Hara's Dance Classes
Oxford and Athens based Dance Teacher
My Research
I am Hara Kyriazi; I am a Greek woman, wife, mother, dance artist, archaeologist, scholar. It was October 2022 when my research journey started, and through my MA dissertation, alongside an online virtual gallery ‘The Flamingo’s pink colour’, I am welcoming you into the world of this two-year research journey. ​​​​​
During year one (2022-2023), I was investigating the relationship between motherhood and performing; the ways in which the mother’s identity could be brought into my dance practice. In this broad question, I wanted to explore the notable changes I experienced becoming a mother. Referring to my studies in archaeology, I considered myself as a series of layers such as embodiment (Merleau-Ponty (1962 [1945]; Tanaka, 2011; Abercrombie et al., 2000), identity (Stern, Bruschweiler-Stern and Freeland, 1998; Susan Leigh Foster, 1992; Mainwaring, 2019; Roche, 2011), kinaesthetic awareness and empathy (Susan Leigh Foster, 2011; Sklar, 1994), and love (Ruddick, 1980; Gerhardt, 2004). I explored the ways in which my embodied pregnant self, and the understanding of my identity while dancing pregnant and then again with my two-year-old daughter were sources for my art making. During this research, I found an unspoken way of bonding (Hussain et al., 2018, Bardosono et al., 2017) with my daughter through dance and overcoming difficulties that might arise in our everyday life and importantly, I approached more profound issues such as her stammering (Kyriazi, 2023). In other words, I turned my everyday life into research.
After conducting my year one research, I took all the ‘findings’ from this discovery to the ‘laboratory’ for further investigation. In year two (2023-2024), I wondered if I could develop a dance practice or workshop ‘technique’ for triggering emotions in the performer before a dance performance and test this technique on participants, who are not necessarily parents. I wanted the participants to consider their everyday life, for inspiration to enhance their expressivity on stage. I conducted experimental workshops; the foundation of this work was research into neuroscience as a tool to activate and induce emotions in the participants. As stated by Bläsing, Puttke and Schack, ‘science investigates the invisible, art makes us experience it’ (2010, p.241). My research gets a broader perspective and spreads into a wider context; people who do not have a family or do not plan to have a family in the future can resonate, as they could understand the dancers/parents in a deeper, more empathetic way.
The online virtual reality gallery ‘The Flamingo’s pink colour’ accompanies and completes the written dissertation so the reader can have a better understanding of my two-year research project.