Interactive Artwork
Dance like nobody’s watching
Have you ever had an experience of being in a crowd dancing to your favourite music without out a care in the world? What if you could share that emotion? How can people who are less abled experience that.
I want to capture the raw emotion and sensation of dancing alone yet connected in a crowd. As a child, I struggled with dancing—I saw it as a performative act, something meant to attract attention. Not wanting to stand out, I never danced.
What if we could create a space where anyone, regardless of ability or confidence, could enter a safe environment and be held by the energy of the crowd? A space free from expectation or fear, where movement is not about performance but about connection?
A space where you could “dance like no one’s watching.”
Artwork
Dance like nobody’s watching
Commissioned by
Future Everything
Tools
Unity, Deepmotion, Adobe, Touch designer
Mentor
Nicholas Delap
I want to explore how to
Inspire joyful, spontaneous movement that fosters connection and celebrates the emotional experience
of dancing?
Prototype for an interactive experience
I want to capture the feeling of being lost in music, immersed in a crowd, and fully present in the moment.
The installation invites people to step inside, feel the collective energy of a crowd, and move freely in response to the music. Their movements will be captured and added to the evolving experience, contributing to the growing digital crowd.
What excites me most is being able to share the journey of how it’s coming together — and this prototype is the first step.
This video shows the interactive element of the work.
To demonstrate how the system works, I’ve used a pre-recorded 3D animation based on a video of me dancing. I captured my movement and turned it into a digital figure, so I could test how the environment responds in real time.
The floating spheres respond to both sound and movement. The faster you move, the more they scatter. When you’re still, they slowly return — clustering together to form the shape of your body.
The background colours also react to how intensely you move. I experimented a lot with colour theory — thinking about how colour can reflect energy and emotion — and it’s something I’d love to develop further in future versions.
As you dance, you create a digital Being — an abstract form shaped by your unique movement and energy.
The video on display shows a breakdown of the experimentation process — how the visuals respond to music, motion, and emotion. I’m so excited to share this as a work-in-progress — something people can play with, and a first step in testing the concept. And hopefully, it’s something I can use to fund the bigger art piece. (If you have any stacks of cash under your bed, give me a shout!)
The Exhibition
By breaking down how I created the interaction, I hope to inspire young people to experiment with digital tools, even if that means watching me dance awkwardly. I want to create work that brings joy, even if it means being silly.
This piece was exhibited at Stockroom, a new creative space in Stockport, Manchester. I’m so greatful to Future everything and PROTO for this opportunity.
Thank you to SUCHI for the music.
