Music-movement dialogues: exploring gesture in soundpainting

In December 2010 I constructed a questionnaire with the intention of challenging the creator of the Soundpainting language, Walter Thompson, on the role of gesture in Soundpainting, in order to find out how Thompson conceived some of the gestures he use and their use across music and dance, to inform my own analysis of this music and dance dialogue. The outcome of this research will be published (2012) as: Helen Julia Minors, ‘Music-Movement Dialogues: Exploring Gesture in Soundpainting’, in a special edition of Cashiers ***** (2012). This article follows a paper-demonstration conducted within the conference ‘Dance and Music: Moving Dialogues Conference’ held jointly by University of Montreal, McGill University, Société de recherché en musique, Concordia University and the Observatoire international de la création et des cultures musicales during 16-19 February 2011.

In writing this questionnaire I make a claim that Soundpainting uses culturally based physical gestures to communicate and compose in real time, assuming a cross- or inter-disciplinary exchange between music and dance. This exchange relies to some extent on metaphor. Music is perceived both spatially and temporally, and likewise so are dance and the other artistic components. If an exchange occurs, is it a dialogue? Does that dialogue rely solely or partially on meaning bearing gestures?