IN PLANE (1994)
Premiered: Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
Choreography/Performer: Dawn Stoppiello
Music: Mark Coniglio
MidiDancer Sensory Suit & LaserDisc Technology: Mark Coniglio
Commissioning Partners: ASU – Institute for Studies in the Arts, The Yellow Springs Institute, and the Walker Art Center.
DESCRIPTION
Which is more powerful: the human dancer or her virtual dopplegänger? In Plane is a duet for a dancer and her video image representation. The dance used the MidiDancer system to allow the performer to control the generation of music, the recall of video images, the theatrical lighting, and the movements of a robotically controlled video projector.
The MidiDancer was developed by Mark Coniglio in 1989. In Plane uses MidiDancer v2 which is a costume embedded with eight flex sensors at the elbows, wrists, hips, and knees. The sensors measure the flexion and extension at these joints and send Midi signals wirelessly back to the computer via a pack worn on the performer’s belly. The movements of the performer control aspects of the sonic score, the playback of video images from a LaserDisc, and the lateral movement of a video projector placed on a track along the edge of the stage.
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
Watch Full Performance Video (11m)
Watch Walker Art Center Premier – 1994 (13m)
REVIEWS
“…the program’s [Dance Kaleidoscope] most original piece may have been Dawn Stoppiello’s solo ‘In Plane’ for Troika Ranch…she interacted with video images of herself in intriguing live-versus-tape duets.” – LA Times
“…a collaboration that we usually only dream about… The result was a young team with total integrity and commitment to their work. Watch out for these two.” – Computer Music Journal