Milwaukee Through Embodied Research

Zoe Glise, Ashley Garcia, Jessica Lueck, and Lyndsay Sorg, “Milwaukee Through Embodied Research”
Mentor: Simone Ferro, Dance

Throughout this past year, our team of students has been adapting to a new way of conducting research due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. By conducting interviews utilizing questions relating to how the pandemic affects the individual and the Sherman Park community, we have obtained a better sense of how the community is currently living. Following the conduction of these interviews, we then transcribed them to put into context what was being said. Additionally, we would travel to the Sherman Park area to embody the past and present lives of community members. Prior to traveling, we learned about the history of the house and the people currently residing in said home. By learning about the history of the house and the people currently residing in the home, we can better understand what the house means to the owner. We use the information from the transcribed interviews to pull quotes, which becomes part of an archive for the community and those interested in learning about it. When familiar with a particular individual’s responses, we occasionally visit their porches or front lawns and honor their space by videotaping our movement. The significance of this process allows for the individual of the home to have a video to reflect upon and see the community in a way different than what is shown through social media and news. Therefore, in this symposium, we will be creating a film to showcase a select few of these individuals’ lives. Currently, as a research team, we continue to make an impact on the Sherman Park community by engaging with its members in any way possible. Engagement is important, but the archival pathways we are leaving behind for them, and for the community, will continuously impact those in the Milwaukee area.

Comments

  1. Congratulations dancer-activists! This is amazing community work you are doing, using dance to link us together and amplify voices!

  2. What a cool way to help people residents tell their story and then amplify or celebrate experiences through video and dance. Really creative!

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