Mixed-Reality Dance Performance
Overview
Commissioned by Anarchy Dance Theatre and the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), this digital experimental version of the classic work Second Body was co-created for the Taoyuan Tech-Art Festival. Utilizing technologies such as game engines, motion capture streaming, multi-user connectivity, 5G, and cloud computing, it reimagines the dialectical relationship between the physical body and the virtual.
Category
Hybrid Experience
Digital Design
Year
2022
Showcase
2022 TAxT
Adapted by Anarchy Dance Theatre artist Jie-Hua Hsieh from the original dance piece Second Body, this project digitalizes the performance through collaboration with 5G technology. Audiences become luminous spheres, collectively illuminating the virtual stage. The performance begins by constructing the presence of the "body," as dancers study the structure and texture of the "natural body," embodying our current understanding of the self’s "First Body." Next, a 360-degree full-body projection shapes the form of the "unnatural body"—the "Second Body"—offering a movement experience distinct from the First Body.
The performance integrates dance with cutting-edge technologies such as motion capture, virtual avatars, and the seamless fusion of online and offline realities. Combined with sound, choreographic language, and magical lighting effects, it shapes this “Second Body” experience.
Within the exhibition space of the Second Body digital experimental version, viewers can choose to experience either live dancers or virtual representations, reflecting diverse life experiences and viewing preferences. Han-Yu Feng observes that life experience has two facets: one is, as Jie-Hua describes, "connecting with what is original," and the other—precisely what makes tech art fascinating—is the creation of new life experiences. NAXS has long been fascinated by exploring the “archetypes” of human life experience, with works centered on concepts such as the afterlife and singularity—unknown human experiences. Through technology, we strive to evoke these emotions, perhaps tapping into something embedded deep within human DNA.
Credits
