Digital Input

Rehearsal 3_The Basement

In the third rehearsal for Digital Tattoo we started the day by working with digital dance specialist Nic Sandiland, who you can read about in more detail at the bottom of this blog post. He was to introduce myself and my collaborators to the new world of Isadora, a live interactive performance tool.

Initially we spoke about what I wanted to achieve from using the software and the key points I would want it to include it within the piece. Did I want it to fit onto the whole shape of the dancer, did I want it to be interactive and where did I want the projection to project upon? He then showed me how to design what is called a ‘patch’ in Isadora by connecting an input, with an affect to an output via signal wires to create a result. Although it was a lot to take in and the possibilities involved through the introduction of Isadora were immense, I went away from the session feeling excited about how this could add to the work and am excited to try using Isadora with proper dimensions and with the choreography in the next session.

This rehearsal was also the first rehearsal that composer Tom Sayers had attended. We therefore spent the afternoon working with some of the stems he had created, extending the music and working on the transitions between sections.

About Nic:

Nic Sandiland is a UK based artist whose work explores new choreographic forms through installation, performance and film. He originally trained as an electronics engineer before studying dance and performance in the late 80s. His work has been commissioned by the Royal Festival Hall, the Barbican Arts Centre, Sadler’s Wells Theatre and is a regular collaborator with choreographers Yael Flexer and Rosemary Lee. His film work has been shown worldwide and regularly broadcast on UK TV (Channel 4).

Nic taught on the MA dance for camera at LCDS and is currently a senior lecturer in fine art at Middlesex University.