Well, Dawn and I have recently returned from our week-long European visit
where we gave some lectures and did one performance. Here is a brief report.
We performed "In Plane" in a small theater at the Bauwkunst (School of
Architecture) as part of of Scott deLahunta's five-part series on
technology in the arts. The primary focus of the evening was Scott giving a
lecture on dance and technology, were he summarized some of the approaches
being taken by various folks. Along with his talk he showed short clips of
video by Robert Wechsler, Amanda Steggal, Merce Cunningham, and others
whose names I have unfortunately not retained. We also gave a short
presentaion at the New Media & Education conference that Scott had
organized, explaining the basic ideas about the MidiDancer sensory system
and speculating on how it might be used in schools. We had great fun with
this lecture because we had constructed a mini-MidiDancer that we could
slip on to an audience member. They made the actual music for the
demonstration which sort of sent the point home, I think.
In London, we were hosted by Susan Kozel at the HEAR space in an area
called Islington. There we gave a lecture about our work with the
MidiDancer, and on some basic concepts relating to the use of sensory
devices to make interactive live performances. We had hoped to perform most
or all of "In Plane", but the temperature was only 1 or 2 degrees
Centigrade (34 degrees Farenheit), making it too cold to really do it
properly. Still, about 20 or 25 people showed up to see what we had to say.
I was surprised at the great turnout, especially on such a cold evening.
But there seems to be a lot of interest in the kind of work we are doing,
and many seem to be pursuing their own ways of exploring dance and
technology. We then headed for the pub next door, where we talked at some
length with Susan about what is happening in London, and about here
experiences with Digital Dancing.
So, nothing critically important here, except to say that our visits only
reinforce my impression that there is a growing handful of people who are
interested in bringing dance and new media together. It was gratifying to
meet so many of them in person, and to hear about what they are up to. Many
of them let me know that they are on this list, and I want to encourage all
to tell us about their projects as they continue to work on them.
Dawn and I want to thank Scott deLahunta and Susan Kozel for having us --
it was a great experience in both cities.
Ciao,
Mark
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Mark Coniglio, Artistic Co-Director | troika@panix.com
Troika Ranch | http://www.art.net/~troika
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