Soundpainting

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What is SOUNDPAINTING?

Soundpainting is a live composing sign language for musicians, actors, dancers, and visual artists working in the medium of structured improvisation. At present the language comprises more than 1500 gestures that are signed by the Soundpainter (composer) to indicate the type of improvised material desired of the performers. The creation of the composition is realized, by the Soundpainter, through the parameters of each set of signed gestures. The Soundpainting language was created by Walter Thompson and the Walter Thompson Orchestra (W.T.O.) in New York beginning in 1974. Read more about it at www.soundpainting.com

Andrea Ariel is a Certified Multi-disciplinary Soundpainter & Educator and is well respected for her innovations with the form. She has worked with Walter Thompson since 1998, and was an instrumental part of the early development years at Think Tanks in Woodstock, NY from 1999-2005. AADT hosted two collaborations with Thompson in Austin in 1999 and 2001. Since that time Andrea has continued her work with the form in Austin and with NYC’s Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble. She has participated in three International Think Tanks (Milan, Italy; Girona and Tres Cantos, Spain) and represented the City of Austin in Spain as a Creative Ambassador in both 2014 and 2017. With Thompson’s move to Europe in 2005, Soundpainting is now practiced widely across Europe in both professional and educational circles. AADT is the only company practicing and promoting Soundpainting in this region. The company is focused on furthering Austin as the Soundpainting center of the southwest.

Most recent works, “The Bowie Project,”“Locked-in” and “Rally,” combine composed choreography and live, original music with improvised dance and music using Soundpainting. The “Soundpainter” uses signs indicating the type of improvisation desired of the performers to deconstruct, remix, and sculpt new compositions in real time. No two shows are ever the same!

We off FREE Creative Community Workshops with AADT and the Austin Soundpainting Collective.

MORE ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS

COMMUNITY MEMBERS! – Do you play an instrument, like to sing or dance, read poetry or tell stories – or just want to come to watch? Save the date and join us for this community creative workshop open to anyone and everyone. All activities are designed for participation with any level of physical ability. NO EXPERIENCE IN DANCE, THEATER OR THE ARTS NEEDED! Artists of all performing disciplines working in structured improvisation are welcome too! This is an opportunity for the community to come together to be creative, share stories, have a dialogue, and connect with new people in your community!

These workshop are for anyone and everyone! Join us to find out more and play!

In a respectful and fun environment, the workshops will include creative games and other structured activities to inspire our creative energy. You will also learn the fundamentals of Soundpainting, a unique sign language that is used to lead a group in structured improvisation and live composition to explore creativity through music, voice, and movement. Soundpainting is completely accessible to people of any age, experience, or ability, and opens doors to creative expression and community building inviting valuable dialogues and exchanges in diverse settings.

We are excited to bring creative opportunities to the community and share this exciting and fun form of creative expression!

Bring instruments, selected writing or poems, and wear clothes to move in – or just bring yourself.

To let us know of your interest or if you have questions please contact us HERE.

DANCERS – MUSICIANS – ACTORS & Other Performance Disciplines – The Austin Soundpainting Collective is open to professional artists offering opportunities to be a part of the collective. If this interests you please contact Artistic Director, Andrea Ariel HERE.

Austin Soundpainting Collective

Artists who become fluent in the language of Soundpainting will have an opportunity to perform as part of the Austin Soundpainting Collective. The collective aims to serve as an incubator for multidisciplinary collaboration leading to paid performances, educational residencies and community workshops in Austin and beyond. We are looking for Austin artists to join us!

Founding members of the ASC include Adam Sultan, Andy Nolte, Claude McCan, Rey Arteaga, Alån De León Uribe, John Nelson, Alyson Dolan, Steve Ochoa, and Garry Franklin. New members to the collective include Leila Louis Henley, Lisa Kobdish, Angie Johnson, Clay Moore, Robert John McCane, Kevin Armstrong, Cicely Fullylove, Sunny Shen, Jason DeCuir, Whitney O’Baugh, Ceci Proeger, and Luis Armando Ordaz Gutiérrez.

Soundpainting in Education & the Community

Soundpainting language is accessible to all students, from preschoolers to collegians to those with special needs. By engaging multiple learning styles (verbal, visual, aural, and kinesthetic) for exploring creativity, Soundpainting breaks through boundaries, tapping into reservoirs of skills and expression that help students better understand themselves and the world in which they live while learning and exploring the art forms of dance, theater and music.

The live composing sign language of Soundpainting is completely accessible to people of any age, experience, or ability. Soundpainting opens doors to creative expression and community building inviting valuable dialogues and exchanges in diverse settings. We are excited to continue to bring creative opportunities to the community through Soundpainting.

For information about hosting an education program, community workshop or performance please contact Andrea Ariel HERE.