Beyond Vision is a lighting performance created for the Rio 2016 Paralympics Opening Ceremony. As a poetic representation of the sense of sight, a mass cast of 400 dancers were equipped with illuminated walking sticks collectively forming a large-scale, 2.5-dimensional display.
Sticks were outfitted with a row of 128 programmable, high-intensity LEDs, which were triggered by a radio transmitter and custom DTMF protocol to play a series of pre-scripted animations and visual effects, while dancers defined the position and orientation of each light.
DTMF (dual-tone multifrequency) produces human and machine interpretable signals, allowing both the human dancers and the computational props to drive their behavior from the same audio cues.
The high fidelity electronic control in combination with the improvisational skills of situated dancers allowed for a complex synchrony between dance, projection, music and lighting, crafting a unique media experience for the both the live audience at the Maracanã stadium and television viewers at home.
Concept Design and Technology by Marcelo Coelho
Projection by Multi Randolph and Dimitre Lima
Music by Berna Cepas
Choreography by Cassi Abranches and Dimitra Kritikidi
