Thinking with the body: Mind and movement in the work of Wayne McGregor | Random Dance

Thinking with the Body was an exhibition at London's Wellcome Collection, offering a glimpse into Wayne McGregor | Random Dance's interdisciplinary research and the impact it has in the rehearsal studio. Staged in the run-up to the first performances of Atomos at Sadler's Wells (Oct 2013), the exhibition featured the results of over a decade of interdisciplinary research into choreographic creativity which has been applied in the studio, in dance education, and to increase public understanding.

Wellcome Collection is a free visitor destination exploring the connections between medicine, life and art in the past, present and future. Wellcome Collection is part of the Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving improvements in human and animal health.

The exhibition finished on 27 October 2013, but the film exhibits are still available to view online.

Teaching a digital performing agent: artificial neural network and hidden Markov Model for recognising and performing dance movement

For a Digital Performing Agent to be able to perform live with a human dancer, it would be useful for the agent to be able to contextualize the movement the dancer is performing and to have a suitable movement vocabulary with which to contribute to the performance. In this paper we will discuss our research into the use of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) as a means of allowing a software agent to learn a shared vocabulary of movement from a dancer. The agent is able to use the learnt movements to form an internal representation of what the dancer is performing, allowing it to follow the dancer, generate movement sequences based on the dancer's current movement and dance independently of the dancer using a shared movement vocabulary. By combining the ANN with a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) the agent is able to recognize short full body movement phrases and respond when the dancer performs these phrases. We consider the relationship between the dancer and agent as a means of supporting the agent's learning and performance, rather than developing the agent's capability in a self-contained fashion.

Stereoscopic theatre: the impact of gestalt perceptual organization in the stereoscopic theatre environment

This paper argues that it is essential for live theatre that incorporates stereoscopic imagery to reconceptualise the performance space to facilitate a successful audience experience. While 3D technology greatly increases artistic possibilities, the risks of perceptual confusion exist in live theatre just as in stereoscopic cinema, indeed more so given the coexistence of live performers. This paper argues that Gestalt perceptual organization theory can be valuable in informing how best to employ stereoscopic imagery within a live theater environment, with reference to the artistic works of one of the authors.

Inside Movement Knowledge

Inside Movement Knowledge was a two-year (2008-2010) collaborative, interdisciplinary research project into new methods for the documentation, transmission and preservation of contemporary choreographic and dance knowledge. The project has evolved out of research initiated in 2004 by Amsterdam-based dance company Emio Greco | PC (Pieter C. Scholten) into systems for recording and transmitting the essential elements of their creative work. Inside Movement Knowledge took the outcomes of this earlier research (book, interactive DVD and installation) as a ‘case-study’ to continue exploring the questions of Emio Greco | PC in collaboration with a new consortium made up of the Netherlands Media Art Institute (through their preservation department); the University of Utrecht (through the newly established Theatre Studies program); and the Dance Department/ Theaterschool, Amsterdam School of the Arts. This expanded research project was supported by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

The documentation website will remain on-line indefinitely as a resource for researchers interested in the documentation, transmission and preservation of contemporary dance and in how this project was set up to explore these topics.

Vox lumen: people into light

Vox Lumen; people into light explored the technological capacity and the aesthetic implications of live dance motion capture to Unity game engine environment in an all night public event. The work was augmented by an app that provided hourly panoramic views of the event using AR that enabled the event to be revisited either on or off site, after the performance evening.

The crack up

This work explored the potential for virtual, CG characters, 3D stereoscopic imagery and providing contextual imagery and text via smart device during a live performance to re-frame contemporary dance practices within a digital visual environment. The work explored the aesthetic and creative affordances of this approach. Live dancers and virtual performers were set against 3D projected landscapes demonstrating the potential of hybrid live/virtual performance. A ground-breaking interactive app enhanced the performance experience with real-time virtual landscapes. The work formed a major outcome of Discovery Project DP120101695 Building innovative capacity in Australian dance through new visualisation technologies.

