Blogs

All Posts (2050)

Sort by

The Movement Movement presents "Package-Less"

Posted by Martha Williams on June 17, 2008 at 5:32pm
Package LessThurs-Sun, June 19*, 20, 21 &22, 2008 8 PM, (*Benefit Performance on June 19)Tickets are $18/$12 students and seniors, to purchase please click here or call 212-352-3101Please join us for our Benefit PerformanceThursday June 19, 8 PM to 11 PM includes artist talk and receptionTickets are $50, $25 & $18. To purchase tickets click here or call 917 531 1171.Proceeds from the benefit performance help us to pay for expenses related to “Package Less”LocationJoyce SoHo155 Mercer Street (between Houston and Prince Street) New York, NY917-531-1171Martha Williams’ new choreography for four dancers and one actor Package Less examines and overlaps ideas on the societal need to be constantly re-educated, re-organized and re-informed for one’s basic survival/success and how this differs between men and women. Exploring the concept of “Human Capital” and the role of self-help therapies, the choreographer deals with the constant need of being functional and flexible in order to deal with the economic aspects of the American society. For this work, Ms. Williams is inspired by Micki McGee (Self-Help, Inc.) and her perspectives on productivity and the psychological aspects of economy.Director/Choreographer: Martha Williams / Dancers: Toby Billowitz, Tess Blanchard and Jen Kosky / Actor: Michael Wiener / Writers: Martha Williams and Michael Weiner / Sound Designer: Norm Scott / Lighting Designer: Jay Ryan
Read more…

Interact with us

Posted by Susan Elena on June 13, 2008 at 6:18pm
FireBox will be spending next week at the UK Theatre School courtesy of the Dance House working on new material for an interactive dance performance. The exciting part is...that as well as being able to watch the FireBox dancers performing, you will also be able to get involved and get interacting with the piece. Don't worry you don't need to dance if you don't want to, you just have to be willing to hold a light and move around the room. Easy.Come along on Friday 20th June at 6pm for your chance to watch it, try it out or both!UK Theatre School - opposite the old Odeon cinema4 West Regent Street,GlasgowG2 1RW
Read more…

The Practice Room, The Poles and The Paper

Posted by Susan Elena on June 11, 2008 at 1:00pm
It's been a busy time for FireBox recently with a few breakthroughs in terms of my degree project, the first draft of my masters due in and working on a dance film with some contemporary/pole dancers.Isadora is starting to behave herself in the Practice Room at The Arches just in time for my Dance House creative lab at the UK theatre school next week. I've got nice LED lights to use as a trigger and the dancers have been working on some great sequences that will be used as the basis for their improvisations. I'd asked them to choreograph their own combos as I'd wanted something different from my usual style and they ended up creating 4 different combos that are very much my style - perhaps we've all been working together too long!I still need to get all my extra dancers together one weekend to film the movie clips for the piece and, as always, I'm expecting that to be a logistical nightmare.Two of my dancers, Gill Smith and Suzi Kelly, have been going to pole dancing classes recently and were keen to combine it with contemporary dance so we got together and made a film with them showing off their new skills. The first edit is done and as soon as they've signed off on it I'll be punting it around different events and getting it shown.

Finally, the dreaded paper. The first draft is in and I'm waiting on some feedback before I get stuck in to completing it. There are some things I already know need to be expanded upon and clarified but the basis is there so I just need to get my head down and get on with it.
Read more…

Our new Interactive Installation

Posted by Armando Menicacci on June 10, 2008 at 4:28pm
Hello,with my group d-flesh (Christian Delecluse and myself) we are showing a new interactive installation called "Dans le noir" (In the dark) in the third edition of festival "Bains numériques" in Enghien-les-bains. It is in the Centre des Arts, the theatre we are in permanent residency as associated artist during the 2007-2008 period. In the second edition we performed Under-score (see the pictures I've posted).It is a sound installation for one spectator about losing the sense of self creating a trouble in the perception of his/her own movements. It lasts 4 minutes and each spectator is alone in the total darkness. sounds are triggered and spatialized over 8 channels of sound by his/her movements.Sorry, no pictures (total darkness:-)
Read more…

Value of Laban Movement Analysis for Interaction Design?

