Dansathon - Digital Umbilical (part 2)

After more than a year of (spare time) development, and having received a small amount of funding from the Arts Council of England we were ready for our three scheduled shows. The first, at Sadlers’ Wells in London, is documented in this short video.

Selected members of the audience are seated on stools in the dance space and connected to ear-clip heartrate monitors. Their individual heartbeats are sent across the network to a VVVV application which triggers samples in Ableton Live. Each of the dancers is also fitted with a heartrate monitor that communicates via wifi, and a wireless mic to record their breathing. As the performance unfolds the environment - light and sound - respond to the sensor data as the performers and audience interact with each other.

As part of this research into technology and performance we also fitted one audience member with EEG sensors to monitor the signals produced by the brain during the performance.

This experimental artwork was supported by Sadlers Wells, BNP Paribas and the Arts Council. Sadlers Wells have commissioned an online version of the piece for their Autumn 2021 programme.

For more information about the project visit our website at bodyintelligence.art