YUGEN. Research

Yugen is a pas de deux between a human dancer and a VR avatar in a feedback loop. The dancer's avatar is projected back onto the dancer's body via a motion capture (MC) suit that animates the avatar. This looping transfer process is interrupted and altered to find the original physical quality of an individual human character. Yugen is the counterpart of a duplicated, standardized avatar in VR.

Experimenting with the MC suit in late 2021, choreographer Christine Bonansea discovered an essential reading of herself, a unique way of standing, moving, and being in space. Digital artist Chris Ziegler joined the research, working on immersive stage technologies. He is interested in bringing digital technologies back into the physicality of theater.

Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media in the NEUSTART KULTUR program, aid program DIS-TANZEN of the Dachverband Tanz Deutschland and Research Funding.