Digital Dance Performance: Reach

Time frame: 5 weeks

Description: This piece is funded as part of Google's Future of Storytelling project. It was a collaborative effort between me and artists from NYU's Dance Dept.. The performance is named "Reach" as it depicts a journey where dancers try to reach the glowing cloud at the start, then the shiny particles on the ground, and eventually coming to a peaceful state of mind after all the volatility from the outside world disappeared.

I discovered a prevalent number of digital performances share a common challenge -- that the audience attention is constantly debating between the dancers and projected graphics. My friend Yachao Zhu(dancer&choreographer) and I started to wonder if incorporating physical installations to a performance can help reconcile the two performing entities. I then proposed this piece in early 2015 and became a grantee of the project. We teamed up with two other dance artists, Berit C Ahlgren and Hongyu Guo, from Tisch School of the Arts.

Key components: Physical Computing(Arduino, Bluetooth), Max MSP, DMX Lighting System, TripleHead, Projection Mapping, Visual Programming(Processing).

(Read more below for detailed documentation)

OUR BLUEPRINT

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FABRICATING THE CLOUD

Featured

Dec 29, 2015

My experience of fabricating cloud for another project came handy this time. We immediately decided to use wire mesh to fabricate the structure of our cloud. We debated the size -- should the cloud stretch over a comparatively large part of the ceiling, or should it be a stand-alone object as a performing role. We actually liked the first idea. But as we are presenting our piece with other students' projects, we found that the first idea was not feasible -- it may block certain DMX lights that other groups might use. We had to go with our second idea.

Dec 29, 2015

We made several pieces of cloud, each with some variation in shape. This one in the picture was eventually abandoned. The reason was its shape was too literal, and a bit cartoonish. What we wanted is something more abstract.

Dec 29, 2015

Mounting the cloud onto the ceiling wasn't very hard. What's challenging is how to allow enough space behind it for multiple electronic devices -- power, micro-controller and Bluefruit EZ Link. We bent the wire mesh in a way to hide those components while leaving space between the polyester and the devices in order to ensure safety.

Dec 29, 2015

This is how it looked after installation. We tried with white and blue LED strips. We liked the blue color for it somehow gave a thunderous and mysterious feeling.

Dec 29, 2015

MANAGING INTERACTIVE ELEMENTS

MOCK PERFORMANCE & REHEARSALS

The choreography was a total collaborative efforts. My amazing teammates would come up with beautiful moves after me deciding which part of the piece would have what kind of movements, be them powerful, gentle, meditating or frustrating. We had a lot of discussion on the fly which eventually led to the final choreography.

Since I was the only one in the team who was working on the technical part, the code and installation were still in the making while we have already completed choreography. As showtime was just around the corner, we decided no more waiting for a complete rundown. We went through the whole piece several times with my teammates dancing and me shouting out what visuals and interactions were supposed to happen. I had the sequence written down and it served as my guide when we went live.