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Weekly winter workshop sessions became ritual. The collective gathered around a large oval table to check in, which opened up trust for mutual sharing about what spoke to each of the collective members about the theme of welcoming and feelings of hospitality. The collective exchanged gifts\u2014objects, texts, stories, food\u2014and other offerings at most weekly sessions. Their collective activities also involved creating movement scores emerging from somatic explorations, led by Gabi Petrov<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Somatic Improvisation and Digital Feedback<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
The somatic improvisations and scoring sessions were captured with TouchDesigner (TD) software and Intel RealSense sensors to capture the performers\u2019 movements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Initial experiments with the technology allowed performers to sense their own agency and relationship to the sensors, to understand how their movements and decisions in the space could interact. Throughout the scoring, the performers were able to witness their digital selves; transformed into particles and textures projected on a wall. These scoring sessions aimed to move beyond the conventional view of technology as merely a means to an end, embracing instead the potential performative qualities that capture technologies can harness; creating new forms of engagement and relationality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using a green stage, performers\u2019 movements and gestures were captured as they responded to scores through TD. These recordings were then processed through a particle system that transformed bodies into abstract, moving visual forms. Projected back onto the stage, these visuals invited performers to re-engage with the traces of their previous actions while performing new scores, creating a continuous interplay between body, image, and technology. The digital-physical feedback loop became central to dramaturgical considerations in the development of the project. The interplay between technology and performers required their co-presence within a spatial environment composed of sensors, projection systems, computer screens and towers, cables and scenographic elements such as a chair, a dance floor, a green floor and backdrop. In this environment, performers, space, and technology were not distinct entities but mutually affecting agents, each shaping the evolving dynamics of the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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In Residency: Creating and Inhabiting a Space<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Residency activities included the creation of a series of performance scores, emerging from somatic explorations that brought forth, to use Esteban Donoso\u2019s words, \u201cquestions of time, repetition, echoes and traces, and the mutual affectation of bodies and spaces\u2014challenging the real virtual dichotomy of performing with technologies of capture, and addressing the complexities in between. These scores, derived largely from somatic work, invited participants to consider how to create and inhabit a familiar\u2014unfamiliar, always-elusive space in ways that welcome the plural, the queer, and the unexpected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Working with TD in the residency involved orchestrating video capture, digital processing, and projection on stage in close collaboration with the collective. Performers were introduced to technological needs to capture their body shapes and movements, making them aware of key spatial parameters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this set-up, explorations were recorded from front and top view sensors yet the green stage area that defined the capture zone did not cover the entire stage. By recognizing and adapting to these spatial and technical constraints, performers engaged with them creatively and playfully, deepening their awareness of the technology\u2019s presence and agency within the performance space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this scenario, TouchDesigner was not merely a tool. Through operating the system, the technology both affected and supported the performers\u2019 movements during the recording process\u2014starting, pausing, and stopping in response to their gestures\u2014without constraining them, allowing space for improvisation and spontaneity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Dramaturgy with TouchDesigner<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
A dramaturgical approach to working with TD helped to focus on shaping sequences of interconnected nodes and involved transforming captured videos into abstract particles of moving bodies through the particle GPU operator. This workflow embraced openness and imperfection, treating flaws as part of the creative and experimental process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The intent of transforming captured movements was not to create perfect visual replicas of moving bodies, but rather to explore from somatic explorations a sense of presence\u2014or co-presence\u2014through echoes, repetitions, and traces. Working with the TouchDesigner interface meant modifying particle colours and their behaviour, scale, quantity, density, opacity, and playing with delay, motion dynamics, and texture renderings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These dramaturgical considerations produced glitches, distortions, and uncanny effects, further enriching the feedback loop between live performance scoring and technological mediation. The performers\u2019 movements and gestures were tracked by Intel RealSense<\/em> sensors and applied to Particle GPU via TD Optical Flow, allowing real-time interaction between the performers with the captured and transformed video projections. By focusing on how the technology feels rather than how it functions, the experience became a sensory one\u2014marked by vulnerability and uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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