Tethered to 42 Motion Capture Cameras, Dancers in Geneva, Switzerland will Perform Original Work in Real Time for a Live Audience Watching on Giant LED Screens on Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center
LOS ANGELES (April 3, 2023)— The Music Center today announced the third public art exhibition to be presented by its TMC Arts’ Digital Innovation Initiative—Cosmogony, a fantastical live digital performance to be broadcast from a dance studio in Geneva, Switzerland, and making its debut in Los Angeles.
Created by digital contemporary dance company Cie Gilles Jobin, Cosmogony features three dancers, under 42 motion capture cameras, who will be digitally-altered into avatars and perform in real time remotely from Cie Gilles Jobin’s studios for a live audience—nearly 6,000 miles away—in Downtown L.A. The 30-minute original work, accompanied by music recorded by Swiss rock band Tar Pond, will be shown on Jerry Moss Plaza’s two 12’ x 20’ LED screens for four performances only: May 12 and June 3, 10 and 17. All performances will begin at 7:00 p.m. PT (4:00 a.m. in Geneva). Throughout the performance, the dancers will be revealed on screen in human form, intermittently, to give audiences a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the dancers in their Geneva studio.
“The Music Center is presenting an arts experience that has never been attempted before in our organization’s nearly 60-year history: a free live dance performance transported from the other side of the globe that comes to life for Angelenos watching in Downtown Los Angeles,” said Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center. “Thanks to the power of technology and the strength and ability of these dancers to perform in the wee hours of the morning, Angelenos are able to witness incredible talent in what will be a groundbreaking experience.”
Conceived by Cie Gilles Jobin during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cosmogony made its debut in 2021 at the Singapore International Festival of Arts and at the Sundance Film Festival in 2022. Since then, audiences worldwide have been dazzled by Cosmogony’s extraordinary visuals that transport them on Earth and then in space—in the cosmos. Artistic Director Gilles Jobin describes the dancers’ bodies and their avatars “entangled like particles in a quantum state whose movements are instantaneously teleported across the world. The dancers act as puppeteers of their own bodies, animating their avatars in real time and composing the cosmogony of a world in suspension. In a cosmic space, or in the heart of a virtual city, the dancers’ moving bodies break free from the laws of physics, offering the live audiences a mesmerizing journey beyond reality.”
To enhance Angelenos’ experience with Cosmogony, they may download the free Dance Trail app, also created by Cie Gilles Jobin, into their smartphones or tablets. The app allows users to bring virtual dancers in the real world and video capture them in outdoor and indoor surroundings using Augmented Reality (AR) technology. Dance Trail users can place multiple dancers anywhere in the world and share the AR dance experience on social media.
“The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative triumphs, once again, in presenting bold digital experiences that will take Angelenos, artists and culture makers on an immersive journey through time and space,” said Kamal Sinclair, senior director of The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative. “It’s unbelievable that dancers are bringing joy and wonderment to Angelenos from halfway across the world in real time, and that Cie Gilles Jobin is spending zero carbon emissions to perform in Los Angeles! The Music Center is changing the landscape with how artistic experiences can be presented and enjoyed.”
“Cosmogony has been performed from our Geneva studio and screened live for audiences in many cities across the world such as Singapore, Cairo, Milan and Miami—and now in Los Angeles for the first time,” said Gilles Jobin. “The reality of #touringwithouttraveling has meant a huge shift in our practice. Today, when we dance for a live audience, it is from our hometown; only our digital bodies are teleported in real time to the other side of the world. Telematic performances have opened new and more sustainable possibilities for our work to be seen across the world.”
Cosmogony is the third public art installation presented by TMC Arts’ Digital Innovation Initiative (DII), an exciting 10-year pilot program launched in 2022 and designed to explore and create free digital and virtual reality experiences throughout Los Angeles. DII’s first public art exhibit, We ARe Here: A Celebration of Legacy, offered Angelenos the opportunity to learn—through augmented reality (AR) and with hands-on artistic experiences in Gloria Molina Grand Park—about the legacies of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities and individuals who have contributed to Los Angeles County’s rich diversity. DII’s second public art exhibit, Our Common Home, addressed issues of climate change by integrating participants’ live facial expressions and physical movements into digital artworks created in real time and projected on Jerry Moss Plaza’s LED screens.
