Inner-Circle

Inner-Circle (2024) is a spatial music performance that explores gestural control of sound spatialisation and stage lighting within an immersive environment. Performer Tace McNamara uses movement to spatialise her voice and backing instruments while shaping interactive stage lighting in real time. An optical motion capture system tracks her position in the space, enabling dynamic control over the trajectories of both sound and light.

The five-minute performance unfolds across five distinct scenes, each with its own spatial interaction design. Performer and audience both share the interior of the surround sound field, with the audience free to move and experience the composition from shifting aural perspectives.

The work moves between contrasting spatial modes. In one scene, Tace sits in the centre of the circle under a single spotlight, surrounded by the audience in darkness - an intimate configuration that evokes a sense of vulnerability and introspection. In another, Tace moves to the outer edge, encircling the audience as the lighting follows her. This shift marks a more empowered moment in the performance, where movement and light intensify the energy of the music and draw the audience's attention outward to follow Tace's motion through the space.