When I trained, movement analysis was meant to be descriptive, not interpretative. But no one wants a movement analysis. Clients want to dance better, eliminate back pain, or understand their own movement patterns. In other words, they want our movement analyses to yield meaningful results.
Consequently, I have come to believe that the job of the analyst is not over until he/she has made sense of what has been observed.
In fact, we do this all the time, for our movement impressions inevitably influence the informal judgments we make about other people (whether we are aware of this or not).
Greater mindfulness is needed, however, when we use movement observation and analysis to make formal judgments – in teaching, coaching, counselling, hiring, and/or experimental research. Here are three suggestions to keep in mind:
1) Movement behavior should be observed and coded systematically,
2) The resulting data should be interpreted in ways that are explicit and transparent,
3) The meanings derived from movement analysis should be accessible and sensible to our clients.