Japanese all-women dance troupe creates video soundtrack with their bodies
- Synchronised moves of Elevenplay inspired DJ Daito Manabe’s soundtrack to ‘Tone’ – rather than traditional method where dance matches music
- Dancers also filmed performance, led by principal choreographer Mikiko, which debuted online at Hong Kong’s New Vision Arts Festival 2021
Performing arts productions traditionally consist of defined roles, with team members assigned duties based on their expertise. But increasingly, the lines between these roles are becoming blurred, especially with the aid of new technology.
In “Tone”, a video dance performance created by 22 members of the all-women Japanese troupe Elevenplay, led by director and principal choreographer Mikiko, in collaboration with Japanese media artist, programmer and DJ Daito Manabe, the theme was to “write music with the body”.
It saw the synchronised movements made by the dancers – who also filmed the videos – inspiring the accompanying soundtrack using a reverse process, where the synthesiser-led atmospheric music and rhythmic percussion were inspired by the choreography, rather than the traditional method of matching the dance moves to the music.
“I named the choreography ‘Tone’ because I wanted to portray the harmony of the dancers’ movements as they dance and help create the music together,” says Mikiko, who choreographed, directed and edited the videos.
