A dynamic interplay between traditional time-based dance and the evolving landscape of mediated experiences.
We envision creative work that leverages 360-degree video and Virtual Reality to engage audiences as performers and co-creators, to bridge performative and mediated spaces, and to extend the traditional time-based experience of dance into and through mediated and live experiences, invoking a new time/space reality. We envision immersive, interactive dance performance art installations that transform the act of spectatorship into one of performance and co-creation and incorporate user-based video content as source material for collective digital art making.
As a time-based art form, dance innately has an ephemeral quality. The advent of video opened many new doors for dance makers and dance audiences in the 20th century. For the spectator, video technology enabled dance to be watched live and remotely, recorded for viewing after the act of performance, and witnessed repeatedly. For makers, video technology created new hybrid art forms such as multimedia dance video art, and Screendance or dance film. Now with the advent of 360-degree video and virtual reality, what new doors are opening for contemporary dance? What new art forms and hybrid forms are there to be discovered? Our team seeks to discover new opportunities for dance makers and dance audiences within the realm of 360-degree video and virtual reality. We are inventing new ways of creating and sharing content, incorporating 360-degree video and VR into the creative process and production of contemporary dance.
Purpose
Dancers know that moving together is one of the most potent relationship and community building experiences. People dancing together form bonds of empathy and connection often deeper and more quickly than time spent in verbal communication. This project attempts to share that experience with more people in new and expansive ways. Our methods of combining contemporary dance with 360° video and VR technologies provide up-close immersive interaction with dance artists, evoking similar kinesthetic sensations of dancing with the performers. By video-capturing viewers' unique perspectives and processing these video inscriptions into collective works of digital art, an emerging community is built over time.
Team
Our team is experimenting with 360° video and virtual reality (VR) technologies to invent new modes of creation, presentation and engagement with contemporary dance. Our explorations began in February of 2024 with the research questions:
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How do we frame the dancing image with 360° video?
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How can we provide an immersive experience of dance and dancing for the viewer?
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How can we include community in the creation and installation of a dance media exhibition?
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How can VR technologies be leveraged to create new ways of engaging with audiences of contemporary dance?
Two key discoveries are guiding our research and creative process. First, we are developing a practice of capturing dance performance with 360° cameras worn on the body such as the chest, wrist or shoulder. Recordings from this point of view capture 360° video from a performer’s perspective, changing the position of the camera as the dancer moves. Second, by screen-capturing the viewer’s gaze as they watch a 360° video in VR, we transform the VR headset into a form of camera that reframes and records 360° video content in real-time to flat video formats. Together, these production methods offer new capacities for hybridized artistic experiences that bridge performative and mediated spaces, expand existing presentation formats and create new immersive opportunities of engagement and interactivity for audiences.
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Chad Michael Hall
Dancer and Project Lead
David Marchant
Dancer and Experience Leader
John Toenjes
Musician and Technician