Dance teachers rely primarily on verbal instructions and visual demonstrations to convey key dance concepts and movement. These techniques, however, have limitations in supporting students who are blind or have low vision (BLV). This work explores the role technology can play in supporting instruction for BLV students, as well as improvisation with their instructor. Through a series of design workshops with dance instructors and BLV students, ideas were generated by physically engaging with probes featuring diverse modalities including tactile objects, a body tracked sound and musical probe, and a body tracked controller with vibrational feedback. Implications for the design of supporting technologies were discovered for four contemporary dance learning goals: learning a phrase; improvising; collaborating through movement; and awareness of body and movement qualities. We discuss the potential of numerous multi-sensory methods and artefacts, and present design considerations for technologies to support meaningful dance instruction and participation.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3706598.3714325
The use of motion capture in live dance performances has created an emerging discipline enabling dancers to play different avatars on the digital stage. Unlike classical workflows, avatars enable performers to act as different characters in customized narratives, but research has yet to address how movement, improvisation, and perception change when dancers act as avatars. We created five avatars representing differing genders, shapes, and body limitations, and invited 15 dancers to improvise with each in practice and performance settings. Results show that dancers used avatars to distance themselves from their own habitual movements, exploring new ways of moving through differing physical constraints. Dancers explored using gender-stereotyped movements like powerful or feminine actions, experimenting with gender identity. However, focusing on avatars can coincide with a lack of continuity in improvisation. This work shows how emerging practices with performance technology enable dancers to improvise with new constraints, stepping outside the classical stage.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3706598.3713390
Process-based learning is crucial for the transmission of intangible cultural heritage, especially in complex arts like Chinese calligraphy, where mastering techniques cannot be achieved by merely observing the final work. To explore the challenges faced in calligraphy heritage transmission, we conducted semi-structured interviews (N=8) as a formative study. Our findings indicate that the lack of calligraphy instructors and tools makes it difficult for students to master brush techniques, and teachers struggle to convey the intricate details and rhythm of brushwork. To address this, we collaborated with calligraphy instructors to develop an educational tool that integrates writing process capture and visualization, showcasing the writing rhythm, hand force, and brush posture. Through empirical studies conducted in multiple teaching workshops, we evaluated the system's effectiveness with teachers (N=4) and students (N=12). The results show that the tool significantly enhances teaching efficiency and aids learners in better understanding brush techniques.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3706598.3714176
In this paper we describe how we designed the performance Human-Computer Counter-Choreographies (HCCC) using a methodology that borrows from artistic research, critical design, choreography, and embodied sense-making. HCCC is a live-coding performance in which I (the first author) manipulate JavaScript code and use a modified version of the open-source DuckDuckGo privacy extension to unveil online tracking algorithms on stage. Throughout the performance, the audience is encouraged to participate in a sequence of choreographic prompts where they embody aspects of online tracking such as fingerprinting and profiling. We analysed audience responses to questionnaires after three performances of HCCC and found that it allows audience members to gain awareness and engage their bodies to critically reflect on online tracking. We contribute a new approach to live-coding that bridges choreography with online tracking, and present empirical findings on the efficacy of this approach to engage audiences in reflecting on data tracking.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3706598.3713432
Choreographers face increasing pressure to create content rapidly, driven by growing demand in social media, entertainment, and commercial sectors, often compromising creativity. This study introduces ChoreoCraft, a novel in-situ virtual reality (VR) choreographic system designed to enhance the creation process of choreography. Through contextual inquiries with professional choreographers, we identified key challenges such as memory dependency, creative plateaus, and abstract feedback to formulate design implications. Then, we propose a VR choreography creation system embedded with a context-aware choreography suggestion system and a choreography analysis system, all grounded in choreographers' creative processes and mental models. Our study results demonstrated that ChoreoCraft fosters creativity, reduces memory dependency, and improves efficiency in choreography creation. Participants reported high satisfaction with the system's ability to overcome creative plateaus and provide objective feedback. Our work advances creativity support tools by providing digital assistance in dance composition that values artistic autonomy while fostering innovation and efficiency.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3706598.3714220
Learning drumming is challenging because multiple rhythms must be performed independently and simultaneously using both hands and feet. We conducted two formative studies to understand: 1) professional drumming instructors' teaching methods, and 2) drummers' current self-learning practices and pain points. All instructors deconstructed complex rhythms and limb movements and then used structured progression to teach drumming, which has not been explored by HCI research to date. Based on these findings, we developed a novel micro-progression learning framework for novice drummers that divides and structures comprehension progression (drum sequence and rhythm) and limb coordination progression into 16 stages. We also designed MR-Drum, a mixed-reality system that provides a first-person view of virtual limbs to demonstrate rhythm, limb, and drum surface dynamics, with adjustable tempo and automatic error detection. A summative user study vs. instructional videos showed that MR-Drum significantly improved error rate and timing accuracy, was significantly preferred for comprehension, skill development, and user experience, and was preferred overall by all participants.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3706598.3714156
The restoration of ancient Chinese paintings plays an essential role in protection and inheritance of Asian culture. A traditional restoration process consists of four stages: Xi (washing), Jie (separating), Bu (mending), and Quan (completing). However, it is difficult for the public to experience this process due to high professional requirement and time consumption. We conduct a questionnaire survey and interview experts in our formative study. The questionnaire result shows the public express strong interest in virtual restoration. Experts believe virtual restoration is an experience valuable for the public. We introduce Ink-Restorer, a tool designed for experiencing virtual restoration for ancient paintings. Its design follows the traditional restoration process, and it adopts image segmentation and generation techniques to simplify detailed restoration for users. We recruit 60 users to evaluate Ink-Restorer and invite experts to evaluate restoration results. Ink-Restorer significantly improves user experience, cultural understanding, and restoration quality.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3706598.3714190