Monday, January 25, 2010

Empathy Can be Taught Experientially


Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice,
Contributor Features


"The goal (of the inquiry) has a practical outcome; to develop methodologies whereby empathy must be taught experientially as part of the nursing curriculum."

"In the performance....we rehearsed the actions over and over but my initial emotional response to this action resolutely refused to be erased by professional discipline and remained, therefore, as a moment of empathic encounter in performance. We let it remain as it was in the piece...a moment of vulnerability, anger and uncertainty which was awkward and ungainly, charged with fear. As a performer I always approached this moment with trepidation because it made me feel like I was out of control, at risk..which was, of course, precisely as it should be."
April Nunes Tucker, Amanda Price





Graduates from the Performing Arts Degree Course University of Bedfordshire UK


April Nunes Tucker works as a Lecturer in Dance at the University of Bedfordshire in the United Kingdom. She holds an MA in Dance from the Laban Centre, London and a BA in Dance from The University of California Irvine. She is currently completing a practice-based PhD in Dance at Middlesex University, UK. Her research interests include: performance and reflective practice, site-specific choreography, Butoh and the influences of somatic practice such as yoga on contemporary dance techniques.

Dr. Amanda Price works as a Principal Lecturer in Theatre at The University of Bedfordshire in The United Kingdom. She holds an MA in Theatre from The University of Leeds and her PhD offered a comparative analysis of contemporary playwrights in Africa and the UK. She is a founding member of
Famous & Divine, a theatre company committed to exploring our contemporary relationship to the "uncanny". Her research interests include performance and reflective practice, energy and transformation in performance.