Real time motion analysis used in choreography for first time motion

ASU Public Events presents
A New Times Beyond Broadway event
TRISHA BROWN DANCE COMPANY & 
BILL T. JONES/ARNIE ZANE DANCE 
in the World Premiere of
the ASU Arts, Media & Engineering Project
motione
Sat., April 9, 2005 • 7 p.m. • $10 students/$20 all others
ASU’s Galvin Playhouse
Mill Avenue & Gammage Parkway, Tempe
Tickets at Gammage & Ticketmaster 
480-965-3434 
asugammage.com

Internationally acclaimed dance choreographers Trisha Brown and Bill T. Jones have collaborated with visual artists Paul Kaiser, Shelley Eshkar and MIT Media Lab’s Marc Downie; composers Curtis Bahn and Pulitzer Prize-winner Roger Reynolds; lighting designer Robert Wierzel and ASU artists and engineers to create two ground-breaking pieces that bridge the gap between technological experimentation and physical reality, using computer driven motion analysis and interactive systems. This is the first time that this complex technology has been applied, in real time, to choreography. The world premiere presentation will take place at Arizona State University’s Galvin Playhouse on Saturday, April 9, 2005 at 7 pm. 

motione, a project created by the Arts, Media and Engineering Program, co-managed by ASU’s Herberger College of Fine Artsand Fulton School of Engineering, has been in development for more than three years. It was created in collaboration with ASU Public Events, with support from the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts), the NSF (National Science Foundation) and Motion Analysis Corporation. This project will make its world premiere in Tempe, Arizona before going to NYC’s Lincoln Center for Trisha Brown’s 35th Anniversary tribute. The world premiere performance at ASU is sponsored by APS (Arizona Public Service).

Each dance piece is approximately 30 minutes in length and combines movement, sound and visual imagery. As each dancer moves, the motion capture and analysis system uses the movements to select accompanying sounds and images. In this way, the dancer’s movements influence what the audience sees and hears, creating a unique form of art where human and computation actions are merged and where each performance can be different.

“In this project, technology becomes a collaborator in the choreography,” states Trisha Brown. “I have had to change my approach to creating movement, rather than working in individual units, I’ve had to create a field of dance. The restraints of gravity and precision are gone with the computer interface.”

“I find this project very moving,” adds Bill T. Jones. “It is amazing what this could mean to the future of dance. Each audience will be able to see something different, no two performances will ever be the same…it is like hearing jazz improvisation. You don’t know what to expect next; you are witness to something occurring only in that exact moment of time.” 

TICKET INFORMATION
Ticket prices for the New Times Beyond Broadway engagement of Trisha Brown Dance Company & Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance in the World Premiere of the Arts, Media & Engineering Project motione at ASU’s Galvin Playhouse are $10 for students and $20 for all others. Tickets are on sale now at ASU’s Gammage Box Office and Ticketmaster. For more information, call ASU’s Gammage Box Office at (480) 965-3434, visit asugammage.com or ame.asu.edu/motione

Media Contact:
Media ONLY Contact: 
Kariann Medina, ASU Public Events
Kariann.Medina@asu.edu
(480) 965-1884 

Denise Tanguay, ASU Herberger College of Fine Arts 
Denise.Tanguay@asu.edu
(480) 965-7144

General Public: 
ASU Public Events 
www.asupublicevents.com 
(480) 965-3434