The dance world has introduced projection mapping to augment performances. Projection mapping acts like regular video projectors, but a variety of surfaces are used as the projection display, such as objects, bodies, floors, walls, etc...
Here are some examples of projection mapping used in dance performances. There are more to be seen in this article.
Here are some examples of projection mapping used in dance performances. There are more to be seen in this article.
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Pixel
The two choreographers, Claire Bardainne & Adrien Mondot, said of this piece, "we use images as trompe l’oeils. We want to deform perception, blur the lines between what is true and what is false, cross the daily boundaries of reality, and reveal things that are not “possible”. We want to modify, distort and offset our relationship to time and space, just like a hip-hop dancer with his or her body. It is at that point of junction that the performance was born: the quest for illusion" (2014). |
INORI (Prayer)
This is a large collaboration using face-tracking developed by WOW inc., hand-tracking developed by the Watanabe Laboratory, and high speed projection using DynaFlash, which projects at 1,000 fps and has a delay of less than 10 ms. Peter Kim, in a piece in Create Digital Music, "Watch stunning 1000 fps projection mapping on dancers’ faces" said "this is truly an epic effort, I think not only as a showcase for technology, but an impressive demonstration of artists and coders and different research projects working in close harmony. And so even if you don’t have this kind of technology at your disposal, the model in collaboration might be just as meaningful" (2017). |
As a dancer watching these videos of projection mapped performances, particularly the excerpts from Pisxel, I consider the psychological effects these interactive stage images would have on performers, as well as the necessary mental mapping required to move effectively through the projections. It would require dancers to overcome tricks that the mind's eye could play on them when they see a large projection of a whole, for example. They would also have to train to be precise in their stage placement to give the illusion that they are interacting with the projections.
Both of these phenomena would require dancers to inhabit their mind and body in a different way than they would typically for a classically lit stage performance. They would need to explore different kinesthetic awareness techniques as well as keep the choreography ingrained in their bodies so that they do not need to worry about remembering it while they are focusing on the projections. That being said, the surreal effect of the projection may actually help incite the memory of the choreography if a dancer has natural instincts to interact with it.
Both of these phenomena would require dancers to inhabit their mind and body in a different way than they would typically for a classically lit stage performance. They would need to explore different kinesthetic awareness techniques as well as keep the choreography ingrained in their bodies so that they do not need to worry about remembering it while they are focusing on the projections. That being said, the surreal effect of the projection may actually help incite the memory of the choreography if a dancer has natural instincts to interact with it.