Alexandra Fung
Intersecting Dance, Design, and Multimedia in Live Performance: A Place Among Them
Abstract
Live multimedia dance performances lack a common integrational approach, especially in comparison to other arts forms. Despite the cultural relevance of this developing genre, the scope of academic research on dance and multimedia is significantly limited. This research sought to answer the question: How do choreographers use multimedia and spatial design to create innovative work that challenges the boundaries of traditional live performance? To answer this question, excerpts of five notable dance and multimedia works were analyzed, using Ohio State University’s “Synchronous Objects” as inspiration. These five works are Biped (1999) by Merce Cunningham, Infra (2008) by Wayne McGregor, Dance by Lucinda Childs (2009), Fondly Do We Hope...Fervently Do We Pray (2009) by Bill T. Jones, and Jusqu’au silence (2011) by Sophie Corriveau. The chosen works were analyzed for multimedia elements, movement themes, spatial design in the choreography, and synchronization between the multimedia elements and the performers. Similar to “Synchronous Objects,” the data from these analyses was then charted to match the timeline of each work, creating choreographic storyboards. Through this process, these analyses revealed that multimedia in these works tended to serve three purposes: To establish an aesthetic, to highlight the choreography, or to further a narrative or thematic concept. These works showed no universal approach for incorporating multimedia in choreography. How often and where multimedia appears in space significantly differed between works. Based on these findings, five choreographic tasks were completed, taking inspiration from the analyzed structures to explore different methods of multimedia integration. These tasks informed the creation of five movement sections that were then synthesized to form a full piece. This piece was presented in early April and featured a multimedia collaboration with an animator, using design ideas gleaned from the analyses.
A Place Among Them – Dance Concept
AN EXCERPT FROM THE THESIS
"In addition to information gathered from the analyses, the inspiration for this piece came from riding the bus every day in San Francisco last summer. The bus brings people together from all walks of life—the businesspeople, the homeless, the tourists, the students, and the drifters, among others. I have always been interested in the idea of commuting with the same people every day, knowing they all have unique life stories but not knowing what those stories are. Some people I would see almost every day: the couple dropping off their two young children on the way to work; the homeless man obsessively running his hands through his hair on the street corner; the tourists with their maps and cameras. I found myself wondering what their stories were, where they were going every day and how they wound up in the same place at the same time as me. This experience and the real people involved served as the inspiration for my choreographic concept.
The task choreography acts as the foundation for each movement section, and each movement section seeks to highlight the dancers as individuals meeting in a common space. I assigned each dancer a character to emphasize this idea of individuality and develop movement themes, but this is not an explicitly character-driven piece. The inspiration for these characters came from five of the different types of people I encountered on my daily commute: the drifter (Olivia James), the homeless person (Olivia Walton), the student (Kiersten Borkert), the businessperson (Megan Boericke), and the tourist (Annie Marx). James serves as the central guiding figure for the progression of the piece, but not overtly so. With each developed task section serving to highlight the dancers as individual people, the final section seeks to build a moment of unity. But like the people who ride the bus with no final destination, one character is ultimately left behind as the others reach the end of their respective journeys."
Premiere
A Place Among Us premiered at Elon University on April 6th, 2018, at 5:30 pm. The showing took place in the Center for Fine Arts, Room 117, with the intention of creating a gallery-like setting. The piece was performed by Megan Boericke, Kiersten Borkert, Olivia James, Annie Marx, and Olivia Walton. The score included "Familiar" and "More" by Nils Frahm, "When She Came Back" by Max Richter, and "Rain in Your Black Eyes" by Ezio Bosso. The piece was about 18 minutes in length and featured animations by Katrina Tumasz.
The piece premiered as part of the larger event, "Two Nights of Undergraduate Research," featuring presentations by other senior BFA Dance Performance and Choreography majors. Publicity for the event included a flier and Facebook event. The gallery includes the flier and accompanying program for the second night of the event, both designed by Alexandra.