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Into the void of singular identity, there I emerge - from endless streams of data, from pale bones and flesh. This body is my body is a multitude of bodies that blur into one another and penetrate the boundary between skin and pixel. As a dancer moves across the stage, an infinite virtual space unfolds around an avatar that mirrors his movements. The physical and virtual bodies are inextricably linked, but never without friction. Where I am and who I am is a monstrosity, a disturbance at the many thresholds of cyberspace.
THE DEAD CODE MUST BE ALIVE! is a hybrid piece that combines choreography, live motion capture, algorithmic design and experimental sound. A complex system transmits the dancer's movements via live stream into a virtual world, where they are mirrored by an avatar. This work by Brigitte Huezo welcomes mistakes because they are seen as opportunities for de-naturalization - making visible the mere skeletons on which our worlds are built.
Brigitte Huezo (they/them*) works post-digital in the fields of choreography, dance and performance. They are interested in the deconstruction of the body in a virtual, technology-driven world. They work at the intersection of technology, gaming, 3D design, film and fashion. In 2023, Brigitte Huezo created the interactive dance installation "Post Digital Bodies" for the 25th anniversary of Tanzhaus NRW. This resulted in a motion capture workshop that was offered as part of Jacolby Satterwhite's exhibition "We Are in Hell When We Hurt Each Other", invited by Kampnagel Hamburg and Deichtorhallen Hamburg. Brigitte Huezo studied BA Dance at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln with the support of the DAAD and scholarships.
Stroboscopic light is used in the piece. The visual effects may also cause reactions in people who are sensitive to sight and movement.
How did the human body become so hyperreal, constantly visible, fragmented and multiplied? How have they become integrated into complex digital systems - and vice versa? Which bodies rely on digital and virtual spaces to become real? How do they collectively produce alternative proposals to the restrictive and often violent realities they are confronted with in the physical world AFK?
"Inspired by cyberfeminism and low-brow culture, I am interested in creating hybrid experimental spaces," says Brigitte Huezo, "where identity is constantly shifting, collaged, ephemeral, can be constantly rearranged, its parts copied and pasted, and moves beyond a clear separation between the real and the imaginary. The combination of body and machine, the transformation into an avatar, into a cyborg - and the visualization of the various acts and errors of translation that accompany it - is a way of denaturalizing the existing political regimes. It's a way to create a world, to speculate how things could be different, even different from what we think is physically or biologically feasible today."
Hashtags: #allages #allethnicandgendergroups #gaming #danceandtechnology
Artistic direction, concept, choreography, dance: Brigitte Huezo
In collaboration with: 3D art and animation: Lukas Becker (original version) / Max*ine Vajt (revised version)
Computer science & sound art: Tim Pauli
3D fashion design & digital AI textures: Kerima Elfaza
A production by Brigitte Huezo. Funded as part of the tanz:digital program of the Dachverband Tanz as part of NEUSTART KULTUR. Supported by a dance residency 2022 in the Quartier am Hafen as well as by the Residence Plus format of Tanz Station - Barmer Bahnhof and Freiraum Atelier - Ben J. Riepe Kompanie.
Tickets can be purchased via the Theater im Depot or at the box office.
Photo credits: Brigitte Huezo