Both the individual and collective ‘living architecture’ (Laban 1966:5) of the dance performer(s) is used as the starting point for a real time transformation of dance movements into a 3D spatial digital sound composition. I will discuss artistic strategies for transcending the conventional perception of musical form in dance performance into a perception of the sonic environment as an interactive ‘space-rhythm-movement’ dimension. The creation of the ChoreoSonic performance environment is realized with the application of five wireless ultrasonic sensors positioned on the dancer’s body. These sensors are able to measure the spatial position, direction, speed, rotation and proximity of the moving body(parts) within a sensitive area of approximately 25m2. This configuration makes it possible to shape the real time ambisonic surround sound environment through body movement in using the visual programming environment Max/MSP/Jitter3. The end of the paper proposes that ‘TranSonic’ perception creates an interactive ChoreoSonic relationship between the dancer as a ‘living architecture’ and ambisonic surround sound as a ‘moving sonic architecture’.
When creating interactive choreographic sound Verstraete (2005:202) remarks that ‘It shifts our attention from visual geometric space to acoustic space’. He (2005:6) keeps the ChoreoSonic relationship close to the body when he states that ‘sound can add an auditory “geography” like a second skin to the dancing body’. Sound becomes an almost tactile and sensual experience for the dancer suggesting ‘dance as an embodied sound’. I argue that in the ChoreoSonic environment a virtual spatial sound body outside the dancing body is created suggesting ‘sound as a disembodied movement’. Sonic space is not an inactive background, but the interactive director of the dancer through the responsive emergence of spatial sound.