Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You with Buttons
Instructor Notes:
Introduction
STEM From Dance instructors choreographed a piece to "Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You," featuring a boombox prop equipped with sensors. They experimented with different movements to activate the sensors, realizing that dramatic up-and-down motions worked especially well with the tilt sensor. Using two props encouraged collaboration, as dancers created interactive moments and adapted to each other’s styles. The placement of the sensors inspired creative movement across different levels—like crouching to press a button that changed colors or tilting the boombox to pass it between partners—pushing dancers to explore new ways of expressing themselves through technology and choreography.
Materials
Electronics
Supplies
Circuit Assembly
Code
Subcomponents
The dancers used a cardboard box as the base for their boombox. They secured the microcontroller to the top, and taped down the extenders to give them leeway to place the sensors and LEDs wherever they wanted.
The dancers placed the LED Strips in a straight line along the top and bottom of the front of the box.
The dancers intentionally placed the button on the top of the box to represent a power button. The colors of the LED change when they press down on it.
The dancers placed the tilt sensors on either side of the box, each triggering a different animation when the box sways in the side-to-side direction
