Capturing Stillness: visualisations of dance through motion capture

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This project aims to bring together motion capture technology with established movement practices which cultivate attention on bodily awareness, and in particular Skinner Releasing Technique (SRT), to explore how sensorial awareness can be captured and what visualisations might emerge. SRT is a pioneering approach to dance which has evolved from the simple principle that when we are letting go of habitual holding patterns we can move more freely, articulately and powerfully. Joan Skinner, the American choreographer, dance improvisation pioneer and former dancer with the Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham companies, created the technique from early experiments in the 1960s. SRT utilizes image-guided floorwork to ease tension and promote an effortless kind of moving, integrated with alignment of the whole self. Tactile exercises (partner 'graphics') are used to give the imagery immediate kinaesthetic effect: spontaneous movement is evoked by imagery and guided movement studies. Motion capture is a generic name for the techniques which obtain motion data from human performers for a wide range of applications including biomechanics, sports science, ergonomics, advertising, TV and 3D computer games. Regarded as a significant component of the film and games industries, motion capture is also incorporated into arts events but it demands a level of expertise to use it effectively that is not readily achieved by artists.The project will explore how the methods and principles which characterise the practice of SRT and related practices can 'translate' to the production of visualisations for virtual environments, to shed light on contemporary ideas of interface design and display methods, and to understand more about SRT as a movement discipline. The aim is to enhance the interaction experience for audiences to produce new art experiences which are intellectually and socially engaging and can, through a re-engagement with the complexity of the moving body, generate new understandings about our relationship with our own body within the world. The project is therefore unique in that it will map a specific dance practice, embed this mapping within a game engine and test a variety of avatar visualisations in real time allowing audiences to interact and be directly involved in the process. Finally this interaction will be augmented by using these findings to immerse the player/performer into the action to create new performance spaces and experiences.