CCL – Day 04

Today was all about grounding ideas into the physical space. We spent time assessing the performance area, arranging materials, and considering how the space itself plays a role in the choreography.

We spent most of the morning refining the scores. Still trying to hit that balance — enough constraint to prompt interesting movement, but not so much that the participant loses their sense of agency. We want them to make decisions, to resist, to lean into something unexpected. That got us thinking about the audience too. Could they become part of the piece somehow? Even if just through presence or subtle invitation.

I’ve also been playing around with different visual aesthetics in Hydra: layering textures, tweaking feedback loops, trying out color shifts. Slowly getting a feel for how it all works and what kind of visual language might sit well with the piece.

Later in the afternoon, we started wiring up the breath sensors and plugging the data into Hydra. This part was a bit of a thrill. Live coding in Hydra means everything responds immediately: the visuals are fluid, reactive, and weirdly alive. I love how this is adding a new dimension to the performance.

Overall, feels like we’re crossing a threshold from conceptual exploration to tangible realisation. With the space set, scores refined, and technology bits being figured, the piece is beginning to taking shape. Tomorrow we test things in motion. See what holds, what needs shifting, and what surprises us.

Onward.