Popular locations around Brisbane will be lit up this July, with lights, the sounds and the movements of Expressions Dance Company.
An exquisite collaboration between three talented Brisbane artists, ‘Friday Night Laneways: Lumen Body’ is a groundbreaking and very exciting venture for Brisbane. Four contemporary dancers will perform over three nights around the city, astounding audiences in colliding outdoor installations, with the sounds of Michelle Xen’s musicianship and the experimental animations by Paul Van Opdenbosch. Extraordinary choreography by EDC’s Elise May (also the director of the production) will see the lights and animations change with the dancers’ movements. Elise chatted with scenestr about the upcoming performances.
Hi Elise, tell us a little bit about what inspired the concept of 'Lumen Body'?
'Lumen Body' really began when the creative team came together to dream up a work that would navigate the territories of dance, animation and visual projection, design, live electronic music and performance installation. We wanted to create a work that audiences would engage with on visual and sonic levels and that would have sculptural design elements within the set, costume and projected imagery. The concept of ‘lumen’ or ‘luminosity’ arose from the early experiments of animator Paul Van Opdenbosch who took a piece of my recorded choreography into the animation studio using high-tech Motion Capture technology and from that data, created a beautiful, abstract, luminous visual language. This informed our desire to work with fibre optic lighting so that the work could be ‘self-lit’ and essentially generate it’s own sense of texture and glow. We wanted to find a way to bring our intersecting art forms together in such a way that would create a really unique experience for the viewer.
As a choreographer, was the process for Lumen Body different from most other productions? How so?
Like any work of art there is an element of risk when creating something new. With 'Lumen Body' the process of devising the work has taken place across a whole series of new ideas and new combinations of elements. A very explorative and experimental and possibly even playful approach has resulted. In the studio we have generated movement that has been inspired by many different inputs, the visual, the sonic but also the architectural or sculptural notions that have arisen from the design have informed the ways that we construct the movement. I feel as though what we have developed is connected very closely with the context of how it will appear in the environment in which it will be performed.
Michelle’s electronic score has also provided inspiration for the kinds of forms that we are creating with the body. My intention was also to integrate Michelle’s incredible physical presence into the choreography in a playful, experimental way.
You’re collaborating with artists Paul Van Opdenbosch and Michelle Xen; what have they brought to the project?
Michelle Xen is a remarkable artist who has a following not only as a live performer but as a visual artist. Her work is very innovative and visually complex and harnesses her extraordinary talents as a musician and vocalist. I have wanted to work with Michelle for a long time and this project presented the perfect opportunity to engage with her as a co-creator.
I have had a creative working relationship with Paul Van Opdenbosch since we began working together whilst we were both engaged in our postgraduate research at QUT. Together we utilised the Xens Motion Capture technology which is essentially a lycra suit fitted with a series of sensors similar to those found in an iPhone that calculate the body’s position using information on the ‘x, y, z’ rotational planes against the Earth’s magnetic core. In the animation studio Paul then uses this information to create beautiful, abstract moving images generated from the body’s movement. For me these forms compliment dance in a performance setting. They provide a visual language and connection with the choreography that is rich and descriptive.
'Lumen Body' is really the result of a series of conversations around the kind of work that we as artists are each inspired to create. It combines elements of our interests in performance, design and visual art, but is also completely informed by the ideas and process of collaboration with these really interesting artists.
In the end, how did all the elements of the performance come together?
The work has been quite organically evolving throughout the creation process, as each idea becomes a physical reality and is added to the already existing combination of elements. I would liken the process of bringing all the elements together as being a little bit like a puzzle, just figuring out how each component sits with the others. I think because our conceptual notions of what the work would represent have been quite clear since the beginning, we have managed to create something that is a hybrid of interconnecting forms that will continue to evolve, right up until the first performance all of the details come together in front of an audience.
What can audience members expect from each of the shows?
The performance is durational, so we will be in each site-specific location for an extended period of time, however the performance is designed in 15-20 minute cycles of activity, so as an audience member 'Lumen Body' is a work that you can either drop in to see or walk by in its outdoor location as you are passing through. We hope to spark the interest of new audiences who may not ordinarily experience live performance, but who may stop to watch one of our performance cycles. As an audience member you can expect to see a contemporary dance performance installation with beautiful moving projections and live electronic music that glows!
It’s quite futuristic, the incorporation of animations that respond to the dancers’ movements. Do you see a bright future of dance performance in this sense?
I think like many areas of endeavour dance is becoming increasingly connected to areas of advancement in technology and this can really inform the future direction of our art form. There is a lot of exploration to be had in terms of the combination of performance elements and in taking non- traditional approaches to the presentation of contemporary dance. I think there is a definitely a future being carved out with work of an experimental nature which engages audiences differently, but also speaks of our interest in innovation and in the new and emerging technologies which are becoming increasingly available to us.
Why were the three locations of the Powerhouse, Gasworks and South Bank selected?
These three locations around Brisbane are predominately public spaces in which people gather, but they also offer different interesting qualities as sites for performance. In choosing the locations for our performances we were not only inspired by the physical setting of each space, but also by the types of audiences that each setting may attract. We will be very interested to see how they will differ and also compliment one another as performance venues.
Will the performance change depending on the location?
The performance content itself will remain the same for each performance location, however each of the sites will each offer their unique qualities which will influence the way that a work is experienced in terms of its viewing possibilities and its proximity with the audience. These factors will obviously all contribute to the viewing experience in each location.
{youtube}v=noGYm0j1Ggo{/youtube}
What do you believe audiences will love about the performances?
I believe audiences will experience a really unique combination of elements when they come to experience 'Lumen Body'. They will love the live elements of the performance, engaging contemporary dance with Michelle Xen’s unique performing presence. The installation will be unlike anything seen before, it will simply have to be experienced to be understood. I think audiences will love the physical beauty of this show, its lumen qualities and its sensory combination of the visual and sonic.
Depending on the response of audiences, do you hope to add more performance dates or take production elsewhere?
We would like to continue to perform and present 'Lumen Body' in the future. We have specifically taken this into consideration in making the work and feel strongly that it will have future iterations of performance. This project is I suppose a testing ground for what may be possible in the future, and from what we have experienced in the process of creating 'Lumen Body' its future looks really exciting.
Lumen Body will appear in locations around Brisbane throughout July.
