Exploring The Effect Of Visual And Verbal Feedback On Ballet Dance Performance In Mirrored And Non-Mirrored Environments

Abstract

Since the 1800s, the ballet studio has been largely unchanged, a core feature of which is the mirror. The influence of mirrors on ballet education has been documented, and prior literature has shown negative effects on dancers’ body image, satisfaction, level of attention and performance quality. While the mirror provides immediate real-time feedback, it does not inform dancers of their errors. Tools have been developed to do so, but the design of the feedback from a bottom-up perspective has not been extensively studied. The following study aimed to assess the value of different types of feedback to inform the design of tech-augmented mirrors. University students’ ballet technique scores were evaluated on eight ballet combinations (tendue, adagio, pirouette, petit allegro, plié, degage, frappe and battement tendue), and feedback was provided to them. We accessed learning with remote domain expert to determine whether or not the system had an impact on dancers. Results revealed that the treatment with feedback was statistically significant and yielded higher performance versus without the feedback. Mirror versus non-mirror performance did not present any score disparity indicating that users performed similarly in both conditions. A best fit possibility was seen when visual and verbal feedback were combined. We created MuscAt, a set of interconnected feedback design principles, which led us to conclude that the feasibility of remote teaching in ballet is possible.