Dancers interact with computer video imagery

Invisible Walls is an dance with interactive sound and computer animation. The first performance of Invisible Walls was at Grinnell College in April, 2001. The VNS motion tracking system enabled dancers to influence the sound and video. NATO programming was used to influence the playback (start, stop, repeat) of video.

The choreography was structured for a group of the performers to control the sonic and visual elements through their movement together , thereby creating an an environment referred to as "Active Space". An Active Space environment comes to life when movement and computer-based interaction are present and responsive to each other.

During the performance of Invisible Walls, ten dancers performed with three abstract representations of three pre-recorded counterparts. The previously recorded dance was videotaped in a blue screen room at University of California, Irvine. Abstract multi-colored images were then created in collaboration with John Crawford from the flow of the live dance using Adobe After Effects software. The abstract dance imagery was projected behind the performers, creating the illusion of walls or fluid edges that cast in the moment of action with dancers, enabled real-time events between projected imagery and dancers. Interactive sound in collaboration with Chris Dobrian and NATO Programming in collaboration with John Jannone.

See the performance web album and animation web album and Active Space technical diagram for more on this project.