Discussion: Visualizing Choreographic Structure in Synchronous Objects
Presenter: Norah Zuniga Shaw
Discussant: John Crawford

Monday, February 22
10:45 am - 12:00 pm
Calit2 Auditorium

The interactive web project Synchronous Objects reveals interlocking systems of organization in William Forsythe's ensemble dance One Flat Thing, reproduced, presenting a collection of graphical objects that enable viewers to explore choreographic structures through a visual interface. As explained by Forsythe, “Ideally, choreographic ideas in this form will draw an attentive diverse readership that will understand and champion the innumerable manifestations, old and new, of choreographic thinking in this dance.”

Creating Synchronous Objects involved a group of designers, dancers, and scientists who worked collaboratively to illuminate the organizational structures that provide a foundation for the dance. According to co-creative director Maria Palazzi, the outputs of this interdisciplinary process, including computer animations, interactive graphics and software applications, are intended to be "investigatory (we wanted to probe Forsythe’s choreographic thinking) and exploratory (we wanted to find out what we could see in the dance, and how we could visualize those interpretations)."

Building on the presentation of Synchronous Objects in the previous session, this discussion will be structured as a dialogue between symposium participants and Norah Zuniga Shaw, co-creative director of the project. As a starting point, the discussion will consider how such projects can provide ways of sharing ideas: about the dance, about visualizing complexity, and about interpreting works of art in unconventional ways.

See also:
Session: Synchronous Objects
Session: One Flat Thing Workshop
Synchronous Objects Project Site
Synchronous Objects Blog