Posted by Doug Fox on June 10, 2008 at 4:04pm
In my Kinetic Interface blog, I'm very interested in the connection among dance, movement, and new body and movement-centric interfaces. I compiled a guide to videos of new interfaces that you can review.I'm curious to what extent dancers and those trained in Laban Movement Analysis might contribute to the creation and analysis of new body and movement-based interfaces?Along these lines, I came across a paper titled "Understanding Movement for Interaction Design: Frameworks and Approaches." (L Loke, AT Larssen, T Robertson and J Edwards, in Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, vol. 11, no. 8, 2007, 691-702. You can read the paper in PDF format.Here is the abstract:"The results of a study of two computer games, that use human movement as direct input, were analysed using four existing frameworks and approaches, drawn from different disciplines that relate to interaction and movement. This enabled the exploration of the relationships between bodily actions and the corresponding responses from technology. Interaction analysis, two design frameworks and Laban movement analysis were chosen for their ability to provide different perspectives on human movement in interaction design. Each framework and approach provided a different, yet still useful, perspective to inform the design of movement-based interaction. Each allowed us to examine the interaction between the player and the game technology in quite distinctive ways. Each contributed insights that the others did not."I would be curious what dance-tech community members think about the use of LMA in conjunction with the other frameworks used to analyze human movement as direct input in the context of the Sony EyeToy.If you were conducting this or a similar study, what frameworks would you use?If anybody knows of the application of movement analysis in a commercial setting, I would very much like to know about this work.I look forward to your thoughts.
Read more…

Dancing in the Fields : Site Specific Video

Posted by Jaki Levy on June 6, 2008 at 7:46am
via The Clytemnestra ProjectI'm spending the first few weeks of June in Skidmore with the Martha Graham Dance Company leading a class in Dance Media.Along with Peter Sparling, who is teaching Composition during the residency, we shot and edited this video today. The video features original choreography from 37 individual dancers.
Dancing in the Fields from Jaki Levy on Vimeo.Believe it or not, the Martha Graham Dance Company is moving boldly once again.
Read more…

BIBAP - body in bits and pieces

Posted by V2_ on June 4, 2008 at 11:41am

A project by Carolien Hermans, V2_ and NPS2006-2007Dancers: Kyungsun Baek, Jefta van Dinther, Aimar Perez Gali, Maria Mavridou, Pere Faurawww.bibap.nlIn the Kinkerbuurt, Amsterdam West, a man is chased. His pursuer wants his skin, literally: he wants to take over his body. BIBAP is about the physical act of running, about exhaustion, about breathing, about keep-on-going even while you can’t. BIBAP is about rhythm, about repetition, about what will happen when you eventually stop running.Body in Bits and Pieces (BIBAP) is a cross media dance project, initiated by choreograper and director Carolien Hermans. BIBAP contains a thriller-like dance movie and a poetic online dance story. After the realization of the prototype for the BIBAP interactive Internet project in 2006, V2_ coordinated the realization of the final version of the BIBAP online application. This application cleverly combines dance film with gaming technology by integrating dance movie clips into an interactive application. Through a combination of physical and virtual interaction with the application a user is immersed into a virtual world in which a story unfolds based on expressive dancing and many interactive surprises. The virtual world is inspired on Amsterdam ‘Oud-West’ and several parts of this area in Amsterdam have been recreated in the virtual world of BIBAP. While the full dance movie by Danslab is about a running man chased by 'body-invaders', this relation is reversed in the Internet application. There the user takes the perspective of the running man, but this time he is chasing the 'body invaders', leading to many exciting dance encounters.Bibap is funded by the Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NPS) and the Stimuleringsfonds voor Nederlandse Culturele Omroepproducties (STIFO).
Read more…

