Last week was my first week of residency with Lucy Guerin Inc/WXYZ Studios. I am grateful for the opportunity to use this great space to start this creative project and thank the team for inviting me.
The project I am working on stems from my interest in and research into The Physical Language of Sound. I became curious about how one could reimagine performance by integrating a tactile audience experience through vibro-haptic technology. A few months ago, I came across the work being done by the company Music: Not Impossible in the USA. Inspired by the d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing community, they have developed a Vibrotextile™ wearable technology that translates sound into vibrations felt on the skin, offering a rich, inclusive experience when listening to music.
Fortunately, I found The Newmarket Collective in Melbourne, which had some of these vests. In November 2024, I met with Kylie Davis, Guus Goevenaars, and Michael Tudowaski from NMC to share my ideas and questions about the technology. They were immediately keen to collaborate and get on board!
In 2023, NMC partnered with Music: Not Impossible to introduce this groundbreaking platform to Australia, enhancing live performance experiences for d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing creatives and audiences. It has already been embraced by the music industry here and has received overwhelmingly positive feedback.
The vests consist of a body pack, wristbands, and ankle bands, with 24 touch points across the body. Intricate vibrations, programmed through specialised software, flow through these points with varying intensities, creating a high-definition, full-body sensory experience.
With this project, we wish to explore and pioneer the integration of this technology into contemporary dance performance. Working closely with sound engineers, composers, dancers, and audience members, I hope to research how vibrotactile technology can expand the language of dance—inviting audiences to experience movement beyond the visual, with the opportunity to listen through their skin.
Week 1 Research
This week, I was joined in the studio by the wonderful dancers Tayla Gartner and Angus Onley. I am so thankful to them for donating their time and energy to this project. Thank you so much, you two!
We were also joined by Michael Tudowaski, the genius haptic technician at NMC behind the programming of the vests. This week, Michael was busy getting the vests ready for the St Kilda Music Festival on Sunday, so a huge thanks to him for giving his spare time in between all of this to help me out.
These first few days were really about exploring and understanding how the vests and technology work. It is extremely nuanced and somewhat complicated. However, through trial and error, we are discovering exciting potential.
I began by experimenting with an existing piece of music that Michael had translated into the vests for me. From there, we played with adjusting the vibration intensities, levels, and rhythms.
The three main tasks I began exploring were:
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When the dancers wear the vests, how does this influence their movement? How does it inform a physical language? What does the observer feel when they are also wearing the vests and receiving the same stimulus as the dancers?
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How can we make the dancers’ touch and movement be mimicked inside the vibrations of the vests? Can the touch or movement of the wrist be matched and felt in the wristband that the audience is wearing? What frequency works best?
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How can we create movement and choreography that rhythmically and dynamically reflect the music and the rhythm felt inside the vests? What effect does this have on the observer?
We have come to understand that the integration of all three elements—tactile, sound, and visual—will be key to bringing this idea to life. This will require the sound artist, movement artist, and haptic technician to work simultaneously in each moment to enhance the experience. It will demand a refined collaboration between all three.
I will leave you with a quote by Evelyn Glennie, the world-renowned percussionist who just happens to be deaf:
“I don’t hear things, but I listen… And there is a big difference between hearing and listening. So it’s like a conversation, it’s one-on-one, and that’s exactly how I play.” — Evelyn Glennie
I invite you to watch her inspiring TED Talk, How to Truly Listen.
We had such a great time in the studio this week! Thank you again to everyone involved. I am already looking forward to getting back into it during our second and final week of residency from 3–7 March 2025.