Symposium 'Movement, Expertise and Creativity' presented at Australasian Society for Philosophy and Psychology (ASPP) 2018 meeting

Description

Co-organised the Symposium 'Movement, Expertise and Creativity' presented at Australasian Society for Philosophy and Psychology 2018 meeting.

Maya Gavish (Western Sydney University), Robin Dixon (University of Sydney), Ian Maxwell (University of Sydney), Kath Bicknell (Macquarie University), and Sarah Pini (Macquarie University).

Through case studies from dance, theatre, circus and sailing, this symposium examines the relations between movement, expertise and cognition in live performance. We draw on methods from philosophy, anthropology, psychology, performance studies and history. Maya Gavish examines strategies used to solve problems in contemporary choreographic processes and their impact on creative development. Robin Dixon then takes us back in time examining how actors’ masks functioned within the cognitive ecology of commedia dell’arte, shining new light on historical performance processes in this popular form of Italian theatre. Drawing surprising parallels to improvisation practices on the stage, Ian Maxwell’s evocative descriptions of sailing are as revealing as his analysis of yachting as extended embodiment; constantly mediating between, and in response to, bodies, environment and equipment. Kath Bicknell continues this exploration of embodied action as jointly responsive to internal and external resources, demonstrating the multimodal layering of task-specific cues before performing at height on the trapeze. Sarah Pini ties our panel together bringing us back to the dance world. She draws on sustained ethnographic work to reveal the phenomenon of stage presence across specific cognitive ecologies of different dance practices and performers. This symposium shares interdisciplinary insights and perspectives on how performance and creative practices shape, and are shaped by, remarkable bodily and cognitive capacities. And it encourages further cross-disciplinary awareness, discussion and collaboration. In doing so, we address a need in philosophy and psychology for complex, real-world examples of embodied practices to challenge and extend existing work on thought and action, to provoke new types of questions, and to continue to explore novel methods in response to debates and challenges that extend well beyond academic walls.

Period	7 Dec 2018
Event type	Conference
Location	North Ryde, Australia, New South Wales
Degree of Recognition	International