Virtual Sureallity/ bodytalk. tanz:digital II [Making Of]

Virtual reality technologies are often used to create alternative dimensions; but what if instead we used them to give substance to something fragile that we already possess, such as our memories? In the Virtual Surreality project, the members of the “bodytalk” collective (Yoshiko Waki, Rolf Baumgart, Marcus Bomski) asked various dance experts what they considered to be the most significant moments in the history of dance; they then traced these moments in the archives of the Deutsches Tanzfilminstitut, and reenacted them interactively with a team of four dancers. The results of the reconstruction are compared with the personal memories of the people interviewed, who watch the performances with VR glasses: past and present are intertwined in this ‘surreal reality’, and what has been is not really lost, but can return to dance.

In the context of tanz:digital II, the German Dance Film Institute Bremen is building a bridge between the artists and the public. In concrete terms, this means that “making-ofs” will be created for around 10 individual projects, preparing potential users, whether they are tech-savvy or not, for what to expect if they want to entrust themselves to one of the many new installations.

Tanz:digital II is funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media in the NEUSTART KULTUR programme, aid programme DIS-TANZEN of the Dachverband Tanz Deutschland.