March 02, 2006
Devolution
Realizing Extreme Parameters for Choreographic Invention
Internationally acclaimed choreographer Garry Stewart and Australian Dance Theatre break new ground in their collaboration with renowned Canadian robotics artist Louis-Philippe Demers to create a singularly unique world the likes of which Australian theatre has never produced before - Devolution.
Situating dancers in communion with numerous large and medium scale robots, a kinetic set, robotic protheses and ‘body parts’, Devolution explores the anthropomorphic potential of robotic machines and the nature of human consciousness. Filled with symbolism and ritualised process Devolution highlights that for all of our technology we are still primitive, of the flesh and live as instinctive biological beings.
As performing entities, the robots are given equal status to the human bodies in the work, albeit with some major operational differences. I haven’t tried to conceptually separate robots and humans as different ‘species’ but have been interested in the collision and confluence of the two. Let’s see what happens when we collide these operating systems—that sort of thing. It’s as much an experiment in morphology and function as anything else, explains Australian Dance Theatre's artistic director, Garry Stewart. [via Regine on we-make-money-not-art]
Posted by jo at March 2, 2006 08:26 AM