Dance Away Your Debt

Posted by Jaki Levy on June 4, 2008 at 5:32am
Hi Dance-techers! My friend just sent this to me - I thought it was an interesting project - Let me know if you end up participating!CALL FOR DANCERS/CHOREOGRAPHERS OF ALL TYPESDANCE AWAY YOUR DEBTPerformance piece by Alexis Clements & New Acquisition (www.newacquisition.org)Casting:We're looking for dancers, choreographers and/or groups who would like to dance, in any way they like, as part of our Dance Away Your Debt performance at FIGMENT 2008 (http://figmentnyc.org/).Production Dates:June 28 & June 29 (Sat & Sunday) -- we aren't going to be there on the Friday. We're going to have two 3-hour slots, one on each day for the performance.Production Location:Governors Island (specific location TBD)Rehearsals:We'll have one meeting before the performance to sort details and scheduling. This meeting will be mandatory. No other rehearsals will be set up.Compensation:No pay but possibility of continued work on the piece beyond this performance--we're looking at a couple other festivals for the summer and maybe a couple DIY performances in town.About the Show:New Acquisition is a series of free literary pamphlets--brief pamphlets filled with writing and art focused on a variety of themes--and performances inspired by the pamphlets. Design inspiration and themes for each issue are drawn from early and contemporary American religious and political pamphlets. (read more here: http://www.newacquisition.org/content/view/26/42/)Dance Away Your Debt is a reaction to the ever-growing amount of personal debt that Americans are taking on. These days everybody's got debt, in one form or another, or is headed toward having debt, and everybody's frustrated by how little progress they seem to make in paying it off and how much more quickly they are accumulating new debt—we're all feeling the pinch with the economy in its current state. Riffing on the get-rich-quick and be-debt-free scams that abound in the United States, the pamphlet (which has already been printed) takes a slightly different approach. We're encouraging them to get their debt frustrations out by dancing, which keeps them healthier so that they don't have more health care bills, and keeps them happy and occupied, so they don't go out and buy more stuff, and so on. We'd like to choreograph a specific Dance Away Your Debt dance which we will post to YouTube, but we'd also like to get videos of other people dancing away their debt. To that end we'll be taping people at the event and encouraging people to submit their own video responses and dances. The performance at FIGMENT 2008 will involve setting up a collapsible tent with a table, pamphlets and other information. We will then also have pamphleteers working the crowd. Then, beside the tent, we'll have a mix of professional dancers (contemporary dancers, ballroom dancers, step teams, belly dancers, ballet dancers, freestyle dancing, etc) and those from the audience, involved in a collective effort to Dance Away Your Debt.(read the contents of the pamphlet here: http://www.newacquisition.org/content/blogsection/10/78/)About Figment:FIGMENT is an annual participatory arts event on Governors Island in New York Harbor. The mission of FIGMENT is to provide a forum for community-based participatory art and experience. FIGMENT strives to build community among artists and participants, to foster the participatory artsin New York City, and to demonstrate a vision for the future of Governors Island as an international arts destination.FIGMENT was launched on July 8, 2007 as a one-day cultural event. More than 2,500 people attended. In 2008, it is expanding to three-day event from June 27 - 29. With the foundation of last year's success and the increasing popularity of Governors Island as a cultural venue, many more people are expected this year.TO PARTICIPATE:Please send a brief bio or information about your group, any video clips that are available and/or links to your website. We'll be in touch soon after we get your info. The meeting for participants will take place during the week of June 24. Please submit all information and links to alexis@newacquisition.org.IF YOU CAN'T BE THERE BUT WANT TO SHOW US YOUR MOVES ANYWAY - SUBMIT A VIDEO. Please start Dancing Away Your Debt, tape it, post it to YouTube and tag it with 'New Acquisition' and 'Dance Away Your Debt' and then send us the link, then we'll embed the video on our site.
Read more…

Do you Know what a "meme" is? replicating ideas?

