Dancers can often be stereotyped as purely
artistic, not academic. As a dance major, however, I have always cared a lot
about academics and being an intelligent artist. This Engineering Dance project
seemed like the perfect way to combine dance and academia, through research.
Discussing potential ideas in a room with other dancers, bioengineers, and
psychology students, made me see how perfect this project was for me. In fact,
it was only after the project began that I remembered my essay for admittance to
the Honors College at GMU was about the benefit that dance could bring to
science. I am still unsure of what I
will do post-graduation, but I feel that this project has further revealed my
interest in science, specifically how it can be related to dance.
Our project assessed how dancers perform under
different stressors, specifically under the observation of various authority
figures. Using a motion capture system with point markers, we measured the
range of height during a grand jeté (a big jump), the distance traveled during
a circular walking pattern, and the angular velocity of a quick spin. We also
recorded heart rate throughout participant activity and administered surveys
that revealed presence of anxiety. Although we didn’t have enough participants
to claim any statistical results, we found several trends that demonstrated
that participants responded most strongly to the presence of a familiar, expert
authority figure.
I have always been someone who likes to work
independently, as I generally have strong opinions and a specific way of
accomplishing tasks. Having experienced difficulty with group projects over the
years, I pretty much figured that working in a team this summer would be a
challenge. However, this project taught me to successfully collaborate with a
group, specifically in a team with members across three disciplines. I
discovered that there can be several “right” ways to do things and that a
conclusive decision can still be made in the face of many wonderful opinions. I
have learned so much this summer and I am excited to see how this project might
impact my future studies.
