How are AR and VR simulations being used in choreography and dance training?
Have you ever wanted to not only watch a ballet but be completely immersed in one? Or learn from the greatest ballet masters in the world from the comfort of your own home? These seemingly impossible notions are very much possible with AR and VR technology!
The first time augmented reality took the stage was in 1994 when Australian theater director, Julie Martin, created “Dancing In Cyberspace”. The piece featured both dancers and acrobats who interacted with human-sized virtual objects that were being projected in real time into the same performance plane as the entertainers.
A more recent example, involving a name you’re almost sure to know, would be Madonna’s 2019 Billboard award performance where she interacted with four augmented versions of herself, each one depicting a different persona: A spy, an accordian player, a cha cha instructor, and a bride. With both motion capture and AR technology being far more advanced than it was in the 90s, the augmented Madonnas were dancing on tables and interacting with the individuals around them.
In just 25 years, the difference in the prominence of the AR elements in these two pieces is stark. Imagine where we’ll be in 25 years from today! The scale of these AR and VR performances are only growing! In Madrid, more than 4,000 people over the course of three weeks went to experience “Le Bal de Paris” the newest virtual reality experience from Blanca Li Dance Company. This experience, created by Spanish choreographer and film director Blanca Li, invites 10 participants at a time to experience firsthand a romantic adventure through an augmented Paris, involving grand ballrooms, river journeys, and a dance sequence incorporating three of Li’s trained dancers. Blanca expressed her struggles during the creation process including having to choreograph around the VR backpack and headset equipment. But it was all worth it in the end as Blanca stated about the experience: “You are just like a spirit; you put the glasses on, you are in a beautiful place but you don’t exist.”
The benefits of AR and VR technology in dance don’t stop at innovative performances, it also has the potential to revolutionize dance training. A dance education from our world’s greatest teachers could become exponentially more accessible.
Schools that train ballet at a pre-professional level are few and far between but what if you didn’t even have to leave your house in order to get world class training!
Goh Ballet Academy Canada collaborated with Nextech AR to create an interactive hologram based training program that brings masterful instruction by Chan Han Goh, director of Goh Ballet, to anyone with a smartphone.
The steps are easy: Simply scan a QR code, download the AiR Show mobile app, and the app will scan your environment to place an augmented ballet mentor in your space. In Goh’s words: “As human beings in an ever-evolving world there is a need to find innovative ways to connect, inspire, and create shareable moments.” And now, these shareable moments are only a QR code away!
Yet another facet of the dance world that can improve with the help of AR and VR technology is Labanotation. Labanotation is the process by which a dance piece is recorded and preserved. Similar to how a score represents music in a written form, Labanotation consists of symbols that represent different body parts. The Dance Department at Ohio State has implemented AR and VR technology to create the augmented reality software, LabaLens. This technology, paired with a Microsoft HoloLens AR headset, uses a drag and drop method to document one’s movements as they’re performing them. Hannah Kosstrin, assistant professor of dance, says: “It’s completely kinesthetic.” This new approach to a century old practice shows how tradition and technology can not only coexist, but aid each other in furthering development in the dance world.
All in all, the ways that augmented reality and virtual reality technologies can advance both performance experience and training quality in dance are endless! Keep your eye out for hologram ballet teachers and virtual ballrooms, for these are the future of the art form. And we can only imagine what will come next!
Guest Contributor:
Evangeline Merritt
Friend of OMG Labs and classically trained student of ballet, hiphop and modern contemporary styles for over 10 years. Evangeline is interested in the intersection of technology and the arts and is always prepared to dance battle if crossed.
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