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Centering Bodies in Space and Place through Virtual Reality Dance Performance: A Practice-Based Research Perspective

Published: 23 June 2024 Publication History

Abstract

Our most cutting-edge virtual reality remains focused on visual perception over embodiment. This article presents a dance performance project that stems from a foundation in somatics, creative dance, and HCI to embrace the challenge of centering bodies and embodiment within virtual reality. Our team of choreographers, dancers, and technologists recount the two-year development of the 360 video through ideation, movement tracking workshops, prototyping, process share-outs, to a final performance, to reflect on how our goal to centre bodies guided our artistic and technology choices throughout the entire process of making. Space became a key theme as we refined the choreography and design to use the full potentialities of the immersive environment. Place became a key theme as we prioritised configurations that enabled the performance to be showcased in the Pacific, Eastern Europe and Latin America. We discuss challenges and opportunities for supporting embodiment in virtual reality dance performance.

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  1. Centering Bodies in Space and Place through Virtual Reality Dance Performance: A Practice-Based Research Perspective

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      cover image ACM Conferences
      C&C '24: Proceedings of the 16th Conference on Creativity & Cognition
      June 2024
      718 pages
      ISBN:9798400704857
      DOI:10.1145/3635636
      This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives International 4.0 License.

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      Published: 23 June 2024

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      Author Tags

      1. 360 Video
      2. Choreography
      3. Embodiment
      4. Performance
      5. Place
      6. Space
      7. Virtual reality

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      C&C '24: Creativity and Cognition
      June 23 - 26, 2024
      IL, Chicago, USA

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