UC San Diego

Ululations and Gurgles of the Invisible is an interdisciplinary piece where visual and auditory experience is connected not only by their content but also through the use of different types of wearable sensors.

It is an hour-long piece divided in the four parts presented below. It is based on the poems El niño mudo (“The Silent Boy”) and Desposorio (“Betrothal”) by Federico García Lorca. The poems not only help to build the narrative of the piece, it is also performed using American and Spanish Sign Language.

1. The Silent Boy, for percussion, ASL and lights.

2. Gurgles, for 5 dancers wearing sensors, ASL, LSE, video and lights.

3. Betrothal, for soprano, piano and ASL.

4. The ring, for soprano, piano, percussion, dancers wearing sensors, ASL, video and lights.

The gestural control of sound has existed since the use of the first music instruments. All music instruments need the gesture of the performer to sound. These gestures consist of a performer in contact with physical materials that produce sound. Nevertheless, in group performances, the conductor's collection of gestures don't enter contact with physical materials but control the sound others produce, free-space gestures.

My research interest is focused on free-space gestures as it can encompass disciplines as dance and sign language and make them exist as musical expressions. In this piece the dancers are also music performers.