Posted by Marlon Barrios Solano on June 3, 2008 at 5:30pm
From TED: Susan Blackmore studies memes: ideas that replicate themselves, passing from brain to brain like a physical virus. At TED2008, Blackmore makes a bold new argument: Humanity has spawned a new category of meme, the "teme," which spreads itself via technology -- and invents brand-new ways to keep itself alive. (Recorded February 2008 in Monterey, California. Duration: 19:28.) Do you know of anybody researching "memes" and movement? are dance styles "memes"?
Read more…

INTERFACING MOTION with Wireless Miditron

Posted by Marlon Barrios Solano on June 1, 2008 at 2:00am

dance-tech.net with the support of its institutional partner Eroktronix is launching the contest "Interfacing Motion with MidiTron Wireless" to support a young active dance/performance artist in his or her initial explorations on interactive multimedia control for live performance of movement. For each of two consecutive 6-month periods,a selected artist will be given a new MidiTron Wireless to be used as an interface in new project involving the use of physical sensors for gestural control of multimedia during live performance. The selected artist commits to document and share the creative process using rich multimedia (writing, photos and videos) using his or her blog in dance-tech.net at least once a month during 6month after receiving the MidiTron Wireless The selected artist will also be eligible for a one month residency at LEMUR in Brooklyn (http://lemurbots.org). Who can apply: -Only dance-tech.net members -Based in the US. -Independent artists that are not full faculty at any university -Artist must have technical facility to understand wiring and hooking up sensors or have a collaborator with this facility. -The artist must be in beginning stages of exploration on interactive performance -Basic knowledge in any interactive software platform such as: Isadora, Maxmspjitter, Pure Data, sound-platforms, etc How to apply: -Send project proposal via email to marlon@dance-tech.net with the subject: Interfacing Motion with the MidiTron Wireless -Brief Bio and url of website -Artistic statement -One page project proposal with a clear description of your concept, system and the specifics of the out-puts. What kind of sensors will you use? diagrams? drawings? what kind of outputs are you planning to use. - Video documentation of 2 recent projects uploaded in dance-tech.net -When would you start the project (you can select of a year after receiving the Miditron) -State if you are interested in the residency at LEMUR in Brooklyn (http://lemurbots.org). Selection jury: Eric Singer (Director of Lemuplex) Down Stopello from Troika Ranch (http://www.troikaranch.org/) Marlon Barrios Solano (dance-tech.net) Deadline: July 15th/midnight Eastern time Selected artist will be announced July 25th Email for any inquires to marlon@dance-tech.net See video [pdcasts about the Miditron Wireless
Find more videos like this on dance-tech.net

Read more…

This Week at Eyebeam: Interactivos? | MIXER | Add-Art

Posted by Eyebeam on May 30, 2008 at 11:00pm
I Believe In by Ai-Chen Lin

I Believe In… by Ai-Chen Lin, selected project for Interactivos? Better than the Real Thing

There’s a party in the warehouse: Would you like to come?

Upcoming events: It all depends on who you ask. Some of us are getting ready for the latest MIXER party on June 14, others are preparing for the end of the world. Good news: You can do both!

This Week at Eyebeam:

May 31: Interactivos? Call for Collaborators

June 14: MIXER: with Kudu | BiLLLL$ | The Collection Agency

New from our Labs:

Steve Lambert launches Add-Art

Teta Haniya and the Secrets of Syrian Seduction

Pocket Lightcoder

Community:

May 31: Graffiti Research Lab at the Brooklyn Academy of Music

June 1: How Soon is Now?

June 4: 01SJ Adobe Global Youth Voices Exhibition

June 14: Windows Brooklyn

May 31: Interactivos? Call for Collaborators

Interactivos? at Eyebeam: Better Than the Real Thing
Date: June 26 – August 9
May 30: Call for Collaborators deadline | June 3: Notification of acceptance

We’re pleased to announce that we (Eyebeam fellows, residents and staff) have selected ten projects—from the 60-plus submitted applications—to be realized during a two-week workshop in late June.

But we need help, and that’s where you come in. We are now recruiting collaborators—artists, engineers, musicians, programmers, designers, and hackers—to help bring these projects to life. This is an opportunity to work with international artists including current Eyebeamers Zachary Lieberman, Taeyoon Choi, Jeff Crouse, Friedrich Kirschner, and others. Collaborators will participate in skill-based workshops, attend public lectures and associated events, and be an integral part of the production of exciting new interactive projects. The completed projects will be included in Eyebeam’s Summer 2008 exhibition.

