About Creation
Age of Audience: 7+
Number of Performers: 3 persons
Number of tour member: 10 persons
Stage Size: Flexible
Special Made for: Theater performances preferred
What we experience with the body — pain, touch, emotion — how do they connect to the “digital” world? Do such sensations exist virtually? In this hybrid performance-video game, sensors and projectors are employed in a specially created online platform that allows the audience to participate virtually, physically, or in a combination of the two modes. Participants partake in a kaleidoscopic digital experience, but after it is over, we are left with fundamental questions: What are the core values of being human? What does it mean to be human?
Blending conventional theater, cutting-edge multimedia, and human movement, Anarchy Dance Theatre seeks to create a unique mode for modern dance to reflect upon the philosophical implications of technology and the nature of humanity. Founded in 2010, the group has performed all over the world, and was named a Dance Company of the Year in 2016 by the German magazine Tanz. Their 2019 production, The Eternal Straight Line, was a nominee at the 18th Taishin Arts Awards.
Can you explain the relationship between digital technology and humans in your work?
Before digital technologies became commercialized and widespread, artists were already keenly anticipating their future impact. As a creator, I integrate choreography and digital technology to ask and answer these questions: With the integration of the two, what do our physical bodies experience? What happens to consciousness and the soul in the process? Regardless of how advanced a technology is, the most important factor is always the person — the “I” — who uses the technology. The composition of the “I” is shaped by the artist/performer, whose attention is focused on how technology affects the physical body..
Please talk about how you started and the progression of your work.
In “Seventh Sense”, from 2011, we began exploring the use of digital technology for production. Then with “Second Body” (2015), we started to approach the question of the relationship between physical and digital bodies. By the time we produced “The Eternal Straight Line” (2019), which discusses matters of life and death, a lot of progress had been made in terms of the state of technology and technical skill. We achieved better digital images and the ability to capture more visual detail. But moreover, with this work, one can see the processes of life playing out, such as when our family members change physically and as we watch our own bodies age. With the arrival of the new, there is always something newer to be found. Just as we chase progress in a never-ending cycle, a creator/artist is always following close behind, following like a shadow.
Event
TOUR INFORMATION
Second Body
Performance
19-20 January 2023
Aix-en-Provence, France
Ballet Preljocaj-Pavillon Noir
