Sounds of Intent in Art, Dance and Drama

The possibility of perceived structures being created through imitation in domains other than sound was acknowledged early on in the development of zygonic theory (Ockelford, 1993, 1999), and connections and correspondences between auditory stimuli and input from other sensory domains were subsequently acknowledged in the Sounds of Intent Framework. More: Elements Matrix DOC 1 The theory underlying such correspondences is set out here. More: index DOC 65 The potential parallels between artistic organisation in the sensory domains were first studied systematically in an evaluation by Angela Voyajolu of the work of the UK charity ‘Innersense’ – http://innersense.org.uk – which offered immersive, multisensory creative arts workshops for people with disabilities. Three new frameworks were sketched at Levels 1–4, pertaining to sight, touch and movement. [LINK TO Innersense Report in ‘Reports and Evaluations’] This preliminary thinking was developed further into frameworks with six Levels pertaining to the fine arts (painting, drawing and sculpture); movement, gesture, mime and dance; and language and drama. It was eventually published in an essay by Adam Ockelford (2020) ‘Extending the Sounds of Intent model of musical development to explore how people with learning difficulties engage in creative multisensory activities’. More: index DOC 66 More: index DOC 67 More: index DOC 68

Empirical work to test the efficacy and value of two of these frameworks – relating to dance and art – at Levels 1–4 with children and young people with profound and multiple learning difficulties was undertaken by Jenny Cooper at The Village School in London. [LINKS TO Jenny Cooper’s two papers in ‘Dissertations and Essays’] As a result, some modifications to the framework pertaining to art ‘Marks of Intent’, were suggested [LINK TO Marks of Intent Framework, suggested modifications, 2016] and preliminary work was undertaken on defining ‘elements’ A, B, C and D at Levels 1–3 in relation to art. [LINK TO Marks of Intent Elements, Levels 1–3, 2017] The framework pertaining to art, is to be found here More: index DOC 66; that relating to dance, here More: index DOC 67; and that for drama, poetry and prose, here More: index DOC 68.

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