To be considered, send us a letter outlining your skill set and what you think you could contribute to the workshops, with a CV (in word or pdf format; no image attachments please) to interactivosinfo AT eyebeam DOT org by May 31. Selected collaborators will be notified June 3.

Interactivos? was initiated two years ago by the Medialab–Prado program and the Madrid City Council. This is the first time it has taken place outside Spain.

The full list of projects, with details on the kind of collaborative help we are looking for can be found online. See: http://www.eyebeam.org/learning/learning.php?page=interactivos

top

June 14: MIXER: with Kudu | BiLLLL$ | The Collection Agency

Kudu

Date: Saturday, June 14, 9PM – Midnight
Location: Eyebeam, 540 W. 21st St., NYC
Cost: $15. PURCHASE TICKETS HERE: MIXER JUNE 14

Open bar! Sponsored by Dewar’s, Newcastle Brown Ale, and The Onion.

Kudu | BiLLLL$ featuring Guillermo E. Brown | The Collection Agency

Plus interactive art by Eyebeam artists: Addie Wagenknecht | Friedrich Kirschner | Digital Solutions | Geraldine Juárez

MIXER is Eyebeam’s new series dedicated to showcasing leading performing artists in the fields of live video and audio. In addition to live performances by video artists, musicians, VJs and DJs, each MIXER presents new interactive work by Eyebeam artists that encourages audience participation and creative play. Hybrid in format, and Eyebeam in spirit—collaborative, spontaneous and a little off-the-wall—MIXER electrifies Eyebeam’s Chelsea warehouse for a Saturday night quite unlike any other.

top

New from our Labs

Steve Lambert launches Add-Art

Ad-Art

Add-Art is a free Firefox add-on that replaces advertising on websites with curated art images. Created as a open source project in Eyebeam’s R&D OpenLab, developers are encouraged to contribute to the project though Eyebeam’s development site (which includes a wiki, ticket system, and code repository). For more info: http://add-art.org.

For a video introducing Add-Art, with installation directions, see: http://vimeo.com/1075987

Steve is also hosting a remix contest: http://fffff.at/intro-to-add-art-f-remix-contest/

top

Teta Haniya and the Secrets of Syrian Seduction

Syrian Lingerie by Ayah Bdeir

After decades of running her kinky Syrian lingerie store in the Hamidiya souk of Damascus, Teta Haniya has arrived in America bearing gifts. Drawing on more than 60 years of Islamic teachings on seduction, and updating it using her arsenal of kitschy technology, Teta Haniya hijacks the Western panty, triggering the sexual liberation of American women. http://www.haniyassecrets.com

Teta Haniya’s Secrets is a line of electronic lingerie made by Eyebeam R&D OpenLab fellow Ayah Bdeir and graphic designer Luma Shihabeldine. See pictures and videos of Teta Haniya’s Secrets (including the flying panty, ponpon panty, fiberoptic panty, talking panty, magnet panty), from last week’s event on wearable technology at Eyebeam: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26390070@N03/sets/72157605278503947/

top

Pocket Lightcoder

Lightcoder by Jerry Juarez

Digital communication relies on the performance of networks of infrastructure that enable the transmission of messages. In the event of a massive breakdown of these networks in a natural disaster or social crisis, how will we transmit information?

Have no fear: Eyebeam senior fellow Jerry Juárez has designed a new tool for the end of the world: The Pocket Lightcoder, a rebozo-style bag and communication device to explore the possibilities of survival in an urban environment. There are only a few Pocket Lightcoders left, so if you need one for your survival kit or want to find out more about her upcoming “light-mobs”, shoot her an email at: .---- . .-. .-. -.--@eyebeam.org
http://www.chocolaterobot.com/lightcoder.html

top

Community

May 31: Graffiti Research Lab at the Brooklyn Academy of Music

The Graffiti Research Lab will be tagging the side of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Peter J. Sharp Building on May 31 to coincide with the midnight screening of the documentary Graffiti Research Lab: The First Season. The GRL events are part of the Sundance Series at BAM from May 29 to June 8.

