At the Santa Barbara Institute for Performance Research, we explore the boundaries of performance through rigorous methodological inquiry. Our research spans traditional and experimental approaches, with a particular focus on cross-cultural exchange and innovative performance techniques.
Investigating how performers physically embody different cultural traditions and how these embodiments can be translated across cultural boundaries. This research examines the physiological and psychological aspects of performance techniques from diverse traditions.
Current projects include comparative studies of movement vocabularies across global performance traditions, including Asian physical theater, African dance forms, and Western contemporary practices, with attention to how embodied knowledge transfers across generations and cultural contexts.
Exploring how performance techniques and methodologies travel between cultures, transform, and create new hybrid forms. This research area examines the ethical dimensions of cultural exchange and appropriation in performance contexts.
Our scholars are currently documenting and analyzing performance exchanges between diverse global traditions, with emphasis on collaborative approaches that honor cultural origins while encouraging artistic innovation across geographic boundaries.
Examining how digital technologies are transforming performance practices and audience engagement. This research investigates virtual and augmented reality applications in performance, digital documentation methods, and technology-mediated audience experiences.
Ongoing initiatives include partnerships with technology centers in Asia, North America, and Europe to create innovative platforms for immersive performance experiences that connect artists and audiences across continents while preserving the authenticity of live performance.
Developing and evaluating innovative approaches to performance training that integrate diverse cultural traditions and contemporary methodologies. This research examines how performance skills are taught, learned, and assessed across different cultural contexts.
Our team is currently studying teaching methods in conservatories and performance institutions worldwide, from traditional Japanese theater schools to Latin American experimental academies, identifying effective practices that can be adapted for transcultural performance education.
The institute employs a range of research methodologies, combining traditional academic approaches with practice-based research. Our methodological framework includes:
This integrated approach allows us to generate knowledge that is both theoretically rigorous and practically applicable, bridging the gap between academic research and artistic practice.
Journal of Performance Studies, 45(2), 78-96
This study examines how embodied knowledge is transmitted across diverse cultural performance traditions, with particular focus on non-verbal communication methods in teaching and learning contexts.
International Journal of Performance Arts, 18(3), 112-130
A comparative analysis of intercultural performance methodologies developed through collaborative research residencies in Berlin, Tokyo, and Mexico City.
Performance and Technology Review, 7(1), 45-62
This article explores how digital technologies are reshaping concepts of presence and connection in performance contexts, drawing on case studies from digital performance initiatives across four continents.
The Santa Barbara Institute for Performance Research welcomes collaboration with researchers, artists, and institutions interested in exploring innovative performance methodologies. We offer various opportunities for engagement, from formal research partnerships to guest residencies.
Contact Our Research Team