New Jersey Stage menu

New Jersey Stage search button

Search website




COLUMNS | FEATURES | EVENT PREVIEWS
featured events

Roxey Ballet Participates in Rutgers Autism Study


originally published: 03/23/2023


Roxey Ballet Participates in Rutgers Autism Study

(FRENCHTOWN, NJ) -- Roxey Ballet is honored to be participating in an Autism research study with Rutgers University and the NJ Autism Center of Excellence, contributing data via movement and motion for their upcoming international conference, "Rethinking Autism for the 21st Century". The study is being led by Professor Elizabeth B. Torres, PhD, Director of the Sensory Motor Integration Lab at Rutgers and features a creative partnership with Mark Roxey, Artistic Director of Roxey Ballet, and his artists, with the purpose of learning more about the Autism spectrum from a multidisciplinary perspective, through the fields Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Seeking to create a connection between movement, motion, and a positive pathway for people living with Autism, the collaboration with Roxey Ballet involves placing sensors on the bodies of Roxey Ballet company dancers, allowing for their avatars to appear on the computer screen and display their movements in real time. New methods to infer the internal states of the dancers will be created as the readouts from their bodies in motion, heart rate variability, and bodily kinematics are displayed from across a grid of sensors that are distributed from head to toe. Analysis of the collected data will be made from the emotions felt as the dancers move together as a duet or singularly. As part of the collaborative process, the dancers will be wearing custom-made unitards to embed the sensors and streamline the setup and calibration process before rehearsals, allowing for a choice of sensors and avatars to be projected during the seminar. The ultimate goal of the study is to gain non-verbal data which will translate to personalized treatment for autistic individuals.

A core piece of Roxey Ballet’s mission is to welcome and educate artists with disabilities, cultural diversity, and of varying genders, and promote equality for their greater fulfillment and experience. Says Mark Roxey, "I believe that the best way to learn how to serve all people is to be in action around what people need and how to best create extraordinary experiences through dance. Having this information and knowledge will allow us to propel our work forward and grow our footprint in serving all people. We are so very excited to discover what is unknown about our work."

Roxey Ballet Participates in Rutgers Autism Study

The convergence of art and science in this study has formed new relationships in more ways than one. "Working with the Roxey Ballet has been a mind-blowing experience," says Dr. Torres. "The beauty and creativity of their choreographies surpass any expectations from our team. We envision working together to create a new form of digital gestural language for ballet, where the complex motion patterns of dancing partners and groups can be spelled out as symbols and combinations to express emotional and social constructs. Mark and the dancers will teach us their moves and we will turn them into continuous streams of digital data and information exchange to help us build a communication system. This non-verbal (gestural) communication system will then be used to lend a voice to neurodivergent people who also speak through the rhythms of their bodies in constant motion."

The NJACE conference, "Rethinking Autism for the 21st Century", will be held on April 16 from 9:00am-6:00pm at Rutgers University, 70 College Ave, New Brunswick, NJ. There will be a live-streamed performance by Roxey Ballet during the conference. To learn more register to attend visit https://njace.us/njace-conference/.



 
Advertise with New Jersey Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info









EVENT CALENDAR

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

David Sedaris

Tuesday, October 03, 2023 @ 7:30pm
Count Basie Center for the Arts
99 Monmouth Street, Red Bank, NJ 07701
category: comedy


Click here for full description

Gipsy Kings featuring Nicolas Reyes

Tuesday, October 03, 2023 @ 8:00pm
Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) - Cauldwell Playground
1 Clyde Potts Dr, Morristown, NJ 07960
category: music


Click here for full description

Jake Shimabukuro

Tuesday, October 03, 2023 @ 7:30pm
The Vogel
99 Monmouth Street, Red Bank, NJ 07701
category: music


Click here for full description

Tuesday Night Record Club - Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Tuesday, October 03, 2023 @ 7:30pm
Monmouth University - The Great Hall
400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
category: music


Click here for full description

Livin’ It Right

Tuesday, October 03, 2023 @ 11:00am
Grunin Center
1 College Drive, Toms River, NJ 08754
category: music


Click here for full description

Seong Jin Cho

Tuesday, October 03, 2023 @ 8:30pm
Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC)
30 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ 07631
category: music


Click here for full description

Laughs In The Loft

Wednesday, October 04, 2023 @ 7:30pm
The Loft @ South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC)
One Sopac Way, South Orange, NJ 07079
category: comedy


Click here for full description

Steve Hofstetter

Wednesday, October 04, 2023 @ 7:00pm
Stress Factory Comedy Club
90 Church Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: comedy


Click here for full description



For more event listings, click here





more in dance


 

 


New Jersey Stage © 2023 by Wine Time Media, LLC | PO Box 140, Spring Lake, NJ 07762 | info@newjerseystage.com

Nobody covers the Arts throughout the Garden State like New Jersey Stage!

Images used on this site have been sent to us from publicists, artists, and PR firms.
If there is a problem with the rights to any image, please contact us and we will look into the matter.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, and on our RSS feed




Art | Comedy | Dance | Film | Music | Theatre | Ad Rates | About Us | Pitch a Story | Links | Radio Shows | Privacy Policy