For a complete schedule of events: http://bam.org/sundance/frontier_2008_LASER.aspx.

top

June 1: How Soon is Now?

How Soon is Now?
Date: June 1 – August 18
Open House: 2 – 6PM, Sunday, June 1
Location: The Bronx Museum of the Arts, 1040 Grand Concourse, Bronx

Eyebeam alum Luke Lamborn will show three new videos made during his residency at Eyebeam at this year’s Artist in the Marketplace exhibit at The Bronx Museum of the Arts. How Soon Is Now? features an array of work by 36 artists from Artist in the Marketplace (AIM), one of the most celebrated and competitive programs for emerging artists in the country.

For more information, visit: http://www.bronxmuseum.org

top

June 4: 01SJ Adobe Global Youth Voices Exhibition

01SJ
Date: June 4 – 8, 2008
http://www.01SJ.org
http://01sj.org/?page_id=63

Liz Slagus, Eyebeam’s Director of Education and Public Programs, is heading out to the 2008 01SJ “global festival of art on the edge”, June 4 – 8 to produce the Adobe Global Youth Voices Exhibition.

Designed to enable youth worldwide to examine critical community issues, share their views, and take action, this project has funded 18 different international artists, art collectives, and established non-profit arts organizations and institutions to support the creation of new work by young digital artists. The project culminates in an exhibition of their work during the 01SJ Festival; selected works from the Adobe Youth Voices global network will also be on display.

top

June 14: Windows Brooklyn

Opening Reception: June 14, 3 – 5PM, cash bar
Location: Sam’s Restaurant, 238 Court St., Brooklyn

Art Walk
Date: June 22, 3 – 5PM
Location: Various

Closing Reception: June 22, 6PM
Location: Carroll Park (entrance on President between Smith and Court St., Brooklyn), closing performance by Maya Pyndick and Fletcher Boote

Windows Brooklyn is an art exhibition that will be installed in numerous storefronts along Court and Smith Streets in Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill, Brooklyn from June 14 – 22, 2008.

Participating artists include: Eyebeam alum Leah Gauthier, and many more! Windows Brooklyn is curated by Leah Gauthier, Sara Jones and Andrea Wenglowskyj. All three curators are graduates of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and are long-time collaborators.

Visit www.windowsbrooklyn.com for a full list of participating storefronts and artists, schedule of events, printable map of the area and more.

top

Read more…

Events This June: Net Aesthetics at New Museum and Personal Democracy Forum

Posted by Jaki Levy on May 29, 2008 at 7:36pm
via facebookConvening leading artists, critics and curators, this panel will look at the state of contemporary art engaged with the internet art today. The second in a series of Net Aesthetics 2.0 events, the panelists will explore the newest directions and greatest challenges faced by this expansive field. Panelists include artists Petra Cortright, Jennifer and Kevin Mccoy, Tom Moody, Tim Whidden and Damon Zucconi and will be moderated by curator, critic and Rhizome staff writer Ed Halter.Also, make sure to check out the Personal Democracy Forum this June 23-24.From their site:Technology and the Internet are changing politics -- now more than ever. Over the last five years, Personal Democracy Forum (PdF) has become the seminal gathering place for the growing community of people who understand the effects underway, and want to make sure they stay on top of what's coming next.This year PdF will be bigger and better than before--we're expanding to two full days at a spectacular new venue overlooking Central Park, at Frederick P. Rose Hall, the home of Jazz at Lincoln Center.AgendaThe 2008 election has shown that the Internet has become the central battlefield for campaigns, from the presidential race on down. So, on the first day of PdF 2008, we're going to focus on how technology is changing the electoral process. But we all know that no matter who is elected, big changes are also coming in how government uses technology to serve or connect with the public. That's why we're adding a whole second day to the PdF agenda, devoted to how technology is changing governance and civic action.
Read more…

Fast forward (revisited)

