sonifying ENERGY HEALING

Rei Chou presented a contemplative, participatory performance at CCA Santa Fe as part of ArtBridge’s COLAB series, using ¡Otro!, a custom-built system that translates movement into sound. The work unfolded as a shared experience grounded in attentive listening, subtle motion, and collective presence. Rather than positioning healing as something performed for an audience, the piece invited participants into a relational field shaped by sound, breath, and awareness, where individual gestures contributed to a larger, shared resonance.

The performance emerged from an ongoing collaborative exploration of how movement—beyond formal dance—can serve as a site for reflection, connection, and care. Drawing from Rei’s intuitive and embodied practice, the work approached energy not as a fixed or prescriptive concept, but as something sensed collectively through sound, proximity, and attention. Sonification functioned as a way of making relational dynamics perceptible, allowing participants to experience how subtle shifts in movement and intention ripple through a shared environment.

Presented within the collaborative framework of ArtBridge, the event emphasized experimentation, openness, and mutual inquiry. The setting at CCA Santa Fe supported a slowing down of perception, creating space for deep listening and shared awareness. Sound, movement, and presence converged to form an experience shaped as much by those gathered as by the performer—one that invited reflection without prescribing outcome, and connection without hierarchy.

Credits
Mover: Rei Chou
Videographer: Travis Fowler, Slice of Santa Fe
Sound Design & Technical Direction: Drew Trujillo