Polyphonic Playground
IDEA: A multi-sensory dance piece for an interactive sound installation.
WHAT: the 'Polyphonic Playground' is an abstract, upscaled children's climbing frame, complete with swings, slide and monkey bars. It acts as a musical backdrop to an intimate duet danced by a male and female dancer. The pair climb, swing, and intertwine on the wooden frame, which is lined with electronic pads that emit ghostly electronic sounds and a warm blue glow at the lightest of touch, like a giant 3D synthesiser. The dancers interact with the frame with fingers, foreheads and feet – and timing is everything. Not only would the audience see a wrong move, but we'd hear it.
WHY: The dancer becomes both choreographer and composer. Are the dancers playing the set, or is the set is playing them?
BY: Studio PRK, Studio Wayne McGregor, Eleesha Drennan at Fashion Space Gallery.
THE MAKING OF 'POLYPHONIC PLAYGROUND':