‘Sound Skeleton’: Interactive transformation of improvised dance movements into a spatial sonic disembodiment

Abstract

This article discusses some aspects and ideas of the practice based Ph.D. research project ‘Sound Skeleton’, an interactive ChoreoSonic environment in which the spatiality of dance movements will be transformed into a real-time 3D spatial sound composition. The project resides in the fields of interactive ambisonic surround sound design, contemporary improvised dance, wireless electronic tracking systems and computer programming. Several spatial observations referring to movement theorist Laban and psycho-acoustic scientist Blauert are reviewed and integrated in the project development. The Data Interpreting Methodology (DIM) is introduced as the mapping procedure that is developed in ‘Sound Skeleton’. As a conclusion of this article several parametric mapping models are presented. A virtual spatial sound body outside the dancing body is created: ‘a choreography of a spatial sonic disembodiment’.