On 4 & 5 August, as part of the Cultural Olympiad, a 21-metre 360° projection dome in Weymouth Pavilion will be the venue for a groundbreaking interactive science-meets-art experiment.

Meet danceroom Spectroscopy (dS), part interactive art installation, part immersive science experience, part large-scale video game, and part musical instrument – developed from the research of David Glowacki, a University of Bristol researcher and Pervasive Media Studio resident.

By combining 3d cameras and bespoke software run on a supercomputer, dS uses rigorous physics to create sounds and images from people’s movements. People’s movements are captured and fed into a computer, where a program specially developed by Glowacki’s team interprets them as energy fields and in real time, projects the human shaped energy fields back onto the giant roof of the dome. Bouncing around the energy fields, are thousands of projected interactive particles that represent the billions of tiny particles that exist all around us, but are too small for our eyes to see.

By moving in the physical space, dS enables people to use their ‘energy fields’to interact with the particles - catching, pushing, sharing and dancing with them. It’s kind of like a pebble dropped into a pool of water – only the pebble gets to watch itself and the complex ripples and waves it creates.

There’s also a sonic component: as you move within the space, your energy field causes the particles to vibrate. The vibrations are sent to a musician who turns them into live mixed electronic soundscapes played within the space.

The result is an ever-changing set of immersive 360° panoramic real-time images and sounds, a unique, exciting experience, and a truly remarkable spectacle of art and science.


Glowacki is working with an interdisciplinary team including fellow Studio residents, including choreographer Laura Kriefmann, programmer Phill Tew, composer and musician Joseph Hyde, and a team of five professional dancers. Together, they are developing “Hidden Fields”, an accessible dance performance that offers a surreal glimpse into how our everyday movement interacts with the hidden energy fields that surround us.

Where you can see Hidden Fields and dS in the coming month…

At the Bristol Harbourside festival:
1)    Hidden Fields will premiere at Arnolfini on 21 July (11.30am and 3pm, £5/£4)
2)    dS will run as an interactive installation on 21st July in between Hidden Fields performances (1pm – 3pm) and on 22nd July (11am – 5pm, free).

In Weymouth as part of the Cultural Olympiad in the 360° degree projection dome:
1)    Hidden Fields will show on 5th Aug (7pm, £4)
2)    dS will run as an interactive installation on 4th Aug in (3 – 5pm, free)

For more information, visit www.danceroom-spec.com