photo credit: Takuya Oshima
Interactive Noh Fan is a project that reimagines the folding fan in Noh dance as both a stage prop and a technological interface. Using motion sensors, the fan captures movement data from Shimai (short solo Noh dances) and links it to music, creating a responsive, embodied experience. The project began with gesture-based audio triggering but evolved into a broader inquiry: how can traditional performance be archived and shared through low-cost, portable tools?
Drawing from traditional Noh aesthetics and digital sensing technologies, the project proposes an alternative model of dance archiving, one that is lightweight, individualized, and performative. It challenges centralized, institutional methods by offering a tool for solo dancers to document and interact with their own movement. Future versions will explore haptic feedback and movement-based archive retrieval, enabling dancers to engage with the archive not only through screens, but through embodied interaction with the fan itself.