META | morph: Dancing at the intersection of art and technology

An interactive online experience comprising music, dance, animation, and projection art, the piece invites the viewer to craft their own performative journey through four short, pre-recorded ‘choose your own adventure’ style performances. The project is a collaborative effort conceptualised and directed by Louise Coetzer and Inka Kendzia (who also handled the projection, visual effects, and compositing), with music by Brydon Bolton, Mr Sakitumi, Shane Cooper, and Matthijs van Dijk. A team of dancers is choreographed by Coetzer.

Upon opening the video, viewers are presented with four stories, each one bearing a single word title – Evolution, Rebirth, Transfiguration, and Alteration. ‘Evolution’ opens with the profile of dancer Farnel Smart who, following a brief glance at the camera, launches into a scene of fluid, expressive movements complimented by the ambient and ethereal sounds of Van Dijk. Like all the performances, it is rendered in grayscale and features a number of visual disruptions in the form of projected imagery, digital glitches, and animated flourishes playing out alongside – and oftentimes in competition with – the human performer.

A minute or so passes before the performance tapers off and two words appear on screen: ‘self’ and ‘other’. You are expected to choose. I pick ‘self’ and watch as Smart is joined by another dancer as well as numerous 3D renderings of them. The backdrop for the performance has grown significantly darker, and Van Dijk’s sounds have taken on a comparable tone, replete with sharp, moody stabs of the piano. Two words appear again: ‘Expanding’ and ‘Unfolding’. I choose the latter and the performance reverts to its white backdrop and adopts a lighter, if not slightly frenetic musical tempo.

So it goes with META | m o r p h. Each choice a narrative fork in the road, each word carrying its own thematic repercussions. The remaining performances follow the same format and, while they may come off as monotonous through a cursory viewing, each distinguishes itself through its lead performers, musicians, and general temperaments. Those familiar with the jazz and electronic improvisations of Shane Cooper, for example, will immediately note the double bassist’s hand in ‘Transfiguration’. Similarly, the sparse percussive work and sweeping electronic soundscapes generated by Sean Ou Tim aka Mr Sakitumi, lend ‘Alteration’ a certain cinematic quality, complimenting Christopher Sherwood-Adcock’s slow, intuitive movement wonderfully.       

While META | m o r p h positions itself “at the intersection between art and technology”, how do the two get along, exactly? The polished effects that come about through a filmed and edited physical performance do not always work in the favour of these pieces, and at times can come across as stylised advertisements or showreels for dance. The use of projected imagery and 3D animation, when used sparingly, makes for some truly beautiful moments, however. Being able to witness a performer’s body multiply and fill the confines of the screen, or to see a dancer perform a duet with their ghost, leaving an effervescent, digital trail in their wake are only a few of the possibilities of a physical performance in the digital realm.

Still, it is physicality that endures in these performances. Music, editing, projection, and animation may punctuate and elevate what we see, but it is the human body in motion that drives the narrative and holds the emotion throughout these works. Possibly, it is the power to craft one’s own story through the ‘choose your own adventure’ format of META | m o r p h that serves as the best endorsement of the marriage between technology and performance.          

Watch META | m o r p h here.

Credits: Concept & Direction: Inka Kendzia & Louise Coetzer
Music: Brydon Bolton, Mr Sakitumi, Shane Cooper, Matthijs van Dijk
Choreography: Louise Coetzer
Projection Art, Visual Effects & Compositing: Inka Kendzia
Performed by: Christopher Sherwood-Adcock, Farnel Smart, Mukovhe Monyai, Carla Scholtz, Gabriel Mehlomakhulu
Lidar Scan & 3D: Jason Stapleton
Videography: Oscar O’Ryan & Inka Kendzia
Edit: Oscar O’Ryan
Coding: Lasse Manson