Methods for Capturing Creative Knowledge in Dance and the Arts (Cases of London, Barcelona and San Diego)

Visual analysis in sociology is not a new phenomenon, but it remains controversial, especially in the sociology of the arts. Choosing the right method should go along with a reflexive construction of the object. I propose a comparative analysis of visual ethnographies on film, dance and synchronized swimming, in Barcelona, San Diego and London, which began in 2008 and are still ongoing. I suggest moving part of this instrumental debate from the methodological level to that of research design. As recent developments from cognitive science and embodied cognition put forward, the production of knowledge extends beyond the individual agent and is embedded in functional, technical and communicative patterns of interaction. I present here an integrated model to capture knowledge in its natural settings, namely, in the set, the studio and the swimming pool. By using the tools offered by new technology such as ELAN software on linguistic analysis, I show that qualitative sociological observation of the arts can include analog as well as audiovisual methods. Moreover, I make explicit the architectural principles that define the functions and application of these tools in order to select the best coding strategy. Finally, I pinpoint the particular advantages of this integrated model for looking at compared artistic settings, which are messy, complex and uncertain environments for work.