Sonic Kinesthetic Forest: Listening to and Dancing With Trees

Conference: The European Conference on Arts, Design & Education (ECADE2022)
Title: Sonic Kinesthetic Forest: Listening to and Dancing With Trees
Stream: Interdisciplinary Art and Design Projects
Presentation Type: Panel Presentation
Authors:
Lisa Sandlos, York University, Canada
Rennie Tang, California State Polytechnic University, United States
Eleni-Ira Panourgia, LISAA Research Lab, Université Gustave Eiffel, France

Abstract:

Sonic Kinesthetic Forest is an interdisciplinary research project and pedagogical investigation that uses sensory-based, creative methods of drawing, sound, and movement for connecting humans more viscerally to trees and forest landscapes. Our work responds to David Abrams’ premise in The Spell of the Sensuous that sensory activities are vital for mitigating human disembodiment, desensitization, and disconnectedness from nature in contemporary life. We approach resilience from both human and more-than-human perspectives to amplify sensory modes of expression, while working together to adapt to and recover from extremes and sharing aliveness as common ground. In this panel presentation we discuss the findings from two collaborative, pedagogical projects: Listening to Trees, a workshop for undergraduate landscape architecture students at Cal Poly Pomona University (USA) and Dancing with Trees, a choreographic piece created for adolescent dancers as part of the Guelph Youth Dancers project (Canada). Drawing from our respective disciplines as landscape designer, sound artist, and choreographer/movement analyst, we explain and compare: a) the methodology we developed for exploring the sonic kinesthetic attributes of trees through the embodied acts of listening and moving, and the translation of those qualities to paper through charcoal drawings, and b) the process of guiding participants in sensory-based activities. We then present how participants applied the proposed sonic kinesthetic techniques for being with trees and finding ways to enhance their own resilience, while cultivating a deeper understanding of the aliveness of trees, rather than objectifying and separating them from the sentient world.

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