Pole Com/position is a work in which both the dancer and a DJ combine to produce the sonic landscape, utilizing the construct of a pole dance. With various audio effects and sensors that measure movements, the dancer modifies the music to which the DJ can respond, or not respond, heightening the DJ’s and the dancer’s performance in the process. By trading traditional roles and creating more musical control for the dancer (as found in many non-Western cultures), the piece reflects on ideas of control in music-making and performance. Pole Com/position incorporates various sensors that read the dancer’s movements, which information is then sent to Max/MSP and Ableton Live. For future installations, I would like to have one pole control one effect, so that the mapping of the instrument is clear, and have multiple poles utilizing different dancerly movements.

I developed this project with the very talented Christina May, who received her BFA in Dance from Juilliard. Christina has danced with the Metropolitan Opera and Susan Marshall & Company, and spent almost three years in Israel dancing on scaffolding with the Kibbutz Dance Company. A blog of the development process can be found here.