Posted by Deirdre Towers on May 23, 2008 at 6:00pm
This week has been an exciting melange of opportunities blossoming for dance on camera on the internet. This made me think about the article I was asked to write in 2000 about the future of dance films. Will this prediction indeed happen? Below is an excerpt from the article..."In 2050, when choreographers jetpack to their studios, they will arrive with their warm-up complete, having executed their stretching exercises along the way. The wall-size mirror-- which doubles as a screen and a computer secretary--greets them with the screen saver of yesterday’s best aerial variation. As the dancers straggle in, the choreographer walks through a heat-sensitive hallway programmed to search for a sound or music that is directly “in tune” with that day/that moment/that particular artist’s sensibility. That accomplished, she reviews her laptop notes: “Check video thesaurus for another leap to replace in time-code 01:06:20:04.” “Tell Samantha she must look into her gene pool to see what can be eliminated to erase her fears about re-entering the gravity field. She is breaking the rhythm of the group in the cloud scene.”: “Find someone whose legs serve as complement to Samantha’s torso. We’ll just have to substitute her from the waist down.”Sooner than that—dancers may be complaining as much about their video lap tops as their Achilles tendons. Instead of bemoaning the loss of six weeks when an injury occurs, a dancer might seize the time to download images or graphics from the Web to spike up her video portfolio. Apple’s digital editing software “Final Cut Pro,” released in 1999, plunged the price of post-production, empowering choreographers with tools that writers have enjoyed for decades. Choreographers will be accustomed to working with split screens, morphing techniques, and spot corrections. Dancers and/or whole sections will be deleted, copied, moved, and added as easily as words. A video dance may become as much of a composite as a CD is now. Choreographers may also secretly seek the editorial feedback of composition software programs. Today’s writing software automatically comments if a sentence is extremely long or convoluted; a composition software will coach the beginning choreographer with similar movement suggestions. We might see laptops hurling out of dance studios with a robot’s voice harping, “Delete. Phrase is boring. Delete...”Back in 1958, a year before the Cuban revolution, Graham Greene wrote Our Man In Havana, an amazingly timely spoof of incompetent spy networks. Midway in the novel, a doctor tells the main character, a vacuum cleaner salesman, “You should dream more, Mr. Wormold. The reality in this century is not to be faced.” As amusing as that statement is, it is subliminal advice that we all have lived by, to one degree or another. Maybe in 2058 a well-meaning friend will recommend a weekend free of dreams, virtual reality toys, and holographic nightclubs. “What you need, young man, is to dance more, barefoot in the grass!”Dancers are realizing that they possess a key that can open doors not only to a new form of cinema, but to a vehicle that expands their art. That key is the same one that enabled them to master their technique: imagination. With the patience of a sculptor and an image in mind of what their bodies could become, dancers chip away at their block of flesh and muscles. They routinely summon mental pictures of complicated movements to assure smooth execution. Teachers challenge their students to master mind-body coordination by using imagery. Visual, emotional, and physical training operate in tandem so that the best dancers are always directing and starring in their own film, seen only by their mind’s eye and one as ephemeral as their dance.The mirror was until recently a dancer’s most reliable companion. Then video began to vie for that position. As dancers come to regard cameras as more than mobile mirrors with a memory, who knows what could happen to the art of dance film? Conventions in each dance form, from ballet to butoh, might be reconsidered. The standard pas de deux might become a pas de quatre with the cameraman and editor as magicians lifting the ballerina to greater heights. Contact improvisation might expand in the filmed context with a lacing of two “takes”: one of the physical and one of the stream-of-conscious reactions between the dancers. Rousing finales and other standard crowd-pleasing tricks will be turned on their heads. The omnipresence of media will invigorate an ageless art.
Read more…

STEIM Funding in DANGER! Call for Support!

