Saturday 16th November
12.40–1.25pm

Panel Discussion

In this panel discussion, three artist-researchers from the Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRE) at Coventry University, will delve into the creative possibilities and challenges they have encountered as makers and performers in technology-rich performance environments. Each panellist brings deep expertise in engaging with sensor and sensing-based technologies, which they have applied in unique ways to create intimate performance experiences, virtual reality environments, and robotic interactions. Their work intersects with many of the conference themes, particularly those related to expanding the boundaries of potential embodiment. They explore the ‘potential of action and play in blending real and virtual imaginative environments’ and examine how technological systems constrain or expand both real and imagined bodies.
With Ruth Gibson as the lead artist and academic, the conversation will centre on how these interwoven themes provoke a deeper consideration of ‘new modes of embodiment, presence, intimacy, and discovery.’ Central to the discussion are questions such as: How are dancers and performers developing a ‘digital sensibility,’ and how does this impact their training and skills? Can the digital re-embodiment of physical gestures create new artistic languages for performance and collaboration? Can virtual rituals transcend physical presence and foster intimacy, or do they risk dissociating from the body? The panel will explore how body, movement, and technology inform our understanding of the ‘tele-body’, a body that exists simultaneously in both virtual and physical spaces.

The panellists include Associate Professor Dr. Ruth Gibson, an expert in performance technologies and co-director of Gibson/Martelli ; Dr. Kerry Francksen, a Research Fellow focusing on virtual reality and AI’s impact on performance practices; and Dr. Boyd M. Branch, a theatre technologist specialising in AI theatre and co-director of the AI Theatre Lab Improbotics.