatively impacted, thus influencing the dancer’s experience of learning and improving as well. This provides an interesting area for further exploring contexts where learning is the aim and how the senses are evoked in different ways to achieve the intended learning objective in dance - at home or in the studio.