Creating common ground: dialogues between performance and digital technologies

Abstract

This article addresses the challenge of collaborative research between performers and technologists, seeking a model by which a common language can be developed between the collaborators. It draws upon the authors' experiences of projects where creative laboratory situations were used to support open-ended processes of exploration. The Performance Robotics Project demonstrates how a cycle of iterative knowledge exchange between performance academics and robotics designers and engineers was achieved through an embodiment exercise that developed unexpectedly. The Interactive Performance Telematics Project resulted in computer operators ‘performing’ via the control of animated sprites that were projected on stage alongside dancers. Playful interaction in these projects enabled artists and technologists to find common ground on which to establish a rich dialogue for further research.