VIBES - An Immersive Dance-Film Project (2021 - present)

VIBES is a dance-film that combines body percussion, a vibrating floor, and the screen, resulting in a haptic experience where audiences can feel the musical performance that they see. 

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In May 2021 using MDF, bass shakers and gaffer tape, we created a prototype vibrotactile floor that was programmed to work alongside a body percussion dance-film. This was commissioned by and made in partnership with Pavilion Dance South West (PDSW) in Bournemouth, UK. The film featured three male performers of varying ages, races and abilities; including Parkinson's dancer Rob Cossou and ex-’Stomp!’ performers, Shae Carroll and Omari 'Motion' Carter.

Standing on the floor to watch the film, the viewers can feel every beat of the dancer projected in front of you. Vibrotactile technology is not new, but the use specifically with dance and body percussion, we believe, is.

The vibrotactile floor is its own medium - one that has the potential to be explored in relation to spaces and organisations that are interested in immersive works that bridge the gap between live, digital and sensorial viewing possibilities. Having completed it’s second phase of research and development, we’d like to build a floor robust enough to tour, providing a unique ‘platform’ for content.

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In February 2022, we partnered with PSDW for a second research and development period commissioned by The Space. We worked with Mark Smith of Deaf Men Dancing and planned a 4 day R&D focused on the intersection of body percussion, the vibrotactile floor, and working with a deaf dancer – Hearns Sebuado. We filmed the whole process – from putting the floor together, to learning choreography, to navigating how the floor felt for Hearns with the Soundbrenner Pulse (a wearable metronome) and filming a final piece that can be played back and experienced through the vibrotactile floor.