TumTá and Pisada: Two Foot-controlled Digital Dance and Music Instruments Inspired by Popular Brazillian Traditions

Abstract

This paper presents the development process of “TumTá”, a wearable Digital Dance and Music Instrument that triggers sound samples from foot stomps and “Pisada,” a dance-enabled MIDI pedalboard. It was developed between 2012 and 2017 for the use of Helder Vasconcelos, a dancer and musician formed by the traditions of Cavalo Marinho and Maracatu Rural from Pernambuco. The design of this instrument was inspired by traditional instruments like the Zabumba and by the gestural vocabulary from Cavalo Marinho, to make music and dance at the same time. The development process of this instrument is described in the three prototyping phases conducted by three approaches: building blocks, artisanal, and digital fabrication. The process of designing digital technology inspired by Brazilian traditions is analyzed, lessons learned, and future works are presented.

Recognizing Solo Jazz Dance Moves Using a Single Leg-Attached Inertial Wearable Device

“…Most of the research conducted in this field concerns daily activity recognition [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ], gait analysis [ 20 , 21 , 22 ], gesture recognition [ 23 ], and sports activity performance assessment for activities such as golf, tennis, baseball, swimming, and skiing [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. One of the first wearable systems for capturing dance gestures were developed by the MIT Media Lab [ 30 , 31 ], and various assistive solutions have been presented since [ 3 , 4 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. In this context, wearable devices are usually used to detect dancer’s steps and provide them with feedback [ 3 , 4 , 32 ] or enable the dancer to interact or generate sounds [ 33 , 34 , 35 ].…”

“…One of the first wearable systems for capturing dance gestures were developed by the MIT Media Lab [ 30 , 31 ], and various assistive solutions have been presented since [ 3 , 4 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. In this context, wearable devices are usually used to detect dancer’s steps and provide them with feedback [ 3 , 4 , 32 ] or enable the dancer to interact or generate sounds [ 33 , 34 , 35 ]. In [ 36 ], a three-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) is positioned on the subject’s right forearm and used to analyse one specific hip hop arm move.…”