Berlin, 30 August – Once again, a group of international artists will devote several weeks to this question, exploring the philosophical depths of the often incomprehensible connection between performance and technology through workshops, research into the latest technologies and intensive discussions – always with a view to the potential that lies hidden here for all of us. The Digital Body Lab “Intelligence & Form”, which already took place at the end of August, is the origin of the production residencies that will intensify the experiences in the lab and serve the participants’ own artistic realisation in the period from 1 to 30 September.
Image above: Courtesy, Lake studios Berlin
The Lake Studios Berlin are at the cutting edge of technology – it is recommended to visit this extraordinary place on 30 September. On this day, the resident artists will present their results from the Lab and give insights into new emerging performance works.
Marcela Giesche founded and established Lake Studios Berlin in 2012, creating a unique independent art and cultural space for Berlin. Since 2016, regular Danch-Tech residencies have been taking place on the theme of dance and technology – in close collaboration with Mark Coniglio, artist and programmer of the ISADORA software. Together with him, Marcela Giesche has also developed the Digital Body Lab.
“The engagement of dancers and choreographers with new technologies and digital media is an important and challenging topic. Digital technologies have a rapidly increasing impact on our lives and daily routines, for example they enabled an essential part of human communication during the Corona pandemic. Technology in the performance area often harbours many problems due to its short-lived nature and constant innovations – with Digital Body, we want to free the synergies of these two areas from superficiality and the “wow effect” – because technology is made by people and they should not disappear in it,” says Marcela Giesche.
Elena Tilli, (grew up in Italy, lives in Dortmund) – director, media artist and theatre designer. Elena is co-founder of the Cistifellea Collective together with musician Nicolas Cristancho, where she directs and designs media, custom-made pieces and costumes. She is also a video designer for theatre productions and her work has been seen at The Kitchen Theatre in New York, Barichstaadt Opera in Munich and public theatres in Barcelona. After graduating with an MA in Mechanical Engineering, Elena completed her training at the Yale School of Drama in Technical Design and Production and Design for Theatre. She also completed the programme at Scuola Conia Raffaello Sanzio, directed by Claudia Castellucci, which focuses on the theory of scenic performance. Digital Bodies represents an opportunity to explore the use of new tools such as PTZ cameras and to continue to ask questions about the relationship between the body and technology on stage, in particular whether reality can influence the machine and its behaviour and how the machine can be an actor on stage.
Hannah Schillinger (from Munich, currently living in Berlin). Dancer (BA Modern Theatre Dance AHK Amsterdam) and choreographer (MA Choreography HZT Berlin). “I am interested in how technology can be a tool to connect with nature. In this residency I want to explore the relationships between the changing landscapes of 360° video footage and a* live performer:in on stage.”
Amanda Hameline (BA Harvard University 2012; MFA Sarah Lawrence 2020) is a New York-based choreographer and dancer and co-founder of Amanda + James, an interdisciplinary production company. She is interested in the balance between her attraction to the lightning-fast, slick “magic” of technology and the beauty of watching people do things live. She also really likes microphones.
Opiyo Okach is a performer, choreographer and interaction designer based in Kenya and France. His work explores the way we perceive and relate to each other, how we construct and cross boundaries across our differences of body, culture, geography and belief. He is known for his work with improvisation and instant composition. His work has toured in Africa, Brazil, Europe and the US and has been presented at a number of venues and festivals including Danspace Project, Festival Avignon, Rencontres chorégraphiques de Seine-Saint-Denis, Dance Umbrella, Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts in San Francisco, Theater der Welt and Pact Zollverein in Germany. “As part of this lab and residency, I am interested in exploring interactive performance installation prototypes as part of my ongoing work process for the hybrid project ‘Bodies in disPlacement’. The project questions the notion of intimate physical presence, of ‘being here and now’, inherent in live performance and theatre. What happens to “I am here and now” when place and time are not one but multiple…”.
Pao-Chang Tsai – Graduate of NTU with a BA in Drama and Theatre and a Masters in Musical Theatre from RCSSD, University of London. Pao was co-artistic director of the Tainan Ensemble from 2009-2018. Pao is often seen as a creator who has three talents – playwriting, directing and acting. He is interested in interdisciplinary work between theatre and dance and would like to explore the world of new media in this workshop.
Lucas Godoi is a Brazilian performer currently living in Berlin. He first studied hip-hop and education. His academic background started with his first degree in performing arts (focus on body expression and physical theatre), Brazilian pedagogy and is now a student at HZT-UDK in dance and choreography. In this lab he now wants to explore the power of interdisciplinarity in performance. He believes that in the development of an artistic process it is important to explore the different layers of possibilities in a project. In his work, he looks for possible intersections: Dance with biology, theatre and history, sculpture and performance.
Also starring: Yasi Moradi, Benjamin Krieg, Irene Giró, Kate Slezak, Gosia Gajdemska, Ana Sofia Calixto, Eni Brandner, Michael Tuttle, Anna Hull, Mark Coniglio
About the LAKE Studios
LAKE Studios Berlin is an international production and performance space for contemporary dance in the Berlin district of Friedrichshagen. They were founded in 2012 by choreographer, dancer and artistic director Marcela Giesche and built up with 7 international dance artists. The studios in the former carpentry workshop have a large performance hall, a small dance studio, a tech and media lab, a spacious garden area with an outdoor rehearsal stage, a wood workshop and a library. For 8 years, the diverse thinking and working spaces have offered hundreds of creative people the opportunity to develop their ideas and productions in all areas – from conception, rehearsals, costume, stage design, video and technology to performance – either independently or in collaboration with others. In addition to the rehearsal spaces, the participants also benefit from the residency and accommodation facilities directly on site. This special feature of the space enables artists to immerse themselves intensively in their creations and also to engage in regular dialogue with colleagues and benefit from feedback. There are regular presentation and exchange formats with local audiences.
WHEN?
Exhibition dates: Thursday 01 September – Friday 30 September
COSTS?
Free entry
WHERE?
LAKE STUDIOS BERLIN Scharnweberstrasse 27 12587 Berlin
