Evolution
Evolution is a collaborative design laboratory facilitating interdisciplinary experimentation in dance performance. Choreographers from the Department of Theatre and Dance join with concert and event lighting designers and composers from the School of Design and Creative Technologies to create short dance works for the concert stage.
Overview
Official Links & Media:
Full Performance Recording: Artist's Playground - Evolution (2024) | Department of Theatre and Dance
Official Event Page: Evolution (2024) | Department of Theatre and Dance - The University of Texas at Austin
Role: Composer & Sound Designer
Venue & Date: B. Iden Payne Theatre | April 25, 2024
I. Conceptualization & Synesthesia Framework
Evolution is an annual collaborative design laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin that facilitates interdisciplinary experimentation in live dance performance. Hosted each spring in the B. Iden Payne Theatre, the showcase pairs student choreographers and dancers from the Department of Theatre and Dance with concert lighting designers and composers from the School of Design and Creative Technologies (Arts & Entertainment Technologies) to create original, short-form works for the concert stage.
Developed during the Spring 2024 semester as part of the AET Senior Design Projects II course, I collaborated with two (2) choreographers from the Department of Theatre and Dance (Liz Garza and Hayley Jeansonne) to brainstorm and compose an original 7-minute musical score for our piece, titled "Artist’s Playground".
We built the narrative and structure of the piece around the concept of synesthesia, centering on a single artist (represented by a central dancer dressed in a paint-splattered white smock) and their evolving emotional and creative dynamics with five (5) distinct colors (represented by five fellow dancers costumed in red, yellow, green, blue, and purple). Rather than scoring the dance as a single static mood, I designed the instrumentation so that individual musical voices, melodic motifs, and harmonic textures directly represented specific colors on stage, allowing each dancer to move to the flow of their corresponding instrument.
II. Musical Progression & Stage Choreography
Working out of the DFA A/V Studio throughout March and April 2024, I structured the 7-minute composition into distinct musical movements that mirrored the visual arc of the choreography and cyclorama lighting:
Movement & Timestamp | Musical Texture & Instrumentation | Stage Action, Color & Lighting Dynamics |
I. The Blank Canvas | Ambient, reverberant synth pads and gentle, sparse electric piano chords | The piece opens in silhouette before a warm off-white cyclorama illuminates the central Artist soloing at center stage. One by one, the Blue, Red, Green, and Yellow dancers enter the space, introducing secondary melodic layers as the Artist interacts with each color. |
II. Awakening the Palette | Bright, arpeggiated 8-bit/chiptune-style synth leads layered over warm chords, transitioning into plucked acoustic/harp-like arpeggios and a steady electronic pulse at | The cyclorama shifts into a cool lavender and violet gradient as the dancers trade kinetic duets and trios across the floor. |
III. Warmth & Duet Interaction | Lush, mid-tempo rhythmic groove with warm harmonic pads and melodic plucks | The stage washes in a vibrant amber-orange gradient for an intimate duet at center stage before the full ensemble reconvenes. |
IV. Full Spectrum Groove | Driving electronic percussion, prominent bassline, and a soaring, expressive synth lead melody | The backdrop transitions into a dual cyan-and-magenta gradient for synchronized full-ensemble choreography. The rear cyclorama soon drops out as tight blue and yellow overhead followspots/specials isolate the dancers in a close-knit cluster at center stage. |
V. Green & Blue Interlude | Stripped-back, atmospheric organ/synth chords and a high, sustained melodic whistle lead | Lit by deep green and blue washes on the cyclorama, the central Artist stands watch on the edge of the spotlight while two dancers perform a slow, grounded floor duet. |
VI. Chromatic Convergence & Resolution | Driving synth-bass pulse building into a rich, full-spectrum orchestral and electronic climax before resolving into a delicate, music-box piano outro at | The full ensemble reunites in front of a multi-colored rainbow spectrum across the cyclorama. As the music strips back to gentle piano arpeggios and warm pads, overhead pools of colored light frame the dancers until only the Artist remains in a single center spotlight, fading to black. |
III. Interdisciplinary Production & Technical Rehearsals
Bringing Artist's Playground to the B. Iden Payne Theatre stage required close coordination across our Tech Team production unit:
Choreography: Liz Garza and Hayley Jeansonne
Original Music Composition: Alexander Le
Lighting Design & Programming: Caroline Plumb, Zack Read, and Gibby Martinez
Performers (Dancers): Daniela Albert, Faith Davis, Leili Givens, Zoe Goleski, Lauren Jershin, and Drew Phipps
During the production week leading up to the April 25 premiere (including our dedicated 3-hour technical rehearsal on April 22 and full dress rehearsals on April 23 and 24), we aligned the audio stems and musical transitions with the lighting cue list so that the cyclorama color shifts and overhead specials hit precisely on the musical phrasing.
IV. Reflection
Working on Evolution 2024 was my first major opportunity to compose an extended original score specifically tailored for live contemporary dance and theatrical lighting design. Translating a visual and conceptual theme like synesthesia into distinct instrumental timbres pushed me to think about music composition spatially, considering not just how a melody sounds in general, but how it breathes inside a theatre alongside physical movement and color. Seeing the dancers embody each instrument under the full rainbow cyclorama at the B. Iden Payne Theatre was an unforgettable project that directly influenced my later work in live event production and multimedia storytelling.
