Ontological shifts: Multi-sensoriality and embodiment in a third wave of digital interfaces

Abstract

Examining the ontology and place of digital dance within the spectrum of contemporary choreographic expression, this article proposes to consider the interweaving of interoceptive (somatic) and exteroceptive (technological) agency in a third wave of digital interfaces for dance. It argues that an ontology of digital dance might be summarily qualified as an active sensory-perceptual mode of experiencing, capable of revealing new dimensions of aesthetic reception, modes of performativity and expressions of corporeal presence in dance that emerge with/through the mediated body. It views technology not as a foreign, autonomous agency, system or simple tool, but rather as a means of stimulating heightened sensory awareness and forging relations with the individual’s somatic (inner) bodily experience. while referencing a range of recent works that establish the conditions for such experiences, it further proposes to consider how digital works develop and underscore perspective as a dramaturgical strategy and aesthetic, and as a consequence, how new media interfaces for dance can be considered ‘new viewing-sensing devices’.

AKN_Regie: bridging digital and performing arts

“…Amongst numerous examples we could also quote the collaboration between the French company Dassault System and a prima ballerina, which gave rise to the show M. & Mme Rêve in 2013 as a tribute to Ionesco [8], or the collaboration between the famous Shakespeare Company and the global microprocessor manufacturer DELL, which together produced Shakespeare's Tempest in 2016. Genuine interdisciplinary collaboration between artists, technological experts and scientists often poses methodological problems.…”

The Use of Ambisonic Audio to Improve Presence, Focus, and Noticing While Viewing 360 Video

“…As such, involving senses is a key front for stimulating individuals and developing meaningful learning experiences (Amin, Jeppsson, & Haglund 2015;Wilson, 2002). In addition, embodied cognition processes depend on the concrete context of use along with sensorial involvement (Davidson, 2016). Ambisonic audio may play a role in this regard, providing more information about a given situation through a complete auditory embodiment (Chateau, Maffiolo, Pican, & Mersiol, 2005).…”

Improvising with digital touch

“…Andrea Davidson’s (2013) comparison of different choreographers (Brown, Choinière and de Lima) working with technologies and somatic practices 1 concludes that restructuring and re-ordering the body through the physical/technological interface can enable multiple states of presence in performance. Her later work furthers this notion and considers the body as mediated through the necessity of acting upon multiple forms of information via interoception and exteroception (Davidson, 2016: 23).…”