MA Project: Bele Lamp

Mood, Movement & Lighting
Applying Caribbean Bele Folk Dance Movement to Lighting to enhance mood within a space.

The research surrounds the theories of light, in connection with mood and emotional
design. The focus is on the connection between the dance movement and lighting. I am
then applying these two elements to further enhance mood in a space, by allowing
physical interaction with the light, in order to change the intensities of light omitted. Like
the movement of a twirling skirt, the path winds in and consequently unravels outward.
I am experimenting with this movement to design a mechanism for interaction. The idea
of the movement is that the user would be able to adjust the light, by moving parts of
the object to reveal less or more light. In creating this light piece, it can enable change
in mood where the lights are placed.
The project explores the feminine qualities of the Bele dance and how the dancer’s skirt
would move in accordance with the dancer, as opposed to the masculine aspects of the
Sufi dance. It is the wrapping and unwrapping, portrayed by the interaction of the
moving elements (leaves), which represent the Bele skirts. The detailed lace-like, fret-
work represents a Caribbean aesthetic and shows the connection
between the light and the Bele costumes taken from the style of the French and adapted
in the 18th Century.