Carnival of Light

The objective of this project is to create a unique and original piece between the circus performers of PassePartout Circus and myself. The project will involve a 20—30 minute audio-visual performance encompassing the skills of juggling, contact juggling, poi, staff, acrobatics and dance. These skills will be used to create visual shapes. Acrobatics and dance will enhance the oeuvre and give the composition movement.

This project has been in the nursery stage for about 8 months, following my successes at the Project Arts Centre and The Beckett Theatre. I will use state-of-the-art motion tracking techniques, developed for my previous projects, to track the performers’ movements and gestures on stage. The captured movements of the performers and their props will be used to generate real-time audio and visual effects on stage.

We propose to explore an enhancement of performance—an enrichment of the body and its surroundings—through digitally projected set and costume design. The goal is not to develop a new narrative art form, or to celebrate technology on stage. Instead we are seeking to extend the traditional disciplines of stage/costume design; to support artistic expression through the use of interactive media. The technology and the performance must be harmonious and balanced. We will perfect our collaborative skills, and in doing so to extend the boundaries and deepen perception of the body and its surrounding architecture. The combined art attempts to built upon the research of artists such as Klaus Obermaier who push the limits of performance by creating synchronised audio-visual illusions, "where everything that moves on the stage is both interactive and independent... And any form, dancing or still, can be transformed into a kinetic projection surface." (deLahunta 2005)