Photo from Betsy Coker's project
Faculty: Elizabeth (Betsy) Coker
Supported by the TSOA Dean’s Faculty Research Grant
Coker's research is concentrated on how elite dancers control their balance in dynamic visual and auditory environments characterized by the use of stage lighting and music. While most balance research relies on laboratory-bound technologies like 3D optic motion capture and embedded force plates, Coker creates methods for assessing balance in real-world performance environments.
Her recent research set the foundation for this translation from lab to real-world settings by investigating increasingly portable and flexible motion tracking technologies. This current study combines biomechanical research-grade motion trackers with onstage lighting and sound to better understand how elite dancers execute challenging balance tasks while integrating various sensory information in real-world performance environments.