MidiDancer is a wireless movement sensing system worn on the body of a dancer or other performer. It uses sensors to measure the flexion of up to eight joints on the dancer’s body and then transmits the position of each of those joints to a computer off stage. Once interpreted by software running on the computer, the information can be used to control a variety of computer-controllable media including digital video or audio files, theatrical lighting, robotic set pieces or any number of other computer controllable devices.

Our reason for creating the device came out of our desire to expand the vocabulary of the dancer by allowing him or her to control visual and sonic elements that were not typically under their performative control. In so doing, our hope was that the theatrical world in which the dancer performed would be enriched by a direct linkage between movement and media