The Total Dance Theater

“The Total Dance Theater. A Virtual Reality Human-Machine Laboratory” transports Oskar Schlemmer’s and Walter Gropius’s dance experiments to the digital age. In a sensual, playful manner, it exploits the possibilities of virtual reality to explore various aspects in the relationship between humans and machines. Based on choreography by Richard Siegal, the production features a 360° virtual reality installation which offers visitors an intense experience.

Interactions, based on computer-generated codes, highlight the rules that define the relationship between humans, machines and space. In the “Total Dance Theater”, the visitor –making prototypical movements – creates a new dancer entity with whom he or she then interacts. At some point, the visitor realises that this entity has developed a life of its own and can no longer be controlled by its creator. Modular movement sequences and a changeable design enable users to create their very own experience and individualised versions. The setting and music are also designed to correspond to the customised choreography. The virtual reality laboratory is scalable and can be modified to fit the varying dimensions of exhibition venues as a spatial interactive installation for one or more visitors.

Choreography: Richard Siegal
Musical arrangement: Sascha Ring (Apparat)
Production: Maya Eriksson, Diana Schniedermeier
Art direction: Artificial Rome
Artists: Ólafur Arnalds (ISL), Brandt Brauer Frick, deufert&plischke, Wayne McGregor (GB), Kat Válastur