"Date in a Teeter" Photo Gallery

On Saturday, December 7, the Integrative Design, Arts, and Technology (IDeATe) network’s Fall 2024 event “Date in a Teeter” brought together artists, musicians, and storytellers from across IDeATe, the Schools of Art and Music, and the Department of Languages, Cultures, and Applied Linguistics.

The end-of-semester sonic shadow bazaar, which was held in Studio A of WQED, showcased final projects of students enrolled in the courses “Exploded Ensemble” and “Animated Storytelling: Chinese Ghost Stories and Shadow Play.” These projects explored themes like animism and traditional Chinese ghost stories, woven through a network of spatialized sound and live musical performances.

“Exploded Ensemble,” taught by Associate Teaching Professor of Music Theory Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh, explored experimental, multimedia, and non-Western approaches to live music. “Animated Storytelling: Chinese Ghost Stories and Shadow Play,” which is team-taught by School of Art professor Johannes DeYoung and Languages, Cultures, and Applied Linguistics professor Gang Liu, challenged students to create their own ghost stories through creative writing, hands-on shadow play performances, and multimedia storytelling projects incorporating digital media.

IDeATe classes are open to undergraduates from any discipline at CMU, offering opportunities to explore interdisciplinary collaboration in 10 different areas which can also be taken as minors: Game Design, Animation & Special Effects, Media Design, Sonic Arts, Design for Learning, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Intelligent Environments, Physical Computing, Soft Technologies, and Immersive Technologies in Arts & Culture.

Interested students can reach out to Assistant Dean Kelly Delaney to learn more about enrolling.

artist moves a shadow puppet over an animated screen

Mellon College of Science senior Olivia Benvenuto, who is studying physics, shares her Animated Storytelling project.

three electronic musician work from laptops and synthesizers during a performance

School of Computer Science sophomore Leo Gong, Information Networking Institute masters student Yuzhen Zhou, and College of Fine Arts senior Cole Savitz-Vogel form an Exploded Ensemble trio.

four students stand underneath a projected animation

Four animation course students stand underneath a projected animation.

student sit on a studio floor listening to a sound performance

Exploded Ensemble members, including College of Fine Arts senior Bayu Adji (holding videocam), first year Emma Diprima, and sophomore Jasmine Papino-Wood, watch a performance.

musician playing a bass guitar and manipulating sound pedals

This Exploded Ensemble composition that included live vocalization work from DiPrima and bass guitar experimentations from College of Fine Arts first year Izzy Kelly.

three students hold their shadow puppet under the light of an animated projection

Three animated Storytelling students — Benvenuto and Humanities and Arts first year Esther Adebi, junior Ilyas Khan — share their work.

two electronic musicians perform with laptops and synthesizers

College of Fine Arts fifth-year senior Blaine Black and senior Harry Schneider, who both study music, perform a duo electronic music set.

artist moves animation storyboard transparencies through an overhead projector

An animation student moves transparencies over an overhead projector.