performance
2024
warp-speed minnesang is concerned with making network infrastructure tangible. These physical objects manifest themselves in the form of data centres, radio towers, mobile phone masts, satellite communication objects, data cables and more. While the insides of the objects - and thus the flow of data - are physically inaccessible, their outer, rigid shells remain the only form of representation. The external appearance of the landscape is increasingly populated by representatives of the digital space, who, despite their immense importance, are rather inconspicuously perceived.
In a live performance, the duo explores a hypothetical scenario in which the normally rigid shells of the digital network infrastructure are set in motion, influencing our daily communication. The modern minnesong of the dancer captivates both digital and physical objects, making them dance drunk with love.
Showings:
discotec, Vienna
Supported by
Kultur Niederösterreich
keycomponents
Function
The performers movements are analysed by a markerless motion capture system. The bodys position is translated into the movement of motorized screens and digital representation of objects of network architecture.
Text
warp-speed minnesang is an artistic approach to making network infrastructure tangible - these physical objects manifest themselves in the form of data centres, radio towers, mobile phone masts, satellite communication objects, data cables and more. While the insides of the objects - and thus the data flow - are hardly physically accessible, their outer, rigid shell remains the only form of representation. The outer semblance of the landscape is increasingly populated by representatives of digital space, but despite their immense significance, they are perceived rather inconspicuously. warp-speed minnesang describes the (emotional) movement in the seemingly rigid objects, which takes place in their inner life and enables their visualisation. The performance lasts around 50 minutes.
Stage
There are 3 screens of different sizes on the stage, mounted on stands made especially for the performance. The screens show 3D representations of the network infrastructure, which follow or are warped by the dancer's movements live using a markerless motion capture system. In addition to the digital moving objects, the screens also react live to the movements - they are equipped with motors and move in response to the dancer's angle of tilt. This causes the entire system to move and distort. The result is an immersive experience in which digital and physical space merge and the communication via the networks takes the centre stage. The stage setting has a modular structure and can be easily adapted to the conditions of different spaces.
Performance
During the performance, the dancer moves through the complete stage space and is repeatedly juxtaposed with the moving screens. Confrontation attempts strengthen the relationship between the dancer and the moving objects and lead to an intense connection. The screens increasingly become their own entities and the dancer's counterparts/co-players. After a long research phase, the choreography was created by exploring the use of the markerless motion capture system. The movements, which are tailored to the digital and physical objects, are highly emotionally charged and are intended to empathise with the audience. The dancer's visual movement language conveys the stories and takes the audience on a journey through a fairytale land that can only exist in a dystopian future.
Distortion
warp-speed minnesang tells a modern fairy tale in which the minstrel is replaced by a female protagonist and it is no longer a person who is courted, but the buildings of the infrastructure. Drunken with love, they follow the dancer's movements and thus evoke a hypothetical distortion of the communication they house. In three scenes (songs), scenarios of distortion and their effects are made tangible, telling of mixed-up television signals, messages that never arrive or attempted internet fraud that turns out to be real love. If possible, short texts on the individual scenes should be printed in the programme booklet. The texts for the individual scenes will follow this concept text.
Music
In keeping with the tradition of minstrelsy, the music on stage will also be performed live in two channel audio. The entire sound is generated digitally and follows an specifically for the piece composed score. At the beginning, the electronic sounds emphasise the emotionality of the performance in a dramatic and then melodic way and with strong contrasts. The distortions are reflected in the composed pieces through rhythmic dissolutions and shifts.
Video
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