Feeling Data through Movement: Designing Somatic Data Experiences with Dancers
Laura J. Perovich, Nicole Zizzi
Abstract
The proliferation of data throughout society has produced an increased interest in novel ways to represent information to provide new insights, re-humanize data, or allow broader participation. Many novel data representations allow people to physically interact with information by picking up, touching, and manipulating artefacts that encode data through their material properties. In this paper, we draw on the arts to explore how we might design for deeper physical engagement with data. How can we feel data through movements, instead of through objects? We examine nine instructional movement sequences created by five dancers as part of a larger workshop on data and dance. Our findings shed light on promising design strategies for somatically-focused data representations including observations on the relational, layered, and emotionally engaged approaches taken by dancers. We also reflect on these approaches in relation to soma design and identify areas for future work in "data somatics."