Moving Data, Spinning Stories

This workshop brings datasets out of the screen and into the body! I’ll be teaching four foundational hula hoop moves; each of which creates a shape - circle, cylinder (bar graphs in 3D), sphere and infinity. The hoop becomes a visual, tactile and kinesthetic tool to communicate information. We’ll also play with elements like speed, force, position and orientation. No prior movement or hula hoop experience is required!

We’ll make a moving data selfie out of these tricks! Each trick will be mapped to a question of identity. We will first get to paper and draw the shapes the hoop is making, turning that into a data selfie. Then we'll also make a video collage of the different tricks and what they indicate about the participant.

This session is grounded in the third principle of Data Feminism - Elevate Emotion and Embodiment, which speaks about valuing multiple forms of knowledge, including those that come from our lived, bodily experiences. By engaging with data through movement, we will challenge the traditional notion that data is purely objective and recognize the power of emotion and embodiment in understanding and communicating data!

Intended takeaways:

Learn a new, kinesthetic way to tell data stories Explore data performance, collaboratively! Hula hoop tricks that act as building blocks for motion-based data storytelling!

This session is for anyone working at the intersection of data, design, and meaning-making - educators, artists, analysts, movement practitioners, visual storytellers, or anyone curious about reimagining their relationship with information.