Speaker profile
Prof. Claire Hind
Available for booking
Summary
We are The Long Dead Stars, an electronic dance poetry duo who compose and perform music that relates to our experience of walking at night in nature in National Dark Sky Parks. We offer outdoor music experiences to connect audiences to the night sky.
Full biography
We are Professor Claire Hind and Dr Robert Wilsmore - we are The Long Dead Stars, a fusion of poetry and dance music about rocks and stars, engaging the Yorkshire community and beyond with a blend of science, walking and art. Performances are unique, and usually outside in the dark with 'silent disco' headphones with small groups.
We are working on our second album, Dark Core, for release in 2026, and a film of the track 'Falling through the Universe' which we recorded on location at Sutton Bank Star Hub in July, having given the track its debut there to an audience in March 2026. Dark Core as an album title relates to the dark core zone areas of International Dark Sky Parks and our creative engagement with black holes, supernovas and stars.
Dr Claire Hind is a Professor of Contemporary Theatre at York St John University, a member of the Outer Space Research Group there and a writer and a performer with a 20 history of international performance work. Her research within walking arts, practises the scoring of deep listening to the natural environment to compose intermedial, playful, imaginative performance, particulalry around how we can engage creatively and imaginiatively with the night sky.
Dr Robert Wilsmore is a Musician, academic, author, composer, producer, collaborator, educator. Former Head of School of the Arts at York St John University and Assistant Head of Music at Leeds College of Music (Leeds Conservatoire). Now an Independent Scholar and Artist.
Stargazing sessions
Prof. Claire Hind can host stargazing sessions including guided tours of the night skies and observing using telescopes or binoculars.
Affiliations
Workshops
Performance of a silent disco to listen to electronic dance poetry at night, in the dark, inspired by astronomy.
The Long Dead Stars offer star gazing experiences with the naked eye whilst inviting audiences to listen to their electronic dance music and poetry inspired by the night sky. We can offer silent discos for audiences and present our material live - each set is 55 minutes and can be shortened or lengthened
