BrainDance

Neurotheatre performance in Bozar centre, Brussels

About

“Brain Dance”, a Neuro Theatre performance produced jointly by the SDT and the BFM in the course of the Government Office’s EV100 programme at BEAF’17 (BozarElectronic Arts Festival) at the Bozar Centre in Brussels.

Read more about the project

Project goal

What happens when art and neuroscience meet? Could we create and experience something completely new and different from what we expect from theatre now?

NeuroTheatre Collective experiments with a new level of mutual understanding and compassion between dancers and spect-actors shaped by collective emotional experiences.

Background and motivation

“BrainDance” explores a futuristic scenario of non-verbal emotional communication via images, light and sound in a “telepathy” like a conversation between two dancers augmented by some viewers from the audience that we call “neuromediators”.

Dancers and neuromediators are equipped with wireless brain monitoring devices of different complexity. The emotional dialogue will be initiated between dancers influenced by neuromediators. The emotional states of each dancer and the neuromediators collective emotional state will be translated into audio-visual language shown on multiple video screens.

Co-funding

europeancommissionProject co-funded by the European Commission within H2020-FETOPEN-2015-CSA (Coordination and Support Activities)

Team

Aleksander Väljamäe, David Lamas, Lucas Evers, Brendan Allison, Jurre Ongering, Angela Riccio and Irene Igardi

A number of artists and scientists worked on the Demultiplexia project

Art residents:

  • Yuri Didevich, [co-director, visual artist], Russian Federation, residency – scenography of the performance, neurocinema software
  • Pau Mirabet Peraire [cinematographer], Spain, residency – creation of visual materials for the neurocinematic database
  • Alberto Novello, a.k.a. JesterN, [sound artist and composer], Italy, residency – sound design of the performance

Dance collaborators:

  • Renee Nõmmik [choreographer], local collaboration, Fine 5 dance theatre
  • Simo Kruusement, [dancer], local collaboration, Fine 5 dance theatre
  • Tiina Ollesk [dancer], local collaboration, Fine 5 dance theatre

Scientific collaborators:

  • Zhanna V. Nagornova [neuroscientist], Russian Federation, remote work and short-term visits – analysis of the EEG recordings
  • Natalia V. Shemyakina [neuroscientist] Russian Federation, remote work and short-term visits – analysis of the EEG recordings
  • Ilkka Kosunen [Physiological computing], Finland, remote work and short-term visits – system integration
  • Ian Daly, [BCI specialist], UK, remote work – BCI components of the system (classifier, noise reduction)

Additional collaborations:

  • Hans-Gunter Lock [sound artist, local collaborator] – EEG sonification
  • Kristi Kuusk [smart textile, local collaborator] – discussions and prototypes of smart textile for dancers

Students 

  • Anastasiia Valjamae – PhD student (HCI & communication, local collaborator)
  • Loore Martma – MSc student (performing arts, local collaborator)
  • Marta Hang – MSc student (culture management, local collaborator)
  • Mert Nesvat – MSc student (HCI programme at TLU)
  • Marie Sayadchi – MSc student (HCI programme at TLU

Outcome

BrainDance performance premiered at Bozar Electronic Arts Festival, BEAF’17 in Brussels on 14th of September within the framework of EU2017.EE.

Period

17.03.2017−31.12.2017

Budget

€ 30 000