Creative Research Composition for Interactions with Technology

Now, more than ever before, we are dependent upon, addicted to, and socially expected to not only understand but also know how to utilize new technologies. And yet what is Technology? According to Marshall McCluhan technology is "any extension of ourselves" or, more broadly, "any new technology" is an extension of the human. Therefore anything beyond the body that we have created is indeed technology. Language, books, clothing, and even abstract ideas such as dance are all technologies. How can we as artists interact with technology to create new ideas that would not exist without the fusion? What technologies work well with moving bodies? And what exactly is dance? All these questions and more will be explored through experiments, assignments and lab activities.

This course is designed to support students by providing a space to study and practice the art of composing the body's interaction with the projected technology of processing sketches, allowing immersion in the practice of moving with, against, inside of, along side of and through these technologies. Marshall McLuhan's definition of technology, and readings from Radical Street Performance will provide a framework for discussion, creation and understanding of technology, and the placement of the audience by the art maker. Anatomical terminology will be used to discuss the motion of the body through space and time. To deepen our understanding through practice we will experiment with making dances based on improvisational scores created together as a group during LAB time.

Software used Processing and p5.js.. Systems will include laptop computers, projectors, screens, smart devices & QR codes. Code languages employed will include Java.

Video Art, Abstract Screens, Multi-Projector Immersive & Interactive Design for Dance

A Lab/Workshop course that explores the design, creation & application of immersive & interactive video art and multi-projection system onto traditional & abstract screens designed for dance. Students create their own video art to support dance in a proscenium setting as well as video art that supports immersive & or interactive installation. By using industry standard software platforms Qlab for theater and Isadora for multi-projector systems, Processing and equipment to support these designs, students are prepared to enter the professional field. A creative investigation upon the use of traditional screens in non traditional ways and the design of abstract screens will inform final projects.

img from Karsen Tengan's final project 2022

Filming the Moving Body

The digitization of the moving body is the new currency of dance. The devices in our pockets are the new production house. We will explore how to capture the body's movement with our cameras. Using Adobe Premiere Software we will practice editing our footage for the digital stage of current online platforms. A final project is created and shared at the final class of the semester and screened for the Dance & Technology Showcase in the spring.

img Vi Dolan performing for in class steady cam shoot, image by students