Song for the Living/Dance for the Dead

by Russell Pinkston
choreography by Mata Sakka
video by Anita Pantin
Performe by: Bernd Burgmaier, Nadez Catenacci, Hristoula Haraka, Inger Malene, Glette, Vicky Kolovou, Maggie Lloyd, and Hope Mohr




Hristoula Haraka, Inger Malene Glette, Hope Mohr, Maggie Loyd, performing Song for the Living/Dance for the Dead


Song for the Living/Dance for the Dead is a triple collaboration between composer Russell Pinkston, choreographer Mata Sakka, and video artist Anita Pantin.

The music is comprised of electro-acoustic samples of speech, nature sounds, and processed sounds. Though sometimes the music is purely sequenced via MAX, most often the music is directly controlled by the movements of a corps of 8 dancers. In order to facilitate this interaction between performers and computers, the work relies on an interface system in two parts.

A main component of the interface are the two large "MIDI Dance Floors" which are positioned along the side and back of the stage and serve as large triggers which react when a dancer steps on or off of the floor. In the opening of the piece, two dancers enter the stage, together working their way down the floor, each step eliciting another sound. Later, two dancers alternately leaping on and off of the two dance floors trigger contrasting "cool" and "hot" sounds.

During an extended, intensley rhythmic middle section, Pinkston utilizes a video tracking system which, by "watching" the dancers' movements enables them to influence the music. The camera's view is divided into two fields, and as an energetic percussion sequence drives the music, the dancers' frenetic movements trigger various sonic events which augment the already dense texture.

The musical world of Song for the Living/Dance for the Dead is concerned with the contrast between cold and hot. This theme is explicitly conveyed at some points where the words "cool" and "hot" are spoken. Furthermore, the concepts of cool and hot weave their way into the language of the piece in other ways as well: bright and sterile timbres are contrasted with dark timbres and expansive, sparse sections contrast with rhythmically exciting passages.

Anita Pantin's video was a visual complement to the ensemble of dancers and added yet another dimension to the movement on stage.

Report written by David Birchfield, Producer of the Movement and Sound Concerts

Ingel Malene Glette and Bernd Burgmaier performing Song for the Living/Dance for the Dead using the MIDI dance floor


Click to view Program Notes



Video excerpt from

Song for the Living/Dance for the Dead




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