Technology in Dance
Across all dance genres, technology is employed onstage in a myriad of ways. Among the examples shared here, innumerable possibilities are evident.
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Compagnie Käfig
Pixel, 2023
The interactivity between performers and projections is a key element of this full-evening production by the French choreographer Mourad Merzouki.
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Ice Dance International
Energy Flow, 2023
Outdoor ice skating on a summer day is made possible by EZ Glide synthetic ice, formed by interlocking polymer panels that mimic the properties of ice.
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Bill Shannon
Maker Moves, 2022
Widely known as Crutchmaster, Bill Shannon employs crutches, skateboards, and other paraphernalia to bring his artistry to life.
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Brian Brooks
Viewpoint, 2021
As Brian Brooks continues to develop the use of Augmented Reality in his work, it’s instructive to look back at this early demonstration.
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Elizabeth Streb
Tip, 2021
With her Streb Extreme Action Company, Elizabeth Streb has been pushing at the boundaries of dance since the 1980s, continuing to envision new ways to empower the human body.
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Red Sky Performance
Trace, 2019
Influenced by Indigenous sky and star stories, this work by Jera Wolfe and Sandra Laronde adopts contemporary stage techniques to address age-old concerns.
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Ragamala Dance Company
Written in Water, 2018
This Minneapolis-based company uses projections on both the backdrop and floor to evoke a 2nd century Indian board game.
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Bridgman | Packer Dance
TRUCK, 2016
Performing within a 17-foot box truck, Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer create an ever-shifting world that almost defies description.
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Ira Glass, Monica Bill Barnes, Anna Bass
Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host, 2015
Reminding us that radio was once cutting-edge technology, This American Life‘s Ira Glass brings his unique voice to the concert stage.
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Daniil Simkin's "INTENSIO"
Islands of Memories, 2015
The attention-grabbing video projections are created in real time here, matched by some especially dazzling dancers.
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David Roussève / REALITY
Stardust, 2014
Towards the end of this clip, we meet an African American gay urban teenager who only appears onstage through projected text messages.
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LEO, 2013
In this reality-bending video, we first see the full stage picture, with the live performer on the right and a real-time video image tilted 90 degrees on the left. We then shift to the tilted perspective alone and reality is literally skewed.
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zoe | juniper
A Crack in Everything, 2011
The Seattle-based husband-and-wife team of choreographer Zoe Scofield and visual artist Juniper Shuey created this magical stagescape which blends two different planes of activity.
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Chunky Move
Tense Dave, 2005
The stage revolves throughout the entirety of this full-evening work by Australian choreographers Gideon Obarzanek and Lucy Guerin, offering the audience a constantly shifting perspective.
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MOMIX
Passion, 2002
Moses Pendleton’s full-evening work from 1991 offers a kaleidoscopic vision of a world where body, mind, and spirit are united as one.
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Beppie Blankert
Dubbelspoor/Double Track, 2000
The audience for this work is sandwiched in between two stages, with the action behind them reflected by large mirrored surfaces in front. The stage magic is totally in service of expressing the text by Samuel Beckett.
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Dana Reitz / Jennifer Tipton
Necessary Weather, 1997
This unique collaboration between choreographer/dancer Dana Reitz and lighting designer Jennifer Tipton explores the interrelationship between movement and light.
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David Parsons
Caught, 1989
This quintessential solo never ceases to amaze audiences, and it’s danced here by its choreographer and originator.
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Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
Soaring, 1982
This 1928 work by Ruth St. Denis and Doris Humphrey employs a huge expanse of silk and colorful lighting to create some striking stage effects.
Explore Playlists
Ted Shawn's Men Dancers
"Mechanized Labor" from Labor Symphony, 1938
Ted Shawn begins his one-act exploration of different types of work by depicting farm laborers and ends it by illustrating that mechanization has its limitations.