Aska Sakuta
PhD in Dance Psychology at the University of Chichester (UK) - Flow and meditative states during improvisational movement performance
MFA in Dance at University of California, Irvine (US) - Integrating Eastern philosophy in Western dance education
BA in International Liberal Studies at Waseda University (JP) - emphasis on Eastern vs Western performing arts culture
Supervisors: Jane Bacon, Lisa Naugle, Jenny Smith, Phil Kearney, and Kei Akagi
Address: United Kingdom
MFA in Dance at University of California, Irvine (US) - Integrating Eastern philosophy in Western dance education
BA in International Liberal Studies at Waseda University (JP) - emphasis on Eastern vs Western performing arts culture
Supervisors: Jane Bacon, Lisa Naugle, Jenny Smith, Phil Kearney, and Kei Akagi
Address: United Kingdom
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Following a brief progress report given at the 4th International Conference on Movement Computing (London, 2017), this paper presents a further developed view on the theoretical and methodological structure of this research. This will include discussions on how some scientific accounts suggest that the state of “no mind” (or “Flow”) can be neurologically represented by a deactivation in some of the executive functions in the brain, thereby potentially giving way to more primitive functions including intuitive motor control (Austin, 2010; Dietrich, 2004). After developing an interdisciplinary view on the connections between Flow, embodiment, and meditative states of consciousness, the paper will describe how this theoretical framework has informed the researcher’s practical investigation on 1.) how embodied Flow states may appear during meditative movement, and 2.) whether this state has an influence on the mover’s performance.
References:
Austin, J. H. (2010). The Thalamic Gateway: How the Meditative Training of Attention Evolves Toward Selfless Transformations of Consciousness. In B. Bruya (Ed.), Effortless Attention: A New Perspective in the Cognitive Science of Attention and Action (pp. 373-407). MA: MIT Press
Dietrich, A. (2004). Neurocognitive Mechanisms Underlying the Experience of Flow. Consciousness and Cognition, 13(4), 746-761.
Fraleigh, S. (2000). Consciousness matters. Dance Research Journal, 32(1), 54-62.
Krein, K., & Ilundáin, J. (2014). Mushin and Flow: an East-West Comparative Analysis. In G. Priest & D. Young (Eds.), Philosophy and the Martial Arts: Engagement (pp. 139-164). New York: Routeledge
Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). The Concept of Flow. In M. Csikszentmihalyi (Ed.), Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology (pp. 239-263). Springer Netherlands.
Privette, G. (1983). Peak experience, Peak performance, and Flow: A Comparative Analysis of Positive Human Experiences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45(6), 1361-1368.
Sellers-Young, B. (1993). Teaching Personality with Gracefulness: the Transmission of Japanese Cultural Values through Japanese Dance Theatre. University Press of America.
Yuasa, Y., Nagamoto, S., & Hull, M. S. (1993). The Body, Self-cultivation, and Ki-energy. Albany: State University of New York Press.
We aim to introduce a methodology (or methodologies) which might overcome issues of disciplinary differences, focussing on the roles of language, perspective and collaboration, either by applying existing scientific knowledge to experimental, action-based research, or to effectively bring artistic practice into established methods of scientific research. We present examples of how we faced obstacles specific to dance psychology research, and importantly, which of these obstacles still lie ahead for interdisciplinary researchers. Alongside a presentation of relevant literature, we aim to illuminate the current landscape of psychological research on/through dance.
Following a brief progress report given at the 4th International Conference on Movement Computing (London, 2017), this paper presents a further developed view on the theoretical and methodological structure of this research. This includes discussions on how some scientific accounts suggest that the state of “no mind” (or “Flow”) can be neurologically represented by a deactivation in some of the executive functions in the brain, thereby potentially giving way to more primitive functions including intuitive motor control (Austin, 2010; Dietrich, 2004). After developing an interdisciplinary view on the connections between Flow, embodiment, and meditative states of consciousness, the paper will describe how this theoretical framework has informed the researcher’s practical investigation on 1.) how embodied Flow states may appear during meditative movement, and 2.) whether this state has an influence on the mover’s performance.
Following a brief progress report given at the 4th International Conference on Movement Computing (London, 2017), this paper presents a further developed view on the theoretical and methodological structure of this research. This will include discussions on how some scientific accounts suggest that the state of “no mind” (or “Flow”) can be neurologically represented by a deactivation in some of the executive functions in the brain, thereby potentially giving way to more primitive functions including intuitive motor control (Austin, 2010; Dietrich, 2004). After developing an interdisciplinary view on the connections between Flow, embodiment, and meditative states of consciousness, the paper will describe how this theoretical framework has informed the researcher’s practical investigation on 1.) how embodied Flow states may appear during meditative movement, and 2.) whether this state has an influence on the mover’s performance.
References:
Austin, J. H. (2010). The Thalamic Gateway: How the Meditative Training of Attention Evolves Toward Selfless Transformations of Consciousness. In B. Bruya (Ed.), Effortless Attention: A New Perspective in the Cognitive Science of Attention and Action (pp. 373-407). MA: MIT Press
Dietrich, A. (2004). Neurocognitive Mechanisms Underlying the Experience of Flow. Consciousness and Cognition, 13(4), 746-761.
Fraleigh, S. (2000). Consciousness matters. Dance Research Journal, 32(1), 54-62.
Krein, K., & Ilundáin, J. (2014). Mushin and Flow: an East-West Comparative Analysis. In G. Priest & D. Young (Eds.), Philosophy and the Martial Arts: Engagement (pp. 139-164). New York: Routeledge
Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). The Concept of Flow. In M. Csikszentmihalyi (Ed.), Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology (pp. 239-263). Springer Netherlands.
Privette, G. (1983). Peak experience, Peak performance, and Flow: A Comparative Analysis of Positive Human Experiences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45(6), 1361-1368.
Sellers-Young, B. (1993). Teaching Personality with Gracefulness: the Transmission of Japanese Cultural Values through Japanese Dance Theatre. University Press of America.
Yuasa, Y., Nagamoto, S., & Hull, M. S. (1993). The Body, Self-cultivation, and Ki-energy. Albany: State University of New York Press.
We aim to introduce a methodology (or methodologies) which might overcome issues of disciplinary differences, focussing on the roles of language, perspective and collaboration, either by applying existing scientific knowledge to experimental, action-based research, or to effectively bring artistic practice into established methods of scientific research. We present examples of how we faced obstacles specific to dance psychology research, and importantly, which of these obstacles still lie ahead for interdisciplinary researchers. Alongside a presentation of relevant literature, we aim to illuminate the current landscape of psychological research on/through dance.
Following a brief progress report given at the 4th International Conference on Movement Computing (London, 2017), this paper presents a further developed view on the theoretical and methodological structure of this research. This includes discussions on how some scientific accounts suggest that the state of “no mind” (or “Flow”) can be neurologically represented by a deactivation in some of the executive functions in the brain, thereby potentially giving way to more primitive functions including intuitive motor control (Austin, 2010; Dietrich, 2004). After developing an interdisciplinary view on the connections between Flow, embodiment, and meditative states of consciousness, the paper will describe how this theoretical framework has informed the researcher’s practical investigation on 1.) how embodied Flow states may appear during meditative movement, and 2.) whether this state has an influence on the mover’s performance.