Overview: In this research project I will be observing body language on dancers and non dancers; specifically when wearing different styles of clothing and moving in space.  I want to see if dancing helps with body confidence. 

Hypothesis: If the dancers put on funny clothing, then they will be comfortable with dancing, the same as they would be in regular clothing. If the non dancers put on the funny clothes, then they will feel more uncomfortable then they did in their regular clothing.

 

Methodology: For my research I would like to do some physical tests in a studio with both dancers and non dancers. Following these physical assessments, I will give short interviews in order to get more intimate results about how the study made the subjects feel. For the physical assessments, I will ask them to come to the studio in whatever clothing they feel comfortable moving in. Once there, they will be asked to look at themselves in the mirror.  They will be asked questions such as: “How do you feel?” and “What do you see in the mirror?” I will have them keep these responses in mind throughout the process. Their next task will be to move around in space in whatever way they would like. After this, I will bring in unusual clothing that may seem weird or out of the ordinary. The subjects will then put these clothes on and go through the same process starting with the questions in front of the mirror. At the end of this testing process, I will have them reveal what their answers and thought processes were to the questions at the beginning of the task. I will then ask a few more questions in hopes of sparking a discussion as to how they felt when asked personal questions about their image. By this, I want to see if they felt nervous in the beginning and if movement helped in easing some of those nerves.

 

Expected outcome: I believe both groups will have similar responses for how they all react.  In the beginning, when the dancers are wearing their “comfortable clothing,” they'll move as if in a regular improv class. Additionally, they will notice themselves in the mirror, have a presence, and have an awareness of themselves and the space with minimal issues. The non-dancers however,  I believe will be confused at first when I tell them to move around in the space—perhaps by engaging in movement that is more pedestrian. Furthermore, by looking in the mirror, they may evoke awkwardness or giggling.  When I present the unusual clothing to the dancers I think they'll giggle at first as a natural reaction and their improved use of space might vary in different style of movement but in the end they'll get it together and treat it like a regular improv session.  They'll notice themselves in the mirror and not have a problem with it.  When I give the weird clothing to the non dancers the initial reaction will be confusion and giggling and the movements they decide to give off could be smaller and less animated on some people, others might really take in the clothing they're wearing and make a big scene out of it.  In the end I think they dancers will tell me that they didn't have a problem seeing themselves and being seen and moving in both sessions.  for the non dancers i will have mixed results but ultimately confusion and awkwardness with flow throughout the results.

 

Results/ data: 

A lot of the dancers were very open to talking about their body’s and how they felt about them.

 

They would give specific things that they liked and disliked, how they felt in different types of clothing.  I think this had a lot to do with the fact that dancers look in the mirror 24/7 and examine themselves so they notice every little thing which makes it easier to talk about.

 

The non dancers would give very short responses like “I see myself”, “big hips” or “I see my red shirt”.  This could be because of the fact that when they look int he mirror they're only examining little parts of them selves.  They don't look in the mirror like a dancer would and use it as a tool to examine how their body moves or looks. 

 

“What do you see in the mirror? How do you feel?”

 

Dancer #1: Comfortable with talking about body, told me what she liked and disliked, where she looked specifically in the mirror.

Dancer #2:  She does not like looking in the mirror, also comfortable with talking about her body.

Dancer #3: Told me how she uses the mirror when she dances, looks in it to see her progress at the gym, comfortable with talking to me

Dance #4:  Kind of quiet, but still comfortable with talking about her body and how she felt

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“Move around in the space how ever you like”

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Dancer #1: Walked around, played with clothing, checked herself out in the mirror”

Dancer #2: Danced but did not look in the mirror, faces back or side walls.

Dancer #3: Danced around, glanced in the mirror occasionally

Dancer #4: Looked in the mirror for the majority of the time.  Danced around.

 

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“What do you see in the mirror? How do you feel?”

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Non dancer #1: Comfortable with talking about herself, didn't go into as much detail as the dancers. Felt different things depending on where she looked on her body

Non dancer #2: Very shy, gave straight forward, non descriptive answers. 

Non dancer #3: Shy, gave simple answers that really didn't have to do with what she saw in the mirror. 

Non dancer #4: Comfortable with talking about what he saw in the mirror.  Descriptive, open, not uncomfortable. 

 

“Move around in the space how ever you like”

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Non dancer #1: Walked around, checked her self out in the mirror occasionally

Non dancer #2:  Just sat down, very uncomfortable. 

Non dancer #3: Sat down, giggled

Non dancer #4: Moved around in the space.  Used up the space. Played with things on the wall.  Fiddled with clothing. 

 

Silly clothing on

Dancers: everyone was happier and more laid back.  They said it distracted them more from focusing on every part of their body

Movement- the movement was bigger, the one that didn't like looking in the mirror continued to look at the walls but over all the movement was bigger.  They all agreed they felt more free in the funny clothing

 

Non dancers:  Said the pressure was taken away because of the fact that it was more silly.  They said they weren't focusing as much on their bodies.  They still gave straight forward answers but the people who seemed uncomfortable were more laid back.

Movement- two of them still sat down but were still open to discussing how they felt and they were giggly and didn't seem as confused.  The other two still moved around in the space and did about the same things they did before. 

 

 

 

My project was very abstract which made some of the results hard to organize. If I were to do it again I would try to dim down how broad it is and find one thing to study.  I enjoyed doing this though because I ended up learning a lot more than what I was originally looking for.

The broadness also made it kind of complicated to present because I had so much explaining to do so I think parts of it people became disinterested because they just wanted to get to the point. But as people came I started to figure out how to shorted it up and let them soak in what they wanted to.