FINDING OUR WAY

This demonstration features dancer and choreographer Raven Bright performing with ¡Otro!, a motion-based sonification system that responds not only to movement, but to spatial relationships within the performance environment. Developed by Drew Trujillo, the system translates gesture, proximity, and shared space into sound, allowing movement and relationship to shape the sonic landscape in real time.

As Raven moves through the space—approaching, withdrawing, and reorienting—the system listens and responds, rendering subtle dynamics of connection and separation perceptible through sound. Rather than illustrating a fixed narrative, the work invites attention to how bodies relate to one another and to the environments they inhabit. Sound becomes a way of sensing presence and distance, revealing patterns of movement and interaction that are often felt but unseen.

The performance is grounded in collaborative and Indigenous-informed creative practices that value agency, responsiveness, and relational awareness. Rather than imposing music onto movement, the system allows sound to arise from the performer’s actions and spatial relationships. In this way, authorship is shared between body, technology, and environment, and meaning emerges through participation rather than instruction.

The resulting experience is immersive without being prescriptive. It invites audiences into a space of listening and reflection, where movement, sound, and environment remain in dialogue. By blurring boundaries between performer and sound, tradition and experimentation, the work offers a way of engaging with identity and relationship that is open, responsive, and continually unfolding.

Credits:

Raven Bright (Diné (Navajo), Dibéłizhiní (Black Sheep Clan)) – Performer
Justin Giehm (Diné (Navajo) and German) – Assistant Director
Josh Tafoya (Indo-Hispano) – Costume Designer
Debarati Das – Videographer
Drew Trujillo (Mexica Mestizo) – Technical Director, Sound Designer