Research

MFA thesis research:

Prototyping Social Somatics through Virtual Embodied Playspaces

Ri Lindegren

What are the moments that re-embody us in the midst of extensive screentime? When do we remember that we are more than fingers typing and eyeballs drifting over the digital screen? How do we transpose the experience of our bodies as both sensorial and social through a virtual screen? Where are there opportunities for creating informal moments of connection and shared experiences that deepen social ties through embodied experiences via virtual platforms? How could we use play to move between the 2D and 3D screens to re-embody our physical world? How do we find ways to deepen friendships and build community using technology? My research draws on my background as a multi-genre dance and media artist, student of anthropology and somatic practices, and my professional survival skills as an event organizer, creative practice cultivator, movement aficionado and educator. 

This excerpt is from a talk I gave for Leslie Smith Collegium in 2020. I highlighted prior and current research for my thesis project which explored the creation and performance of building community through online virtual platforms and interactive tactile objects (BODYSLEUTH PROJECT). Possible theories of influence included game design, site-specific and immersive theater, scenography, phenomenology, constructivism, practice-as-research, and race, ethnicity, and queer studies in relationship to dance and technology.

Prior projects that informed my ideas around social somatic prototyping and virtual embodied playspaces included:

WOVEN - a proscenium stage and live camera performance that explored the relationship between fabric and identity through eight strips of fifteen foot fabric worn, carried, thrown, wrapped, stretched, and rearranged through the stories of nine dancers

Moving Scenes - a scenographic audience participatory pop-up performance space

Spine Sensing - a wearable spine with microcontroller sensors that supported exploration of spinal range of motion and patterning through social gameplay

Legend of Thule - a narrative somatic alternate reality game

Dear Postcards - a virtual environment of an experiential somatic museum

BodySleuths - a hybridization of virtual world building, game play, immersive theater, dance performance, somatic exploration, and digital scenography to re-imagine possibilities for a queerer world

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