Technology and Dance: Blending the Digital and Physical Worlds
Ask any dancer what he or she finds to be the most basic underpinning of dancing and the answers will usually converge to one central idea: the human body. From bringing music to life to silently expressing ideas and emotions, dancers have long relied solely on the strength, endurance and power of the human body to create art through movement. As technology has permeated nearly every segment of our modern world, including art, it’s interesting to consider how it may redefine the role of the human body in dance and impact the artform more generally. For example, social media has increased exposure to dance, bringing previously underground dance styles, like hip-hop, into mainstream culture and giving dancers the ability to monetize their talents. Here, I’ll explore other ways in which technology has recently entered the sphere of dance, and ultimately enhanced the way we create, perform and consume dance.
Technology-enabled creation
A range of tools have emerged to help dancers and choreographers become better at their craft. For example, Electronic Traces is a technology product that uses tiny sensors placed on dancers’ shoes to capture their contact with the ground. This data can be displayed visually using an accompanying mobile application and dancers can review their movements immediately and with more precision than if they used a conventional video recording.
For the benefit of choreographers, projects like Motion Bank are working to create online libraries of dance moves, using Microsoft Kinect to annotate movements, and then transforming them into compilations of digital scores for choreographers to contribute to and access. I personally use a handy app called ChoreoRoom that lets me easily visualize, track and share formations when I choreograph for my business school dance team.
These kinds of technological tools are great, because they leave the creative process entirely intact, yet remove some of the administrative burden of choreographing and streamline the iterative improvement process for rehearsing dancers.
Digitally-enhanced movement
Gone are the days of simple 2-D backdrops that serve as neutral accompaniments to the dancers performing — backdrops now often use light projections to create objects and scenes around which the entire performance is constructed. As the dancers interact with their surroundings, their movements are both informed and contextualized by the projections. In 2015, French performing group, Adrien M/Claire B Company, delivered an iconic performance using such projection mapping tools to create mesmerizing 3-D illusions and enhance their storytelling. Perhaps a more easily accessible example of this technology is Beyonce’s “Run the World (Girls)” performance at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards — the backdrop of her performance displayed hundreds of virtual clones, with which she synchronized her choreography and put on a show-stopping performance (albeit one that sparked some immediate controversy).
Immersive and interactive consumption
Again, social media platforms such as Youtube and Instagram have done a decent amount of legwork when it comes to augmenting the reach of dance performances — but videos posted on these platforms still maintain the traditional relationship between dancers and the audience. Enter technology that disrupts this relationship by creating performances that transcend the “fourth wall” of the stage (or the screen). DUST is a prime example of such a performance, using Virtual Reality (VR) headsets to transport the audience alongside the dancers and allow them to interactively explore the space.
While not extremely widespread and likely not appropriate for every setting, this type of participatory performance presents an opportunity to creatively engage audiences and construct sensory, immersive experiences that reinvigorate the live performance landscape.
Conclusion
Ultimately, as is the case with other kinds of art, the extent of technology use in the creation and performance of dance is an artistic decision at its core and will inevitably vary from artist to artist. However, the introduction of technology into this space deserves praise for its ability to lower barriers to participating in this form of artistic expression. Similar to how the iPhone 8 Plus camera turned the world into amateur photographers, tools like those described above provide accessibility to dance by increasing the ease of choreographing, augmenting the reach of otherwise exclusive performances, and enhancing the entertainment value and novelty of performances.
And while it may not seem intuitive that digital tools can enhance, or even preserve, the physical properties of dance, in moderation, technology can be infused with dance in a way that still centers on and celebrates the human body. In that way, technology is beginning to do for dance what it has done for countless other artforms, industries, and processes — an enabler that complements our given capabilities and elevates the ceiling of our potential.
