OVERVIEW

This cross-comparative kinetic research examines three distinct spiritual movement traditions (i) Muslim prayer (salat) (ii) Tai Chi and (iii) Yogic sun salutations (Surya Namaskar). Using the techniques of motion capture, computer vision, and expert visual analysis, we probe these ancient movement sequences through the fields of Dance, Computer Science and Bio-Kinesiology. 

This cross-disciplinary research leverages the School of Cinematic Arts’ state of the art Performance Capture stage and is animated by the following research questions: What, if any, are the kinetic similarities between Muslim prayers (salat), Tai Chi, and Yogic sun salutations (Surya Namaskar)? How might the study of these movements contribute to insights on shared embodied wisdom? How might we re-imagine the datafication of embodied knowledge, and non-Western spiritual movement practices? How might kinetic analysis offer insights related to the physical well-being of the human body, in addition to emotional and spiritual well-being? How might a better understanding of these nonverbal practices lead to a better sense of our shared humanity? Finally, how might performance capture technologies and advanced computer vision algorithms, created by the military industrial complex and the entertainment industry, be repurposed to advance cross-cultural awareness and understanding? 

Studying these three movement practices is a way to push back on the exclusionary practices of computer vision and white supremacist knowledge production. Computer vision (which is a form of artificial intelligence) has become a pervasive technology, however, many researchers have pointed to the biases involved in its production and output (Buolamwini & Gebru, 2018; Noble, 2018; O’Neil, 2016). Computer vision cannot be inclusive if the data it relies on excludes the Global South and non-western bodies and knowledge. This research contributes to attention and indexing of non-western traditions. 

Additionally, we engage epistemologies that are not considered mainstream, by assessing the kinetic data through Jaap van der Wal’s theories on universal embryonic gestures, and Liz Koch’s work on the psoas as an organ of deep knowledge. This contributes to further decentering assumed epistemologies, allowing fresh scholarship to emerge.