Dance Magazine: I was one of the pioneers of what I call “computational choreography”—dance made with the assistance of computers. In 2007, I created and performed my work Choreobot with VICKi (Virtual Interactive Choreographic/Kinetic instructor), software that I coded to generate choreography, live. My experiences in this constantly evolving field give me a unique perspective on both its history and the questions AI now presses on dance.
3 comments:
This is insanely intriguing. I had no idea that there was choreography drafting software to begin with. I think this is because it's such a body focused artform, where choreographers usually plan a dance piece by doing it themselves. I was initially very skeptical about this, but I can see how it could be really helpful for choreographers to use. I found the described performance piece really interesting, where audience members would text in commands that then a performer would have to interpret them live on stage. I'm very curious about Ai's role in the software the article describes too… I wonder how AI would assist this type of software, I could see it being useful in generating animation between movements and stitching them together, but i don't like the idea of it generating pieces that imitate famous choreographers. Dance is an artform based on the human body’s relationship with sound, rhythm, and music. I believe that music is a very spiritual artform along with dance so overall, I really dont think ai would be able to generate meaningful choreography at all.
While I knew that there were existing computer programs out there capable of creating choreography (especially with the rise of generative AI), I had no idea the extent to which they’ve made an impact on the dance industry until reading this article. It makes sense that choreography can be derived from a process like coding, given how much of it can be formulaic in nature, just like coding. I love and appreciate the fact that the reason why programs such as this were created in the first place was out of genuine passion and curiosity. It was never truly generative “artificial intelligence” in the way in which we imagine AI today, but again, formulaic and analytical in how it processed and interpreted dance. It’s clear that many of the generative AI programs, concerning dance, which exist out there do not stem from that same vein, focusing on output rather than input. Always quantity over quality.
This is fascinating. I am not sure I totally grasp what it is talking about but from what I did gather it seems like it could be a really productive tool. I like that it is a software that interacts with choreographers and dancers and does not operate on its own. I also think it is interesting that the audience can interact with it. I do wonder if stage managers could use a tool similar to this for working in the dance world. I have recently started stage managing dance and found myself struggling to write down what I am seeing because I do not know a lot of the terminology used. I think something like this could be really helpful if either used by the stage manager or choreographer who then gives it to the stage manager. I am not a big fan of AI use in the arts but I do think there is a place for it. We just need to figure out where it can help and not hinder. I think this is a great opportunity but I would like to interact with it more.
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