Posted by Marlon Barrios Solano on May 23, 2008 at 2:30pm

STEIM is a very important and influential organization with a huge positive impact on the electronic performance field, helping many performing artists to develop alternative ways interface movement and gesture with media outputs. It has developed software, hardware and educational platforms that have allowed hundred of artists from all over the world to experiment with technology with DIY and sustainable approached. I was able to create my very first wireless sensor system at STEIM during an artistic residency in 2003 using hacked game controllers. That support has continued during the past 4 years and have always been open and generous with my new projects and their evolution. They were one of the first dance-tech.net "institutional friends" and I know that they have supported many of the members of this network!! I got the bad news that they might be loosing their funding from the government. This is the content of the announcement, please read and take action to help STEIM continue supporting our experimentation! STEIM needs your support! Things are not well at STEIM. We are in the danger of losing our structural funding from the government, based on a review from the advisor board which called us 'closed and only appealing to a niche audience'. The outlook isn't exactly bleak, but at the moment our future is unclear. As we see you as an important friend and colleague of STEIM, we would like to ask you to help us present our case that we are connected to a diverse network of professionals and that our work has significant influence on both a Dutch and an international community. What you can do is to send a letter of support, and make sure we receive it by May 26. We hope that these letters will show the variety and depth of the effect STEIM has in the real world. The contents are up to you, a few good lines will suffice. You could tell how you or someone you know benefited from their contact with STEIM: making or refining an instrument or an idea for a performance or meeting fellow artists, or what you feel would be lost if STEIM ceased to exist, or waxing aphoristic, just 12 words about STEIM. Also include some specific details of your context: as an artist or educator or musician or code hacker - so your place in the world will be visible for the committee. A letterhead with your organization or institution and your position or title above your signature are small things that can leave an impression. As for how to reply, time is of the essence so email is the preferred option. If you have time to scan a printed letter that's great but we can print emails or faxes as well. Unfortunately we have only a short period for our response, so we would like to receive your letter by May 26. You can address the letter to the Council for Culture. Please send your letter to: Email: knock@steim.nl Fax: + 31 (0)20 6264262 Address: Achtergracht 19, 1017WL Amsterdam, The Netherlands > > > Sending a personal letter is the best, but for a quick message use the online support letter. See the petition in their site here
Read more…

Voodoo

Posted by CreationEditor on May 22, 2008 at 9:30am
TITLE OF EVENT: I AM DIGITAL - The Voodoo SessionTYPE OF EVENT: CLUB / ARTS EventDATE: Saturday 31st May 2008TIME: 9pm-1amVenue: The Voodoo Rooms, 19a West Register St, Edinburgh, EH2 2AA www.thevoodoorooms.co.ukEvent Website: www.iam-digital.comEnquiries TEL: 01316677363 or 07877835295Email: chakan@iam-digital.comShort Description: After the successful event in February 08 I AM presents a night of international exposition, collaboration, and performance produced with emerging and established artists from Scotland, South Africa, England, Germany, Canada, Venezuela, Cuba, Belgium, France & Spain, the collaborations of which were in many cases instigated in Scotland. The "innovative" program of digital art, dance performance and live music aims to promote discovery, discussion and relaxation with likeminded people in an informal environment.The night encompasses the work of emerging and established artists and bands, providing an innovative platform for exposition, performance and audience interaction (because in fact people are art). I AM develops with the participants (the audience and artists alike) an atmosphere of collaborative creativity, and the opportunity to enjoy good music and dance.Program:MUSIC & DANCE SHORTS 9pm-9.40pm"This is not a body" Retina Dance. (Belgium)"Trench" Sabine Klaus. (Germany)DANCE PERFORMANCE & DIALOUGUE 9.40pm –10.05 pmRites" (an extract) - Anthony Missen & Kevin Turner.MUSIC, TIME BASED MEDIA & ANIMATION 10.10-10.25pm* -"Human Cosmic"- Monica Fernandez (Spain)"This is not a body" Brian Hartley (Scotland)"2008" Damien Cupyers (France)"Hit me Baby" Rachel Maclean (Scotland)LIVE BANDS 10.30pm-MidnightAsazi Space Funk Explosion - Afro-Celt dance floor tribal rhythms – (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Scotland, England)DJ Midnight – 1amDJ Ricky Ried (Hanover99 & DigitalNYE)However for extensive details please visit www.iam-digital.com/events.php, where you will also be able to link to extensive artists profiles.
Read more…

Latest Blog Posts

Most Popular Blog Posts

Blog Topics by Tags

Monthly Archives