Presentation Information
[O10-P02]Visualization and Invisible Processes in Environmental Dance ---Ecological Changes Perceived through Embodied Practice---
Shuntaro Yoshida1,2,3, *Masatomi Iizawa4 (1.Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST), 2.Kobe Univ., 3.Waseda Univ., 4.Technische Universitaet Braunschweig)
Keywords:
performance studies,embodied practice,visualization,human–environment interactions
Environmental Turn of Dance (ETD) is an ongoing research project funded by the European Union through Horizon Europe under the ERA Fellowship scheme. The project investigates how dance and embodied practices can engage with ecological processes that are difficult to observe or visualize directly.
Terminology often varies across academic disciplines, and “visualization” is a prime example. Broadly defined, visualization is the mapping of information from non-visual formats into visual attributes. In science and engineering, it specifically refers to plotting quantified data—such as numerical or topological sets—into graphical forms. Conversely, in arts research, it refers to the broader materialization of an artist’s ideas. These divergent definitions often lead to conceptual collisions rather than constructive dialogue. In the natural sciences—particularly in fields such as Earth science—various visualization techniques have been developed to understand invisible phenomena such as climate systems, environmental dynamics, and non-human interactions. Alternatively, an approach focused on understanding phenomena without quantification—which might be deemed “unscientific” in a traditional sense—is also viable. To bridge the gap between these two methodologies, this presentation examines dance. Dance is inherently a practice that engages with phenomena through embodied perception, relational movement, and performative processes, offering a distinct mode of inquiry from science and engineering.
This presentation focuses on the relationship between scientific visualization and artistic representation, positioning environmental dance as a form of performative visualization that operates prior to, or in parallel with, diagrammatic and image-based forms of representation. Through analyses of choreographic tasks, scores, and collective movement processes, the presentation examines how environmental processes emerge as experiential, temporal, and relational phenomena. By doing so, this research offers an interdisciplinary perspective on how invisible environmental processes can be sensed, interpreted, and shared, complementing visual and data-driven models of understanding.
ETD Project website: https://www.etd-project.com/
ETD project receives funding from the HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-TALENTS-02-01 - ERA Fellowships under grant agreement No 101180719. Funded by the European Union
Terminology often varies across academic disciplines, and “visualization” is a prime example. Broadly defined, visualization is the mapping of information from non-visual formats into visual attributes. In science and engineering, it specifically refers to plotting quantified data—such as numerical or topological sets—into graphical forms. Conversely, in arts research, it refers to the broader materialization of an artist’s ideas. These divergent definitions often lead to conceptual collisions rather than constructive dialogue. In the natural sciences—particularly in fields such as Earth science—various visualization techniques have been developed to understand invisible phenomena such as climate systems, environmental dynamics, and non-human interactions. Alternatively, an approach focused on understanding phenomena without quantification—which might be deemed “unscientific” in a traditional sense—is also viable. To bridge the gap between these two methodologies, this presentation examines dance. Dance is inherently a practice that engages with phenomena through embodied perception, relational movement, and performative processes, offering a distinct mode of inquiry from science and engineering.
This presentation focuses on the relationship between scientific visualization and artistic representation, positioning environmental dance as a form of performative visualization that operates prior to, or in parallel with, diagrammatic and image-based forms of representation. Through analyses of choreographic tasks, scores, and collective movement processes, the presentation examines how environmental processes emerge as experiential, temporal, and relational phenomena. By doing so, this research offers an interdisciplinary perspective on how invisible environmental processes can be sensed, interpreted, and shared, complementing visual and data-driven models of understanding.
ETD Project website: https://www.etd-project.com/
ETD project receives funding from the HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-TALENTS-02-01 - ERA Fellowships under grant agreement No 101180719. Funded by the European Union