Theses and Dissertations
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- All Subjects: Dance
- Creators: Turaga, Pavan
Description
This thesis aims to explore the language of different bodies in the field of dance by analyzing
the habitual patterns of dancers from different backgrounds and vernaculars. Contextually,
the term habitual patterns is defined as the postures or poses that tend to re-appear,
often unintentionally, as the dancer performs improvisational dance. The focus lies in exposing
the movement vocabulary of a dancer to reveal his/her unique fingerprint.
The proposed approach for uncovering these movement patterns is to use a clustering
technique; mainly k-means. In addition to a static method of analysis, this paper uses
an online method of clustering using a streaming variant of k-means that integrates into
the flow of components that can be used in a real-time interactive dance performance. The
computational system is trained by the dancer to discover identifying patterns and therefore
it enables a feedback loop resulting in a rich exchange between dancer and machine. This
can help break a dancer’s tendency to create similar postures, explore larger kinespheric
space and invent movement beyond their current capabilities.
This paper describes a project that distinguishes itself in that it uses a custom database
that is curated for the purpose of highlighting the similarities and differences between various
movement forms. It puts particular emphasis on the process of choosing source movement
qualitatively, before the technological capture process begins.
the habitual patterns of dancers from different backgrounds and vernaculars. Contextually,
the term habitual patterns is defined as the postures or poses that tend to re-appear,
often unintentionally, as the dancer performs improvisational dance. The focus lies in exposing
the movement vocabulary of a dancer to reveal his/her unique fingerprint.
The proposed approach for uncovering these movement patterns is to use a clustering
technique; mainly k-means. In addition to a static method of analysis, this paper uses
an online method of clustering using a streaming variant of k-means that integrates into
the flow of components that can be used in a real-time interactive dance performance. The
computational system is trained by the dancer to discover identifying patterns and therefore
it enables a feedback loop resulting in a rich exchange between dancer and machine. This
can help break a dancer’s tendency to create similar postures, explore larger kinespheric
space and invent movement beyond their current capabilities.
This paper describes a project that distinguishes itself in that it uses a custom database
that is curated for the purpose of highlighting the similarities and differences between various
movement forms. It puts particular emphasis on the process of choosing source movement
qualitatively, before the technological capture process begins.
ContributorsIyengar, Varsha (Author) / Xin Wei, Sha (Thesis advisor) / Turaga, Pavan (Committee member) / Coleman, Grisha (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
When dancers are granted agency over music, as in interactive dance systems, the actors are most often concerned with the problem of creating a staged performance for an audience. However, as is reflected by the above quote, the practice of Argentine tango social dance is most concerned with participants internal experience and their relationship to the broader tango community. In this dissertation I explore creative approaches to enrich the sense of connection, that is, the experience of oneness with a partner and complete immersion in music and dance for Argentine tango dancers by providing agency over musical activities through the use of interactive technology. Specifically, I create an interactive dance system that allows tango dancers to affect and create music via their movements in the context of social dance. The motivations for this work are multifold: 1) to intensify embodied experience of the interplay between dance and music, individual and partner, couple and community, 2) to create shared experience of the conventions of tango dance, and 3) to innovate Argentine tango social dance practice for the purposes of education and increasing musicality in dancers.
ContributorsBrown, Courtney Douglass (Author) / Paine, Garth (Thesis advisor) / Feisst, Sabine (Committee member) / Turaga, Pavan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017