Sarah Fdili Alaoui, projet HCC, LRI

 

Human movement has historically been approached as a functional component of interaction within Human Computer Interaction (HCI). This design approach reflects the task-oriented focus of early HCI research, which was preoccupied with ergonomics and efficiency. Yet movement is not solely functional, it is also highly experiential, expressive and creative.

While human movement is ubiquitously present in all forms of technology interaction, movement expertise is often absent in the design of technology. In my work, I apply investigate movement in dance and choreography and in movement practices such as Laban Movement Analysis to design technologies for the experiential body within digital art and dance. Moreover, I integrate notions of movement from my practice of dance and choreography such as the movement qualities, as interaction modalities in an attempt to meet human needs as a whole and to encourage movement exploration, curiosity and reflection.

From a methodological perspective, I consider first person methodologies that research experience and support both the designer’s and the user’s expression. I use research through practice, ethnographic or phenomenological methods instead of those advocating abstract notions such efficiency, accuracy and usability.

Finally, from HCI theories of substrates, instrumental and embodied interaction, I design interactive systems that support user agency, system guidance and novelty in the choreographic process. The goal is to design a technology that encourages movement crafting and highlights choreographic patterns that support users’ creative choices and strategies.

BIO: Sarah Fdili Alaoui is an assistant professor in interaction design and interactive arts at LRI-Université Paris-Sud. She is a dance artist, choreographer and Laban Movement Analyst. Before her current position, she was a researcher at the School of Interactive Arts+Technology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. She holds a PhD in Art and Science from University Paris-Sud 11 and the IRCAM-Centre Pompidou research institute. She holds a MSc from University Joseph Fourier and an Engineering Degree from ENSIMAG in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science and has over 20 years of training in ballet and contemporary dance. Sarah is interested in bridging scientific and experiential research in the movement based arts to radically alter and affect our understanding of movement, human knowledge and cognition. She brings dance and technologies together, collaborating with dancers, visual artists, computer scientists and designers to create interactive dance performances, interactive installations and tools for supporting choreography.