How a research project led me to dancing around my living room (a lot)
I’ve recently been part of a team working on a dance-related research project, and it reminded me about the influence a research project sometimes can have on the lives of the researchers involved. In this instance, my work on the project has led me to dancing around my living room a little more than I used to (although anyone who has lived with me knows I’m partial to a bit of a disco in the kitchen). And so in some respect it’s been interesting to see the impact of research work on my identity.
I’ve worked on various projects over the years on numerous products/services, and one thing I have always found interesting is that I have often found myself being drawn towards the product I am researching. It was almost by working on the project that I was selling the idea of it to myself. Working on a drinks project…I’d find myself drawn towards buying that drink. Working on a food project…I’d find myself wanting to try more and more of the food. It was almost a bit like a researcher’s take on ‘method acting’. Oh what type of researcher am I? A ‘method’ researcher…a bit like Daniel Day Lewis and Robert DeNiro.
So how does this relate to the dance project?
When conducting the literature review I found myself trawling through numerous medical journals (it’s worth noting I’m a marketing researcher at this point, and so don’t often find myself looking in these journals). I would constantly find reports about how much exercise, is beneficial for general physical and mental health. What is interesting, is yes I kind of knew this already, as I’ve heard lots about how important it is to stay active. Usually I do exercise every day and that kind of thing. However, I have to admit my daily runs had become daily runs for the bus/tube, and well… since lockdown…the daily runs have turned to a shockingly small number of steps towards my desk in the living room.
So reading about the benefit of exercise in these journals seemed to hammer this message home a bit more. And before long I found myself focussing more on hitting at least 30mins of exercise and movement a day. And then seeing as I was working on a dance project, this turned into a bit of lunchtime dancing, a bit of late afternoon dancing and so on. Now when I say dancing, this is not any form of structured practice…I would probably even hesitate to call it dancing. But it was movement nonetheless, and one thing I realised is it was movement that also made smile a little. It was more fun than doing my usual route around the flat to get my steps in.
Further to this, I also started listening to more music. I’m a massive music fan…but somehow this newfound time for dancing got me thinking more and more about it. I was revisiting tracks to dance to. Obviously disco was first, as I love disco.
But then I started moving towards old classics from when I was younger. LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire, The Rapture, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (anyone else in love with the 2004–2007 post-punk revival, I hope you enjoy).
I thought it was interesting that a literature review suddenly spawned into this multi-times-a-day dancing. I usually just do a few minutes here and there, possibly just before zoom calls or lectures. And it does remind me of something I noticed a while back, and that’s how fun disco can be. There’s something just a bit smile-inducing about it. So yeah, a lot of this dancing has also involved the awesome new album from Horse Meat Disco.
And I was glad to see in a recent interview in The Guardian that they also spoke about the joy of just dancing and its benefit to mental health
So there we go, that’s how a research project got me dancing and moving more than I had been. I wonder if I should choose research projects based on the impact they have on my identity in this way. Because this was definitely a fun one. And this was just the effect of the lit review. What would the rest bring?
