Alexander Whitley Dance Company

Dance in digital worlds: In its 27th edition, TANZ Karlsruhe transcends the boundaries of space and time as a guest at the ZKM – with the world premiere of a performance by the Alexander Whitley Dance Company from Great Britain. 

With the fascinating fusion of technology and dance, the project by TANZ Karlsruhe, ZKM and the Digital Body Festival in London opens up radical new possibilities for performance art. Through the use of motion-capture streaming technology, dancers can interact with each other in real time across great distances, expanding the boundaries of conventional performances.

The experimental performance explores the interfaces between modern technologies and traditional movement practices. It brings together two dancers from different locations – ZKM | Karlsruhe and the Digital Body Festival in East London – in a virtual environment. This not only opens up new perspectives on the interplay of space and movement, but also innovative ways of creative collaboration.

The virtual encounter is technically based on the Alexander Whitley Dance Company's Otmo software, which enables the dancers to interact synchronously in a shared world in the form of digital avatars. The interaction takes place not only on a physical level, but also through the patterns and formations generated by the software, resulting in a dynamic, creative and often unexpected performance.

In addition to this exciting performance, the TANZ Karlsruhe Festival offers the opportunity to delve deeper into the subject matter through interactive workshops. Participants will have the opportunity to try out the Otmo desktop software for themselves and develop their own digital choreography. In addition to a fascinating insight into the project, there is the chance to get creative yourself and experience the connection between dance and technology at first hand. 

Duration approx. 20 minutes