Creating the DanceHere blog is one way that we can share our love of dance through technology.

For the students and faculty at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, using gyroscopic computer mice to capture the motions of dancers is another way to combine technology and dance.

Dance.Draw is a large collaborative project headed by Dr. Celine Latulipe of UNC Charlotte’s Software and Information Systems (SIS) Department and Professor Sybil Huskey of UNC Charlotte’s Department of Dance.

How Dance.Draw Works

Three UNC Charlotte dancers participate in each Dance.Draw performance. Each dancer holds two Logitech MX Air mice, one mouse in each hand. The Logitech MX Air mouse does not need to rest on a hard surface in order to track movements, much like the Wii Remote wireless controller used with the Nintento Wii game system.

When each mouse detects movement, it sends information about the motion to a computer. The computer then turns the input from each mouse into a moving, abstract image that is projected onto a giant screen behind the dancers.

The Visual Result

The dancers’ movements produce abstract images such as flowing lines of glowing dots, revolving polygons, and other simple shapes. These shapes are the digital abstractions of human motion.

Professor Huskey told DanceHere that her interest in Dance.Draw is to create “dance in conjunction with the kinetic visuals.” For Huskey, and for the scientists working on this project, Dance.Draw isn’t just about technology. It’s about delivering a unified experience to the audience.

Possibilities for Technology in Dance

Dance.Draw is a fascinating performance to watch. But beyond that, it shows that we can combine art and technology to bring new audiences into an appreciation for dance.

“I think dancers should avail themselves of opportunities to work with technology,” Huskey said. “I am just beginning to see the possibilities.”

Other projects that have used motion capture to study dance offer applications outside of performance. These include the Web 3-D Dance Research Project, headed by PhD Asako Soga of Ryukoku University in Otsu, Japan. Since 2000, Soga and his team have been using motion capture to create web-based software systems for choreography.

“The integration of live dance and technology will be a part of the future of the art form. It is also interesting to venture into new territory.”

Huskey told us that her dancers, who were excellent improvisers and performers, enjoyed working on Dance.Draw.

Future Dance.Draw Performances

In the fall, Huskey will again be working with UNC’s SIS Department. They have held three exploratory sessions this summer, and rehersal will begin in late August. The performances will be held in November.

Visit the Dance.Draw project’s site to watch a video of a performance. Or,view a slide-show of performance images in the project’s gallery.

The UNC Charlotte Department of Software and Information Systems, the UNC Charlotte Center for Humanities, Technology and Science, the UNC Charlotte Department of Dance and Theatre, and the Charlotte Visualization Center all support the Dance.Draw project.

(Photo: Singh-Latulipe, Rob. “Dance.Draw.” 7 May 2008. Online image. Dance.Draw. 10 June 2008. <http://www.sis.uncc.edu/~clatulip/DanceDraw/Gallery.html#grid>.)