What would musical instruments designed for dancers look like?

They would allow for new forms of movement as well as music performance, and would be played not only with the hands but with the dancer’s whole body. They would become an extension of the body, figuratively and literally, bringing into being new opportunities for gestural expression. They would fill roles as costume, staging, lighting, performer.



The Prosthetic Instruments were designed to provide real-time musical performance through the use of wireless sensor technologies – but they do much more than this. They also allow for an exploration of new forms of gestural performance. Whether held in the hand or attached to the body, the forms of the instruments suggest postures, movement, and choreography. When wearing the instruments, the dancers are forced to change their kinaesthetic conception, coming to terms with the limitations and possibilities of these strange new appendages.




Credits
Concepteurs et développeurs d’instruments | Instrument Designers and Developers : Ian Hattwick, Joseph Malloch, Marlon Schumacher
Directeur de la recherche et du développement | Director of research and development : Marcelo Wanderley
Directrice artistique | Artistic director : Isabelle Van Grimde
Directeur musical | Musical director : Sean Ferguson
Créé avec et dansé par | Created with and performed by : Sophie Breton, Soula Trougakos
Costumes : Pascale Bassani
Acknowledgements
Funding provided by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture, the McGill Dawson Chair (Wanderley), and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology. Thanks to Anthony Picciacci for his assistance.
Publications
Ian Hattwick, Joseph Malloch and Marcelo M. Wanderley [2014]. Forming Shapes to Bodies: Design for Manufacturing in the Prosthetic Instruments. In Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression, pp. 443-448, London, UK.
Performances
March 13-16, 2013 — Agora de la Danse, Montreal, Canada
March 21, 2013 — Théâtre Centennial, Lennoxville, Canada
April 10, 2013 — Schouwburg, Arnhem, The Netherland
April 13, 2013 — Forum Blanc Mesnil, Blanc Mesnil, France
April 18, 2013 — Concertgebouw, Bruges, Belgium