"whisper room"

 

a new rehearsal series with Zhi Xu and A-Kin (Drew Egan), 2018-2019. This series also embeds one of Zhi Xu's public dance solos performed at Arts@Artaud

coordinated by Johannes Birringer

Zhi Xu performing solo dance at Arts@Artaud, February 21, 2018 Kun.Peng Choreography: Zhi Xu. Music by White Jade; Sky of Ocean by Sihan Yuan. Camera: Mabel Bodi, Johannes Birringer. Film edited by Johannes Birringer (c) 2018 DAP

Rehearsal in the Drama Studio and the Artaud Building took place February 22, March 8, March 22, April 25, June 6.

This new rehearsal project is built on Zhi Xu's current Phd Research on "Dance Technology: Interactivity of Movement and Digital Media from the Perspective of the Chinese Dancer-Body".

Leading up to a new performance experiment/choreography for 4 dancers,Origin , staged in Artaud Performance Center on June 6 and prepared for premiere on September 27th (Artaud Theatre), the team began exploring the performance relationships between dancer-body and objects (suspended materials in space / kinetic objects), and between dancer-body and microphone/sound sensor system and processing software. Sound artist A-Kin participated in the recording of the perfoprmance and rehearsals (in the prototyping and iterative performances), the processing and synthesis of the sound. Camera and scenographic input from Johannes Birringer. The films that were edited after the rehearsals will soon be released and linked up here.

Zhi Xu in rehearsal, with suspended condenser microphone for whisper room 2018, collaborating with A-Kin (Drew Egan) (c) 2018 DAP

The whisper series is inspired by research on sound/movement processing and Zhi's ideas on the "shell" of technology, i.e. the technological instruments, accoutrements, wearables, costumes and technical systems (in the performance environment), but is also driven by a careful and slow engagement of embodiment (somatic, breath-based/breathing - choreographic - improvisational), cooperating with the sound artist's own form of enactment/embodiment, with microphone in hand, present and also using spoken/whispered text fragments from a poem by Gertrude Stein ("Some Day"), and thus the looking / listening into the cultural body, spoken for, in-formed body - here specifically Zhi's chinese trained dancer-body).

The whisper room is also an implicit and gently humorous reference to "asmr" - the current wave of interest in low-grade soft tingling tactile/auditory stimuli - autonomous sensory meridian respones. This phenomenon, and binaural recording techniques, were brought to the Lab's attention by visiting musician Kirstine Lindemann (a fabulous recorder/flautist from Denmark).

More importantly, the team is also doing software rehearsals with Max/Msp and with the Sensestage (Minibees sensors); the rehearsals thus involve a range of questions and strategies, also regarding the particular quality of sensorial and tactile materials used in the space (suspended as oral/tonal sculptures,a echoists, resonators and vibrators) - and the resonating surfaces of the architecture (constructed reality and kimosphere), along with the objects, become agential matter, acting alongside dancer, musician. microphone, software and camera.

Zhi Xu in rehearsal, with suspended sculptural materials in some day 2018 (c) 2018 DAP

text by Johannes Birringer 07 /06 / 2018

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(c) dap 2018

DAP-Lab directors: Johannes Birringer & Michèle Danjoux

Brunel University, West London