Historical perspectives and ongoing developments in telematic performances.

Abstract

This paper presents historical perspective on development 8232, and new technology applications for performances in which the author collaborated with several other dancers, musicians, and media artists to present synchronized colocated concerts at two or more sites. This work grew out of the author’s participation in the landmark computer music ensemble, “The HUB.” Each of the various performances was made possible by an evolving array of videoconferencing hardware and software. These will be discussed, as well a look back at the early history of “telematic” performance. The problems and interesting side effects presented by latency and dropouts are a unique part of this performance practice. This work leverages the concepts of shared space, and video and audio feedback generate with evolving forms created by the combinations of the space, the sounds, and the movements of the participants. The ubiquity of broadband Internet connections and the integration and constant improvement of videoconferencing software in modern operating systems make this unique mode of performance an essential area of research and development in new media performance. These new techniques will be discussed as well.