21st century technology just may change age old formula of dance
A new look into something old
For many years now, technological advancements have been changing our world rapidly. People wait in anticipation for new and improved smartphones, computers, cameras, etc., to come into the market.
With technology becoming an increasingly large part of our everyday lives, we can do so much more than just obtaining and retrieving information. Knowing no bounds, its capabilities continue to expand in implications and opportunities, and the dance world is no exception in incorporating it.
With the new generation, the expectations of the new audience demands that the art of dance must evolve and adapt to a new environment. In 2012, Dr. David R Glowacki, a Royal Society Research Fellow at the University of Bristol holding a PhD in Chemical Physics as well as a Master of Arts, used dance-room spectroscopy to create the dance performance, Hidden Fields. While people perceive technology as something making us inhuman, he thinks that using technology in dance might be a way of understanding our body. He commented that the technology did not remove the human, but made the performance more human, explaining that the technology can provide viewers with “another way to imagine their relationship with the energetic fabric of the universe.”
Integrating technology and dance might not work equally for all forms of dance but in the select few in which it does, we can see advancements in leaps and bounds.
It started with the invention of video cameras which helped in integrating dance into films and TV shows. The most recent advances in technology have led to incorporating it into the creation of dance.
Combining dance and technology is not a twenty-first century idea; it has been experimented with, for many years. One of the earliest experiments was carried out in the 1960s where the choreographic process was codified and manipulated by a computer, at the University of Pittsburgh. The results, however, were not published. Now, with the current advances, there are more and more possibilities for integrating technology into the process of creating and performing dance. It involves improvisation, collaboration, creation, and rehearsal — culminating in an ephemeral performance.
We now have so many technologies including digital cameras small enough to fit inside the dancer’s jewellery and specially crafted lenses that can capture even the tiniest of gestures. Even flying drones are used to capture a pas de deux sequence from mid-air above the stage. These tools help choreographers and dancers to polish their steps making better use of the time needed for rehearsal, share their ideas and work on network, reduce injury and preserve repertoire.
There are various digital choreography programs which allow choreographers to create dance moves from pre-recorded stock movements and connect them to form an entire routine or create some unique moves with programs such as The Motion Bank. The Motion Bank uses Microsoft Kinect and motion tracking technology to record movements of dancers and save it into an archive or library.
For example, Deborah Hay, an experimental choreographer working on postmodern dance, has a solo 15 year project called “No Time to Fly,” which she used to teach 20 different dancers annually, making them rehearse it for three months, and then making them perform it. Now, with The Motion Bank, she is documenting her solos, and the evolution of her work is going digital.
GoPros and drones can film angles which are hard to reach by simple video cameras or smartphones. They can also be used to create virtual reality experiences of dance performances using 360-degree video technology.
If we move on to wearable technology, we have E-Traces pointe ballet shoes designed by Lesia Trubat. These motion tracking slippers have a small electronic device that is attached to the bottom of dancer’s shoes and this chip records a foot’s movement allowing the dancer to draw a pattern of data strokes of movements that are then sent to a mobile app for editing. From this app, dancers can review their moves, make corrections and compare performances.
While this wearable technology helps in data analysis of dance moves, there’s another wearable that helps in prevention of injuries. The Athlete Optimization System devised by Kitman Labs tracks the stats during and after workouts and performances. It collects various data such as acceleration and deceleration, physiological factors, muscle fatigue and methods of recovery so that dancers can monitor their routine and make necessary changes so as to have a healthy body.
If we consider the body of the dancer as an instrument then we can see how technology can change the pitch and volume, or make the instrument more accessible. Technology and dance provide ways of transforming our visions of ourselves as artists.
Opportunities to create new aesthetics and new avenues to reach audiences are very exciting in the twenty-first century. Nonetheless, it is important that technology not overpower the integrity of the creation of authentic works of art.
