Expressive representation of human movement has given rise to various static or dynamic artistic creations, whether they take into account specific postures or motion sequences. In this paper we are interested in the expressive qualities of motion and how these qualities influence the evolution of a 3D simulated system. The embodiment of this system takes the form of a non-anthropomorphic structure (non-human appearance) whose behavior expresses the emotional content of the original human motion. Expressive descriptors are extracted from a sequence of theatrical movements executed with different emotional states and used to dynamically control a mass-spring system coupled to a particle system as well as its rendering. The framework allows for the exploration of different sets of motion descriptors and mappings to the parameters of the 3D simulation. The resulting animations are discussed and evaluated through perceptual studies.