Moving Minds uses research on critical thinking and dance expertise to help people become better decision-makers and problem solvers. We often attribute critical thinking competence to scientists, doctors and engineers, not artists and dancers. We see critical thinking as a fact-based, analytical skill rooted in reality. Dance, on the other hand, is about creativity, expression, and talent. What does critical thinking have to do with dance?
Critical thinking is not limited to scientific thinking or logic. We use critical thinking every time we face a perplexing situation without an immediate answer. It’s the process of evaluation we go through before we make decisions or try to solve a problem. It is not problem-solving or decision-making in and of itself. When we imagine and explore all of the possible solutions or outcomes to a problem or situation and then evaluate them to make a decision, we are using critical thinking.
Lesser-skilled critical thinkers tend to see decisions as binary, with one choice as flawed and the other as "right." They also see the answer to their problems as "out there." They express a lack of control over their choices and doubt that there is a benefit to imagining or exploring their options. They do not see the answer as a solution they can construct, but rather a predetermined outcome or option. For this reason, lesser-skilled critical thinkers often do not see the value in exploring the depth of outcomes within a given problem. Higher-skilled critical thinkers understand that there are multiple ways to look at any problem or situation and believe that doing so is worthwhile. They know that if they spend time reflecting and examining a situation, they will find new ways to think about it. Furthermore, they do not see the lack of a perfect solution as a reason to give up. They understand that although there isn't a right answer for their problem, there are still answers and outcomes that are better than others.
Dancers, as with any artist working in any medium, are highly skilled critical thinkers. Art is a process of decision-making. When someone is choreographing a dance, they make multiple decisions. There is an unlimited amount of possible ways to make that decision. Therefore, although there is rarely a right way to move, there are multiple possible ways to do so. The dancer knows that no one move will completely convey what they want to the audience, but there are better and more expressive ways to move than others.
To create and perform their work, dancers must take their ideas and embody them. Dancers are experts at embodying ideas. They do not only think about what a movement will look like, but also how it will feel. They explore the limits and restrictions of their body and know what discomfort to ignore and what pain must be respected. They take time to explore the sensations in their body to understand the best way to convey their ideas. They allow their bodies to stretch and move to the sensations they feel, as opposed to restricting them. On the surface, it might feel like these skills are not related to the decisions that we make in our everyday life. By exploring the process of dance and movement, we too can learn an embodied approach to critical thinking.
When it comes to critical thinking, one of the biggest deterrents is fear. Fear is a physical reaction in the body, not a thought in the mind. It is a signal our body sends to our brain. Our brain then reacts swiftly and mostly unconsciously. If the fear comes from a physical object, our brain will tell us to fight or flee. If the fear comes from an idea, our brain tells us to fight the idea or get it out of our heads. Just as an explorer can not be afraid to open doors and look around corners, when we are in the process of critical thinking, we can not be fearful of imagining, exploring, and examining all possibilities in front of us.
Dance is an excellent way to practice and study the feelings that startle us. Novelty, such as that found in a new problem, an unconventional idea, or a belief antithetical to ours, often triggers a fear response. When we are afraid of a problem, idea, or belief, we give up the opportunity to evaluate it and limit what is possible. In challenging their bodies to be expressive and flexible, dancers are not just getting better at what is already known; they open themselves and their audience to new ways of thinking and feeling.
In Moving Minds, we challenge participants to try different perspectives. We challenge them to expand their thinking about what they see and how they participate in it. We also challenge them to consider how each of these perspectives feels in their bodies. How is their body reacting when they are in vulnerable situations and how is that affecting their decision-making? We challenge participants to slow down and feel the feedback their bodies give them so that this information doesn't become a trigger for fight or flight, but an avenue to explore and find new perspectives.
Seeing critical thinking as a process that is just as much a dance as it is a scientific endeavor can help us become better decision-makers. It can remind us that most decisions are not about discovering or finding the solution to a problem. Critical thinking is an exploratory process that, in most cases, moves us incrementally towards a better understanding of what is in front of us. Like the dancer we can know that, although the possibilities can feel endless, there is value in taking time to explore them. We can also realize that our bodies have as much to tell us about these possibilities as our minds.