Embodiment explores the nature of spatial perception through movement, sound, and light. By rendering the relationship between body and space with light and sound, Embodiment achieves a sort of synesthesia; where innate spatial perception is augmented by heightened engagement of the visual and aural senses. Using dance to spatialize sound and light in concert with the architectural features of the Bass Concert Hall, Emobodiment transforms the history, architecture, function, and materiality of the building into the content of the performance.
An array of six motion sensors are placed at ground level; circumscribing the space below the balcony. These ‘Kinect’ sensors, typically used to control video games, use infrared light to detect human movements within a three dimensional field. Embodiment adapts an open source software development kit to translate the Kinect signal into a MIDI signal that will control both sound and lighting boards. Lights and speakers, carefully placed to highlight key architectural elements, can then be closely controlled by the dancer. This system provides a wide range of expressive subtlety; the dancer’s position determines the location of sound and light while her gesture determines their expression.
