Role-Separated Live Movement Sonification: Toolkits as Mediators of Distributed Agency in Performance

Michael Reichmann, Vincent van Rheden, and Alexander Meschtscherjakov

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

Real-time movement sonification in dance is typically framed as a problem of gesture-to-sound mapping. However, when mappings are reconfigured during live performance, sonification systems do more than translate motion data. They reorganize participation, timing and agency within the performance ecology. This paper examines a role-separated live configuration in which a dancer (mover) performed while an operator (mapper) adjusted movement-to-sound relationships in real-time using a sonification toolkit implemented in Max. The case was developed during a ten-day workshop and presented in two public performances. Adopting a Research-through-Design (RtD) methodology, the enacted configuration is treated as a research artifact. We introduce a conceptual interaction model describing sonification toolkits as mediators of distributed agency across mover, mapper and coupling environment. A reflective case analysis compares first-person accounts from both roles to articulate recurring interactional structures across the performance. The contribution lies in reframing live sonification toolkits as collaborative performance interfaces. The findings demonstrate how real-time mapping reconfiguration structures mutual engagement and redistributes control, offering design considerations for movement-to-sound coupling environments in artistic contexts.

Citation

Michael Reichmann, Vincent van Rheden, and Alexander Meschtscherjakov. 2026. Role-Separated Live Movement Sonification: Toolkits as Mediators of Distributed Agency in Performance. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20784445 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_146,
 abstract = {Real-time movement sonification in dance is typically framed as a problem of gesture-to-sound mapping. However, when mappings are reconfigured during live performance, sonification systems do more than translate motion data. They reorganize participation, timing and agency within the performance ecology.  This paper examines a role-separated live configuration in which a dancer (mover) performed while an operator (mapper) adjusted movement-to-sound relationships in real-time using a sonification toolkit implemented in Max. The case was developed during a ten-day workshop and presented in two public performances. Adopting a Research-through-Design (RtD) methodology, the enacted configuration is treated as a research artifact. We introduce a conceptual interaction model describing sonification toolkits as mediators of distributed agency across mover, mapper and coupling environment.  A reflective case analysis compares first-person accounts from both roles to articulate recurring interactional structures across the performance. The contribution lies in reframing live sonification toolkits as collaborative performance interfaces. The findings demonstrate how real-time mapping reconfiguration structures mutual engagement and redistributes control, offering design considerations for movement-to-sound coupling environments in artistic contexts.},
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {146},
 author = {Michael Reichmann and Vincent van Rheden and Alexander Meschtscherjakov},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20784445},
 editor = {Benedict Gaster and João Tragtenberg and Anna Xambó and Tom Mitchell},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {},
 numpages = {10},
 pages = {1190--1199},
 title = {Role-Separated Live Movement Sonification: Toolkits as Mediators of Distributed Agency in Performance},
 track = {paper},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_146.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}