As I continued developing the home fitness idea, I started to feel like it wasn’t something I was fully connecting with. Although the concept had potential, I wasn’t completely confident in the direction and didn’t feel particularly invested in it. It began to feel quite broad and similar to existing fitness solutions, which made it harder to define something unique or meaningful.
After discussing this with my lecturer, I was encouraged to reflect on areas that felt more personal and relevant to me. This led me to reconsider my own background and experiences, particularly my involvement in dance from a young age. Dance was something I had a much stronger connection to, and it felt like a more natural and engaging direction to explore.
During this conversation, we began to brainstorm how technology could be applied within dance training. This is where the idea of a smart mirror started to develop. The concept built on elements from my earlier exploration, such as feedback, personalisation, and real-time interaction, but applied them in a more focused and meaningful context.
This shift in direction felt much more aligned with my interests and allowed me to move forward with a clearer sense of purpose. It also created a stronger foundation for the project, as it combined both personal experience and previously explored ideas into a more defined and relevant concept.
As I continued developing the direction towards dance, I began to think more specifically about the challenges within training that could be explored further. A key influence here was my sister’s experience with dance, particularly her journey through training and injury.
Through observing this, it became clear how closely linked technique and injury prevention are. Small issues in alignment, posture, or landing technique can easily go unnoticed during classes, but over time can lead to more serious problems. This reinforced the idea that many injuries are not sudden, but instead develop gradually due to repeated mistakes or lack of correction.
It also highlighted how difficult it can be for dancers to fully understand and apply feedback. Corrections are often given verbally and quickly, making them easy to forget or misinterpret, especially in busy class environments. As a result, dancers may continue practising with incorrect technique without realising it.
Another important aspect was the impact of injury on confidence. Seeing how injury can affect both physical ability and mindset made it clear that prevention is just as important as recovery. Supporting dancers in building correct technique early on could help reduce both the risk of injury and the fear that can come with it.
This shifted the focus of the project further, from general dance support to something more specific. Rather than just improving performance, the emphasis became about helping dancers understand their technique more clearly and supporting safer movement over time.
