Abstract
Daedalus Dreams is a dance-theater production by choreographer Eric Handman (University of Utah), movement artist Scotty Hardwig, and visual artist Zach Duer (both from Virginia Tech), that weaves drone technology, human movement, into a modern reimagining of the tragedy of Icarus and Daedalus. The research used a devised theater methodology to explore the creative potential between a human performer working with two Mavic drones. At times, the drones are piloted offstage, and at others were deployed autonomously using their onboard tracking software to manifest real-time interactivity with the performer. Working with drones is to engage pragmatic and ethical questions that can arise from the symbolic, mechanical, and material affordances that they embody. Much of this research was to locate and then integrate those material affordances for theatrical effect. Specifically, the drones’ sound, capacity to illuminate and generate wind turbulence produced the unexpected artistic media for this new work of dance-theater. As the project expands, it will continue to explore novel applications of choreographic thinking, human-drone interactivity in shared spaces, and expand the discourse around the aesthetics of surveillance technologies in contemporary performing arts.
Presenters
Eric HandmanAssociate Professor, School of Dance, University of Utah, Utah, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
New Media, Technology and the Arts
KEYWORDS
Drones, Choreography, Dance-theater