For more information about The Music Center’s presentation of Cosmogony, visit musiccenter.org/cosmogony.
For more information about The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative, visit musiccenter.org/DII
CALENDAR LISTING
WHAT:
Cosmogony
Projected in real time on LED screens on Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center, dancers perform an original contemporary work remotely from Geneva, Switzerland—6,000 miles away from Downtown Los Angeles. The dancers, under42 motion capture cameras, will be digitally altered to become avatars for the high-tech performance. Throughout the 30-minute experience, the dancers will be revealed in human form on screen, intermittently, to give audiences a behind-the-scenes glimpse of them dancing from their Geneva studio. Open to the public, this fantastical free performance is making its debut in L.A. and is the third installation presented by TMC Arts’ Digital Innovation Initiative, which explores and creates digital and virtual reality experiences on The Music Center campus and throughout Los Angeles County. Cosmogony is created by Geneva-based digital contemporary dance company, Cie Gilles Jobin.
WHEN:
Friday, May 12
Saturday, June 3
Saturday, June 10
Saturday, June 17
All performances will begin at 7:00 p.m. PT.
WHERE:
Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center
135 N. Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
TRANSPORTATION: Public parking will be available for $10 per vehicle in The Music Center Main Garage (accessible via the Grand Avenue entrance) and the Walt Disney Concert Hall Garage (accessible via the 2nd Street entrance).
The public is highly encouraged to take public transportation. The Civic Center/Grand Park station along the Metro B Line (Red) and Metro D Line (Purple) is located conveniently in Grand Park with a short walk to Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center.
MORE INFO: Visit musiccenter.org/cosmogony
About The Music Center
The Music Center convenes artists, communities and ideas with the goal of deepening the cultural lives of every resident in Los Angeles County. The $70 million non-profit performing arts organization has two divisions: TMC Arts and TMC Ops. TMC Arts, The Music Center’s programming engine, provides year-round programming inside The Music Center’s four theatres, on Jerry Moss Plaza, outside at Gloria Molina Grand Park—a 12-acre adjacent green space—in schools and other locations all over Los Angeles County and on a digital platform called The Music Center Offstage. TMC Arts presents world-class dance with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, free and low-cost public concerts and events, as well as live and digital K–12 arts education programs, workshops, performances, interactive experiences and special events. TMC Ops manages the theatres, the Plaza and Gloria Molina Grand Park, which comprise $2 billion in county assets, on behalf of the County of Los Angeles. The Music Center is also home to four renowned resident companies—Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Opera and LA Phil. For more information, visit musiccenter.org. Follow The Music Center on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @MusicCenterLA.
About Cie Gilles Jobin
Since 1995 Cie Gilles Jobin has created more than 20 choreographic projects, which have become references on the world stage. In 2015 Gilles Jobin received the Swiss Grand Award for Dance. With the 3D film WOMB in 2016, the company started investigating digital possibilities for contemporary dance within “the volume of the frame.” Discovering the power of motion capture, the company created VR_I, a groundbreaking dance piece in immersive virtual reality that premiered at the 2017 FNC–Festival du Nouveau Cinema in Montreal and won both the Innovation and People’s Choice awards. In 2018 the work featured at the Sundance Film Festival and at the 75th Venice International Film Festival. In 2020 the company created Dance Trail (AR) at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and, in 2020, La Comédie Virtuelle –live show, a multiuser live performance selected in official competition at the 77th Venice International Film Festival. Cosmogony was created in 2021 for the SIFA festival in Singapore and presented in 15 cities across the world, live from the company’s studio in Geneva. Thanks to our #tourwithouttraveling concept, we were able to completely eliminate the carbon footprint of our air travel. Cosmogony was selected for the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and won Most Innovative use of Tech at 2022 Miami Filmgate Festival.
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