Dr Sarah Thomas
School of Architecture and Built Environment
College of Creative Arts, Design and Humanities
Artist website www.sarahneville.com
Sarah Neville is an artist / practitioner whose research is in the area of the transmission and transfer of embodied knowledge in immersive digital simulation environments. Her research is informed by her background in contemporary dance and movement practices and kept up to date through networks in the field of human factors. Sarah has an honours degree from Flinders University in Theatre and Film and a Research Masters in Creative Industries from The Queensland University of Technology. In 2022 Sarah completed a Co-tutelle PhD at both Deakin University and Coventry University in dance digitisation, investigating how people learn through embodied knowledge in immersive simulation environments and what type of processes are involved. Fieldwork was undertaken in Australia and Europe across healthcare, aviation and rail as well as arts-based practices. Current research projects are looking at how embodied knowledge can inform and transform work-based training for immersive simulation industry applications. In 2019 Sarah was an invited artist for a Public Art Commission at the European Centre of Culture’s exhibition at the Venice Biennale. In 2020 Sarah was a recipient of Arts SA fellowship, creating new work for Dance and Virtual Reality. In 2024, Sarah was resident artist at Assemblage, Centre for Artistic Research Flinders University, developing inclusive AR applications for mobility and creativity
Publications
Peng, F., Neville, S., Maher, C., Du, T., Windsor, T. D., & Eckert, M. (2025). Intergenerational Arts Programs for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Communities: A Scoping Review. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/15350770.2025.2584530
Peng, F., & Neville, S. (2025). Designing intergenerational play space: a scoping review. Design for Health, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/24735132.2025.2506852
Peng, Fanke, Maher, Carol, Windsor, Tim, Du, Tina, Turnball, Deborah, Eckert, Marion, Gu, Ning, Thomas, Sarah, Luksch, Eric 2024 'Co-Designing an Intergenerational Arts Program for South Australian Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Communities', Australia https://doi.org/10.25954/9n71-5965
Neville, S., 2024. Embodied participation: Dance knowledge informing workplace training. Journal of Dance Studies and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1386/jdsp_00127_1
Neville, S., DeGaris, A., Hawksley, S., Malani, D. and Thomas, M., 2024. Digital kinship in a Glasshouse. International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, pp.1-14.DOI: 10.1080/14794713.2024.2429531
Dooley, K., Peng, F., Neville, S., & McKibbin, J. (2024). Mind the gap: A scoping review of skills gaps for graduates in the creative industries. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 23(4), 330-349. https://doi.org/10.1177/14740222241276166
Neville, S., Thomas, M., DeGaris, A., Hawksley, S. and Malani, D., 2022. Glasshouse: A Dance for Virtual Reality: Glasshouse-A three part virtual reality experience for Oculus Quest 2. In ACM SIGGRAPH 2022 Immersive Pavilion (pp. 1-2).
Neville Thomas, S., 2021. Immersive Participation: Futuring, Training Simulation and Dance and Virtual Reality (Doctoral dissertation, Deakin University).
Neville, S,. 2 May 2020, Online article:Virtual Stages for Dance, Delving into Dance, https://www.delvingintodance.com/dwords/virtual-stages-for-dance?rq=sarah%20neville
Neville, S.L., 2003. Choreographing newmedia dance through the creation of the dance project, Ada (Doctoral dissertation, Queensland University of Technology).
Conferences
21-29 June 2024, Evocation, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre; ISEA 2024 Everywhen Queensland, Australia; Sarah Neville Thomas (UniSA Creative), choreographer ; Alex DeGaris-Boot (UniSA Creative), designer ; Matthew Thomas (Central Queensland University), composer ; Sue Hawksley (Articulate Animal), performer
2023 Conference Presentation, Symbiosis in a Glasshouse, Dance Studies Association, North Western University, USA
2023 Conference Presentation, Dance Knowledge informing simulation for work-place training, Dance and Somatic Practice Conference, Coventry University, UK
22 April 2022, Glasshouse, Demonstration, ANAT's SPECTRA, Science Museum, Melbourne
13th November 2020, Embodied Cognition in Dance for Virtual Reality, Technart: Art and Technology International Conference, California, USA
15-17 July 2020, Spheres a Dance for Virtual Reality, 7th International Conference for Movement and Computing, Practice Works: (Virtual), New Jersey, USA, https://vimeo.com/436736957
2020 Embodied Cognition in Dance for Virtual Reality, Conference Presentation, Technart: Art and Technology Conference, Conference presentation (virtual), Bilbao, Spain
19-21 February 2020, Spheres a Dance for Virtual Reality, Electric Dreams Conference, Adelaide Fringe Festival, Lot 14, Adelaide
27-29 June 2019, Audit Traces, Bodies of Knowledge: Art and Embodied Cognition, Deakin University
27-28 September 2017, Transmission of Dance Knowledge in Digital SimulationmEnvironments, Dance in the Digital Domain, National Dance Forum, Ausdance, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne
Current Research
2023-5 Research Associate to Associate Professor Fanke Peng, University of South Australia –Intergenerational Arts Projects for Culturally and Linguistic Diverse Communities
2023 Research Assistant to Associate Professor Kath Dooley and Associate Professor Fanke Peng, University of South Australia – Scoping Review, Identifying Skills Gaps in Creative Industries Graduates.
2022 Research Assistant to Associate Professor Kath Dooley, University of South Australia – Creative, researching development and funding opportunities for narrative virtual reality.
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 - 2025 | Research Associate | University of South Australia |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 - 2022 | Deakin University | United Kingdom | PhD |
| 1998 - 2001 | Queensland University of Technology | Australia | MA Research |
| 1990 - 1994 | Flinders University | Australia | BA Hons |
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South Australian Contemporary Dance Sector Initiative, Arts SA, 29/09/2023 - 15/01/2024
