Light Dance: the Twin Experience

In this paper we discuss our experience as identical twins, the impulse it gives to our “Light Dance” art and the use of contemporary media in expression of our extraordinary relationship. We begin with a description of the fundamental perception of our twinhood: a persistent intuition of oneness evident in the complementarity and implied wholeness of our relationship — which inspires us in our artwork to transcend the limits of individual physical and psychological identity. We recall our collaborative careers in gymnastics: the empathy in our performer/viewer exchange which pushed the limits of our bodies and separateness, found manifestation in a shared U.S. national title, and inspired the development of our “Light Dance” art form. A description of the art follows: light as the medium of transformation of the body and the extension of intimacy in the performer/viewer exchange, from the twin sphere to the public space; the various tools that transpose body movement into light phenomena in silent, space-defining performances: body-mounted projectors, costumes of optical materials, and recently developed optical sub-spaces which translate body movement into 3D optical effects, and lay ground for the use of computer forms and spaces in “Light Dance” performances. We conclude with thoughts on what the twin experience has to say to our technologically linked society, and to the development of digital media toward transcending limits of space, time, and body.