Dr. Celine Latulipe - Exploring the Design Space in Technology-Augmented Dance

Reference Information
Exploring the Design Space in Technology-Augmented Dance
 - Celine Latulipe, David Wilson, Sybil Huskey, Melissa Word, Arthur Carroll, Erin Carroll, Berto Gonzalez, Vikash Singh, Mike Wirth, and Danielle Lottridge
 - CHI 2010, Atlanta, Georgia

Summary
This paper discusses the latest presentation of the Dance.Draw project.  But first, it gives some background on the history of the project and the work leading up to its current state.

The Dance.Draw pilot performance. The dancers can be seen
holding the mice in their hands.

Dance.Draw started at UNC in January of 2008.  Its purpose is to coordinate the movements of dancers with visualizations.  These visualizations are projected onto a screen directly behind the dancers.  The first method for capturing the motion was with wireless Logitech Air mice that the dancers held during their performance.  Having to hold the capture devices hindered the options of the dancers, so they worked on finding a more convenient method.

Next, they used wired 3D accelerometers that were worn by the dancers.  Because of the wired nature of the system, they decided to use a pre-recorded visualization from the dancers in rehearsal.  This did, however, pave the way for the next iteration of the system.  This next iteration used a wireless sensing unit containing an accelerometer, as well as the option to use wireless gyroscopic mice.  The mice in this instance did not need to be held by the performers though.  They wanted to make the Dance.Draw software open to as many user inputs as possible, so this last configuration is a great start to reaching that goal.

The Bodies/Antibodies performance.

Discussion
I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed visualizations based on music, so this is a really neat idea.  Not that keeping dance and performance the same as it’s always been is bad, but I think it’s about time modern technology is added to mix things up a little.  It seems weird to me to be so surprised at technology like this, but this kind of goes for most things.  We have all grown up in a technical world, but it still feels like its full acceptance is being held back by the general populace.  If something is too foreign, there still seems to be too many who are happy with keeping things the way they are instead of trying something new.  It’s that same crowd that never thinks new things can trump the old tried and true things.

Another shot of the Bodies/Antibodies performance.

Hopefully you can understand what I mean, because I’m not sure if I’ve been clear enough.  I think this feeling will fade as our generation begins to replace the current ones that are in power.  Essentially, I view Dance.Draw as something that should be more prevalent.  It’s the kind of experimentation in creative mediums that should be embraced, if it is not already.  They have videos on the site of each performance, and I highly recommend checking them out if you’re curious.