dance /dɑːns/ verb

“move rhythmically to music, 
typically following a set sequence of steps.”

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This definition is reinvented by Bonth. Sound is generated simultaneously with the movement. The composition is controlled by choreography; one doesn’t come before the other. Motion triggers and sculpts the sound, giving the dancer the ability to write parts of the composition. The name “Bonth” is a compound word, derived from body and synth(esis), producing meaning and name for a new format of sound synthesis.

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Essentially, Bonth captures the motions, interprets the data and uses it to generate sound. The infrared depth camera maps a skeleton of the dancer, and picks up position, rotation and confidence of certain points on the body, resulting in eight floating-point numbers: x, y, z, α (roll), β (pitch), γ (yaw), and confidence of position and rotation data. These points are called “markers”, and the data they provide “marker characteristics.” Data is then transposed within the MAX/MSP environment to control certain aspects of the sound: frequency (pitch), velocity, dynamics, tone color, etc. Generated sound goes through the KP3 samplers, in order for the composer to capture certain portions of the performance, loop them in the background and help write the composition on the go.