In the first two years of the project, professionals from very different fields have been exploring how technology can be transferred to the performing arts scene to enable extensive interaction with archives, the exploration of virtual environments, and the use of creative coding in dance.
Upon reaching our milestone regarding the design of these processes, we paused in Saint-Étienne to reflect on the progress we’ve made so far and to chart the course for the year ahead. Many thanks to the Laboratoire Hubert Curien for organizing this meeting and to Université Jean Monnet for hosting us in its facilities, the Bâtiment des Forges and Maison de l’Université.
We had the pleasure of being accompanied at this meeting by choreographer Gwendeline Bachini (La CRI) and theatre maker Carla Meller (Academy for Theatre and Digitality), who were participating in Premiere’s Open Day. Gwendeline explained that her collaboration with UJM allowed her to test new, accessible technologies for motion capture, and she shared the motivation that led her to experiment with technology in dance, as well as the guiding principle she follows: “Technology needs to be embedded within the subject of the artwork.” Carla Meller made the link between Premiere and the Acute project, presenting the work being done to support artists and institutions as they explore digitality in theatre. She also offered valuable insights into the challenges that institutions face when embracing digital innovation, highlighting the need for collaboration, time, and training.
From left to right: Philippe Colantoni (Assistant Professor at University Jean Monnet, St-Etienne), Gwendaline Bachini (Dance and New media Artist, award-winning XR Director), Suzan Tunca (Choreografer, Head of ICK Academy), Pablo Palacio (Artist, researcher, software developer, composer), Carla Meller (Responsible for international cooperations at the Academy for Theatre and Digitality (partner of the ACuTe project)), Aggelos Gkiokas (Technical Coordinator of the project, Assistant Researcher at ILSP).
During our internal discussions, we had the opportunity to preview some of the pilot technologies we’ve developed, including the extraction of 3D motion models from 2D videos, as well as the visualization of data from motion, text, and audio analysis.
We also discussed, using participatory methodologies, how to sustain the work of Premiere beyond the project’s official end, and we set the timeline for presenting our results in about a year (to be announced)!
By Elena Ananiadou, La Tempesta