Sarah is currently serving as movement consultant and choreographer for the VR Opera, Talking Pupils, created and directed by Julie Zhu and Aoshuang Zhang and commissioned by the University of Michigan.

Talking Pupils is the first virtual reality opera to prioritize accessibility for the visually-impaired community. The narrative is drawn from Talking Pupils, a story of blindness and spiritual awakening by the 17th century writer Pu Songlin. Our playful adaptation focuses on the transformative power of self-reflection. After the protagonist loses their sight, mysterious pupil beings appear who encourage a self-awareness that can help overcome total blindness. 

The work’s form, aesthetics, and acoustics will be carefully researched alongside numerous collaborators and participants. Interviews with children at the TaiYuan School of the Blind will form part of the spatial sound design. The VR opera will include a haptic device connected to the piece’s aural events. This “virtual cane” will produce vibrations and realistic sound effects.