Dance-inspired Technology, Technology-inspired Dance - Reading Assignment

The focus of the paper surrounded five basic principles for making interactive dance. The principles include connected kinetics, augmented expression, aesthetic harmony, interactive build, and integrated process. The overall idea surrounding these design principles is to create a cohesive piece between technology and dance without overshadowing the other. In class, we discussed the dance being built first and then adding technology to enhance the piece. This was the main focus in each of the pieces talked about in the paper.

There were many different types of technology used in the pieces discussed. Accelerometers, microphones, gyroscopic computer mice, and an overhead camera to track the dancers. It was interesting to read how they used the microphones for audience interaction. One quote explained how a cough from the audience would create a visual effect on the projection. Each piece incorporated different technologies, but were able to work synchronously with the choreographer in creating a cohesive piece.

Sketch 2

This sketch was more difficult due to the time constraint of a week and a half. We worked on using multiple Kinects to create more width and used projection mapping on both the floor and the wall. The idea was to have a piano-like concept projected on the floor which would light up and play a sound when I stepped on that portion. This sound would disrupt the music notes projected on the wall and cause them to flock towards me in retaliation.

We had issues with the multiple Kinect system due to different display settings on multiple different computers. The main issue was syncing my steps up with hitting the correct portion on the floor. We were able to get a prototype up and running, but there were still kinks that needed to be worked out. Unfortunately, this process took longer than we thought and I was unable to work with the system until a couple hours before the performance.