Sensor Suit for Modern Dance Performance

Dancers have been some of the earliest adopters of wearable technology, embedding sensors in costumes typically to trigger playback of media. Often in these high-tech dance performances it is difficult to decipher the “cause and effect”, resulting in a seemingly superfluous use of technology. Standing Waves, a performance system that uses wearable sensors allowing a dancer to control sound, is a rare example of a dance performance that poetically (and successfully) integrates wearable technology into the performance. As the dancer ripples across the stage a la the modern balletic style of Merce Cunningham, she controls the sound by exposing or hiding the light sensors integrated in her costume. The interplay between physical movement and acoustics is beautiful to watch. Read more about the project here.