Dance and Interactivity

Abstract

A growing number of practitioners in the international community of choreographers and performers has begun to experiment with computer-assisted work linking dance and new technologies. This hardly comes as a surprise, since dance-on-film and videodance had already attracted considerable attention, at least since the 1980s. Earlier experiments, such as the astonishing films by Maya Deren, take us back to the 1940s, and today's motion capture-based animations find their historical roots in late nineteenth century motion studies in chronophotography and early cinema (Muybridge, Marey, Méliès). Furthermore, dancemakers, researchers, and teachers have used film or video as a vital means of documenting or analyzing existing choreographies. Some scholars and software programmers published tools (LabanWriter, LifeForms) that attracted attention in the field of dance notation and preservation as well as among choreographers (e.g., Merce Cunningham) who wanted to utilize the computer for the invention and visualization of new movement possibilities.

Screendance for Adult Dancers:

“…Interactive digital environments include multimedia, electronic, or computerassisted interfaces as artistic strategies to engage audiences in dialogue (Birringer, 2004). Use of these strategies requires the relocation of some of the composition process into a laboratory-like setting (Birringer, 2004). Derived digital technologies refer to the capture and projection of movement phrases, most often during live performance (Mullis, 2013).…”

Dance, Interactive Technology, and the Device Paradigm

“…As mentioned above, this process allows performers to experience bidirectionality, since they are aware of their ability to modify the environment and are aware that the interactive technology can affect their actions. Birringer (2004b, 96) points out that there are several forms of performance that draw on technological devices and networks to create responsive interaction, and it is worth taking a moment to discuss them in order to gain a clearer sense of the kind of performance on which this article will focus.…”

“…2.For more on interactive technologies, see Birringer (2004a, 2004b, 2008), Kozel (2007), deLahunta (2002), and Naugle (1998). …”

“…7.Birringer describes these kinds of interactions as integrating “the body with stereoscopic devices in front of the eyes, into a polysensual illusion of moving through space” (2004b, 96).…”

Motion and Representation: The Language of Human Movement by Nicolas Salazar Sutil . 2015. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 328 pp., 52 b&w illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $34.95 hardcover.

“…In the section of the book that focuses on motion technology, I similarly found few references to literature on the intersection of movement and digital technology. Kozel's (2007) book-length treatment on the topic is given just a passing mention, and relevant work by Birringer (2004, 2008), Dixon (2007), Naugle (1998), and many of the authors published in the International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media is not referred to. But, if the author's goal is to “write an integrated theory of movement” (104) that focuses on representation and the digital, then this work simply must be addressed.…”