Capturing dance : using motion capture analysis to enhance dance creation and performance

Opening keynote address.

Snapshots of complexity: using motion capture and principal component analysis to reconceptualise dance

This article brings together the disparate worlds of dance practice, motion capture and statistical analysis. Digital technologies such as motion capture offer dance artists new processes for recording and studying dance movement. Statistical analysis of these data can reveal hidden patterns in movement in ways that are semantically ‘blind’, and are hence able to challenge accepted culturo-physical ‘grammars’ of dance creation. The potential benefit to dance artists is to open up new ways of understanding choreographic movement. However, quantitative analysis does not allow for the uncertainty inherent in emergent, artistic practices such as dance. This article uses motion capture and principal component analysis (PCA), a common statistical technique in human movement recognition studies, to examine contemporary dance movement, and explores how this analysis might be interpreted in an artistic context to generate a new way of looking at the nature and role of movement patterning in dance creation.

Learning to dance with a human

Artificial neural networks are an effective means of allowing software agents to learn about and filter aspects of their domain. In this paper we explore the use of artificial neural networks in the context of dance performance. The software agent’s neural network is presented with movement in the form of motion capture streams, both pre-recorded and live. Learning can be viewed as analogous to rehearsal, recognition and response to performance. The interrelationship between the software agent and dancer throughout the process is considered as a potential means of allowing the agent to function beyond its limited self-contained capability.

Technology as collaborator in somatic photographic practice

This article will address several areas of research. Firstly it will propose that a dance experience can translate into another discipline such as visual art. In my visual art practice I combine both photography, which is traditionally seen as a still medium, and performance in order to create a new form of embodiment. By acknowledging the inter-relationship between the body and the camera my project seeks to challenge a perceived separation between the disciplines. Fly Rhythm, an exhibition of 13 photographs and one video projection was conceived through a performative somatic process. I have developed the term ‘somatic photography’ to articulate subjective experiences in the context of my process of imaging movement in stillness. My thinking has been informed by visual art practice exploring movement and meaning using video and an older history of performance as a dancer and choreographer. I am primarily interested in movement initiated by a bodily response to light through still rather than moving imagery although artists such as Maya Deren whose films explore themes of time and space have influenced me. In my practice the term ‘somatic photography’ helps articulate the act of taking photographs, which is how meaning is being created rather than purely in the finished art works. The term somatic photography puts emphasis on the action of taking the image. Through using a custom made camera I was able to negotiate time and space as a dancer and create a visual drawing that talked to both choreography and fine art practice. This article engages with the following ideas: somatic photography, photography as choreography, body memory, ageing body, technology as collaborator, gallery interface, screen interface and movement.

Haptically-enabled dance visualisation framework for deafblind-folded audience and artists

In this paper we propose a framework for communicating performance art to deaf, blind and deafblind audiences and artists haptically through the sense of touch. This research opens doors for novel artistic trends relying mainly on the sense of touch. The paper investigates the design considerations dictated by solo and group dances as well as stage setup. Implementation scenarios for deafblind audiences and performers are also discussed.

Technology as collaborator in somatic photographic practice

This visual essay will address several areas of research. First, it will propose that a dance experience can translate into another discipline such as visual art. In my visual art practice I combine both photography, which is traditionally seen as a still medium, and performance in order to create a new form of embodiment. By acknowledging the interrelationship between the body and the camera my project seeks to challenge a perceived separation between the disciplines. The following images were conceived through a performative somatic process, which I define in the course of this article. Through using a custom made camera I was able to negotiate time and space to create visual drawings that talk to both choreography and fine art practice.

Pixel review: Dance and digital wizardry conjure stunning illusions

A number of artists have explored the fusion of technology with performing arts. From Gideon Obarzanek​ and Frieder Weiss' projection mapping techniques with Glow and Mortal Engine to Garry Stewart and Thomas Pachoud's​ experiments with real-time looping and layered video in Proximity, it seems that infusing performance with choreographed bodies, screen-based design and choreographed pixels is the next frontier of contemporary performance.