Edson Pavoni
O.K.
kinetic sculpture, dance and film / 2026
Can a machine earn its place in dance?
An artwork by Shamel Pitts | TRIBE and Edson Pavoni.
Two dancers face each other. From beginning to end, they remain in search of eye contact. Each wears a heart rate sensor against the skin.
Between them stands a kinetic sculpture made of folded paper, with two sides that move independently. One side answers to Shamel's heart, the other to Tushrik's. As their heart rates rise, the sculpture moves faster. As they calm, its motion slows.
The human body leads, and the machine doesn't follow: it witnesses, holding space for the ritual between them.
An artwork by Shamel Pitts | TRIBE and Edson Pavoni.
Two dancers face each other. From beginning to end, they remain in search of eye contact. Each wears a heart rate sensor against the skin.
Between them stands a kinetic sculpture made of folded paper, with two sides that move independently. One side answers to Shamel's heart, the other to Tushrik's. As their heart rates rise, the sculpture moves faster. As they calm, its motion slows.
The human body leads, and the machine doesn't follow: it witnesses, holding space for the ritual between them.
O.K., film still.
One gesture
The choreography draws from the stare-down before a boxing match. Just before the fight, the two opponents stand face to face, not to fight, but to recognize each other as mythic doubles. In O.K. the stare-down becomes a stare inward: the ritual of seeing ourselves in the other, raw, distorted and divine.
The dancers move in relation to each other without ever touching. Their movements shift from stillness to intensity, and the sculpture echoes the arc.
The choreography draws from the stare-down before a boxing match. Just before the fight, the two opponents stand face to face, not to fight, but to recognize each other as mythic doubles. In O.K. the stare-down becomes a stare inward: the ritual of seeing ourselves in the other, raw, distorted and divine.
The dancers move in relation to each other without ever touching. Their movements shift from stillness to intensity, and the sculpture echoes the arc.
Hand to pulse. The gesture that starts the sculpture.
When the dancers meet there is an invitation. An "OK" that signals the ignition of the
dance, a mutual consent to begin. At the end, after the tension and the release, one
dancer walks away, and his side of the sculpture goes still. The dancer who remains turns
to the camera and asks, simply: OK?
A final invitation, for the viewer to listen to their own heartbeat, and to begin their own dance.
A final invitation, for the viewer to listen to their own heartbeat, and to begin their own dance.
Man and machine allowing themselves to soften in the context of pressure.
Stills from O.K.
The techno heart
Shamel nicknamed the sculpture the techno heart. It was made with paper, mechanics, electronics and software, all built for this piece.
Each dancer's heartbeat is transmitted in real time from a sensor on the body to a computer, which drives two linear actuators, one for each side of the sculpture. Two heart rhythms shaping one physical form.
Shamel nicknamed the sculpture the techno heart. It was made with paper, mechanics, electronics and software, all built for this piece.
Each dancer's heartbeat is transmitted in real time from a sensor on the body to a computer, which drives two linear actuators, one for each side of the sculpture. Two heart rhythms shaping one physical form.
The paper body of the sculpture, moving.
The creature's body is paper, folded by hand using traditional origami tessellations.
The folds act like a score: they decide how it can move before it ever moves.
Inside, the mechanics are inspired by the muscle of the human heart, contracting and releasing to give the creature its movement vocabulary.
The electronics and code were custom built, and they never ask for attention. The bodies in motion are the protagonists.
Inside, the mechanics are inspired by the muscle of the human heart, contracting and releasing to give the creature its movement vocabulary.
The electronics and code were custom built, and they never ask for attention. The bodies in motion are the protagonists.
A witnessing machine that holds two hearts in one body.
A research into the poetics of technology in dance
The work began with motion tracking, pose estimation and biomechanical skeleton models, filmed at high frame rate, to see how dance defies prediction. After that exploration, the research moved in a different direction: toward the physicality of sculpture, and away from the pixel as output.
No screen. No music. The only sound is the breath, the steps, and the machine.
O.K. is an attempt at a new ritual, composed of the sound of every breath, every step, an intimate camera, sometimes extremely close, and a machine that holds two hearts. With TRIBE, the research continues.
The work began with motion tracking, pose estimation and biomechanical skeleton models, filmed at high frame rate, to see how dance defies prediction. After that exploration, the research moved in a different direction: toward the physicality of sculpture, and away from the pixel as output.
No screen. No music. The only sound is the breath, the steps, and the machine.
O.K. is an attempt at a new ritual, composed of the sound of every breath, every step, an intimate camera, sometimes extremely close, and a machine that holds two hearts. With TRIBE, the research continues.
The duet, and the sculpture moving with it.
Credits
Commissioned by Jacob's Pillow with support from YoungArts, produced by TRIBE. Developed at Onassis ONX Studio, New York.
Artists
Shamel Pitts, Tushrik Fredericks and Edson Pavoni
Curator
Pamela Tatge
Dance
Choreography: Shamel Pitts | TRIBE
Dancers: Shamel Pitts and Tushrik Fredericks
Film
Director: Edson Pavoni
Assistant Director: Arjun Hassard
Director of Photography: Jamie Ellington
Editing, Audio and Color: Edson Pavoni
Special thanks
Jazia Hammoudi, Aaron Santiago, Matthew Niederhauser and Matt Toups, from the Onassis ONX team.
David Imani, Jared Fine, Nick Kepley and Bonnie Spann, from Jacob's Pillow.
Brittany Wilson, E Katrina Lewis, Eric Umble and Mirelle Martins, from TRIBE.
Commissioned by Jacob's Pillow with support from YoungArts, produced by TRIBE. Developed at Onassis ONX Studio, New York.
Artists
Shamel Pitts, Tushrik Fredericks and Edson Pavoni
Curator
Pamela Tatge
Dance
Choreography: Shamel Pitts | TRIBE
Dancers: Shamel Pitts and Tushrik Fredericks
Film
Director: Edson Pavoni
Assistant Director: Arjun Hassard
Director of Photography: Jamie Ellington
Editing, Audio and Color: Edson Pavoni
Special thanks
Jazia Hammoudi, Aaron Santiago, Matthew Niederhauser and Matt Toups, from the Onassis ONX team.
David Imani, Jared Fine, Nick Kepley and Bonnie Spann, from Jacob's Pillow.
Brittany Wilson, E Katrina Lewis, Eric Umble and Mirelle Martins, from TRIBE.