Bridging abstract sound and dance ideas with technology: interactive dance composition as practice-based research

In this paper, I review recent interactive music and dance collaborations and discuss my composition interest in mapping sound to bodily movement in the field of computer music. I argue that the engineering perspective of this field of research should be broadened to include, in particular, creative composition processes in collaboration with professionally trained contemporary dancers. I then introduce my investigation into using the Gametrak controller to create choregraphic stimuli via the choreographic methods of the contemporary dance choreographers William Forsythe and Wayne McGregor, and set up a compositional model based on that proposed by the composer Simon Emmerson. Finally, I demonstrate how my research is articulated through a presentation of my original works.