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Romancing The Machine

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Symposium: Romancing the Machine | Dancing at the Edge of Intelligence

February 28, March 1-2, 2025

This symposium is co-sponsored by NYU Gallatin; the NYU Provost’s Office; Onassis ONX; ITP (Tisch); the Integrated Design & Media Program (Tandon/NYU); the Steinhardt School (NYU); and Jacob’s Pillow

Conveners: Lise Friedman, Julie Malnig, Patricia Beaman

FEBRUARY 28TH
FRIDAY 6:00M-8:30PM
Onassis ONX, 645 5th Avenue, Manhattan, Lower Level
On View
Archival and new dance and technology films: Early dance and technology films: Loïe Fuller (Louis Lumiere: Fire Dance), Oskar Schlemmer (Triadic Ballet), Georges Méliès (The Magic Lantern), Fernand Léger (Ballet Mechanic), René Claire (Entr’Acte)]

Blackletter (3D installation), OpenEndedGroup: Paul Kaiser and Marc Downie; Kinetic Diffusion, Brandon Powers; L’Entrée, Lisa Jamhoury.
6:15PM
–
6:30PM
Introduction to the Symposium: Jazia Hammoudi, Program Director Onassis ONX; Gigi Dopico, NYU Provost; Victoria Rosner, Dean of The Gallatin School; Julie Malnig, Chair, Gallatin Interdisciplinary Arts Program
6:30PM
–
7:00PM
Screenings: Excerpts from BIPED projections, Shelley Eshkar and Paul Kaiser, and 2D excerpts from Loops, OpenEndedGroup: Marc Downie, Shelley Eshkar, and Paul Kaiser
7:00PM
–
7:20PM
Centaur, Pontus Lidberg and Cecilie Waagner Falkenstrøm
7:20PM
–
8:00PM
Talkback with the Artists: Marc Downie, Paul Kaiser, Adrian Guo Silver (dramaturg, Centaur), Cecilie Waagner Falkenstrøm
Moderator: Pam Tatge, Executive and Artistic Director, Jacob’s Pillow
8:00PM
–
8:30PM
RECEPTION
MARCH 1ST
SATURDAY 9:30AM-6:00PM
Enter at 370 Jay Street, Brooklyn (look for signs for The Garage)
9:45AM
–
10:00AM
Welcome: Mimi Yin
10:15AM
–
11:45AM
From Reel-to-Reel to Video to Motion Capture and Beyond (in The Garage)
Panelists: Vicky Shick, Stacy Spence, Charles Atlas, Marc Downie, and Paul Kaiser
Moderator: Wendy Perron
Screenings
Homemade, Trisha Brown
How long does the subject linger on the edge of the volume…; Trisha Brown Dance Company; OpenEndedGroup: Marc Downie and Paul Kaiser; Tesseract, a collaboration between Charles Atlas, Rashaun Mitchell, and Silas Riener
COFFEE BREAK
12:15PM
–
1:45PM
Introduction: Leslie Satin
Ethics of Technology: Who Holds the Power–Humans or Machines? (in The Garage)
Panelists: Mimi Yin, Brian Brooks, Errol King, Sydney Skybetter
Moderator: Matthew Stanley
LUNCH BREAK
3:15PM
–
5:00PM
Live performance:
Excerpt from Doppelgänger, performed by NiNi Dongnier (NUUM Collective: Mimi Yin, NiNi Dongnier, Yuguang Zhang, Tiri Kananuruk, Nuntinee Tansrisakul)
Introduction: Carla Gannis
Archive of Memory and Mythology (in The Garage)
Panelists: Jill Johnson, Cecilie Waagner Falkenstrøm, Katherine Helen Fisher, Alan Winslow, and Xin Ying
Moderator: Carla Gannis
Screenings
Synchronous Objects, William Forsythe, Maria Palazzi, and Norah Zuniga Shaw
Centaur, Pontus Lidberg and Cecilie Waagner Falkenstrøm
Lamentation: Dancing the Archive, conceived by Xin Ying with The Martha Graham Dance Company, co-created by Xin Ying, Alan Winslow, Kate Ladenheim and Katherine Helen Fisher
5:00PM
–
5:15PM
RECAP OF DAY
Discussant: Michael Dinwiddie
MARCH 2ND
SUNDAY 9:30AM – 6:00PM
Enter at 370 Jay Street, Brooklyn (look for signs for each locale)
9:45AM
–
10:00AM
(More Info)
Welcome: Luke DuBois
WORKSHOPS
10:00AM
–
11:00AM
(Ballroom)
Sydney Skybetter – Choreorobotics 0101: Robotic Movement Frameworks for Humans
11:15AM
–
12:15AM
(Black Box)
Brandon Powers – Embodiment Design: An Intro to Designing XR Experiences Like a Choreographer
12:30PM
–
1:30PM
(Audio Lab)
Katherine Helen Fisher and Armon Naeini – Choreographing the Algorithmic Body
1:45PM
–
2:45PM
(Ballroom)
Brian Brooks – Viewpoint: Live-stream yourself in 3D with a unique Augmented Reality Mobile Studio
3:00PM
–
4:00PM
(Black Box 220)
cari ann shim sham* – Dance Prompts: an open source community developed AI choreographer biased for inclusive and accessible movement
BIPED(1999). Choreography by Merce Cunningham. Directed by Charles Atlas. Designers: Shelley Eshkar, Paul Kaiser. Lighting: Aaron Copp. Costumes: Suzanne Gallo. Music: Gavin Bryars. Dancers: Cédric Andrieux, Lisa Boudreau, Thomas Caley, Holley Farmer, Maydelle Fason, Jean Freebury, David Kulick, Koji Mizuta, Matthew Mohr, Banu Ogan, Daniel Squire, Jeannie Steele, Derry Swan, Robert Swinston, Cheryl Therrien. © NADA, the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and INA, 2005.

Homemade, Trisha Brown. 1966. 8mm film transferred to high-definition video (color, silent). 3:25 min. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Acquired in part through the generosity of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Sarah Arison, Jody & John Arnhold, and Agnes Gund, 2019. © 2025 Robert Whitman.

Special Thanks To:

Ava Danos
Alexandra Scott
Ben Houtman
Brian Block
Gigi Dopico
James Devitt
Jamie Scott
Jennifer Goggans
Ken Tabachnick
Milena Gungor
Merce Cunningham Trust
Pam Tatge
Rachel Plutzer
Rebecca Marshall
Rio Simpson
Ryan Poynter
Theresa Anderson
Victoria Rosner
Wayne McGregor

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