It is clear that we no longer can or ought to build stages as we used to. We can make small things╤objects that work in large theaters, in small rooms, in art galleries, on ships, in airplanes. In any case, they must work in more than one context.
╤William Forsythe
I. The Project
In June 1994 the American choreographer William Forsythe celebrated his tenth anniversary with the Frankfurt Ballet. In his ten years here he has brought to fruition his own ideas about the performing arts, unifying on stage dance, theater, architecture, and design.
One of Forsythe╒s productions, The Loss of Small Detail, was selected by Forsythe and ZKM Multimedia Lab as the point of departure for a multimedia installation, which is intended to allow the viewer to change his seat, attend rehearsals and different stagings, recognize problems, and ask questions.
The works of William Forsythe are multimedia artworks. They convey their meanings on various levels, with the help of various art forms. Multimedia developers, in turn, use new media╤the computer, video, and audio recordings╤as agent and transmitter. The installation interprets, extends, and distributes the choreographer╒s art. It makes possible everything Forsythe cannot present on the stage: the parallel presentation of the process of development. The chronological opens into the concurrent; a single perspective breaks into three; movements, metaphors, gestures are shown, cultivated, explained. Theory and praxis, which are interwoven in a performance, can here be isolated from one another for analytical purposes, to determine more precisely the exact nature of their collaboration.
The passive roll of the viewer in an auditorium becomes that of the active user of an interactive installation. The viewer can direct the performances and can find answers to his or her questions, answers related to components of the ballet other than dance or dancer╤such as the music of Thom Willems or the design of Issey Miyake. The installation in no way replaces the experience of a performance because neither the atmosphere nor the space allows itself to be captured. The illusion of space on stage, by which the viewer is captured and bewitched for the duration of the performance, remains on the monitor only a simulation. The prototype of the interactive installation can only be understood as a completely new form of interaction with modern dance.
II. The Prototype
The prototype of the interactive installation is divided into two main sections: a video archive, in which the last fourteen minutes of The Loss of Small Detail are documented and analyzed, and the dance theory of William Forsythe. This division is recognizable on the ╥title page╙: a still image from The Loss of Small Detail whose two foreground figures allow access to the various chapters. The carrier of the shovel, on the left, leads the user to the video archive; the dancer in Issey Miyake costume to an introduction to the choreographer╒s theory.
[1] The Dance Theory
Activate the figure of the dancer on the title page and a geometric costume becomes visible. This is the main section of the dance theory and has a two-part structure: a conceptual, graphical section of the theory and one for its practical application.
The notes and sketches of the dance theory are hidden under points [A] and [B], connected by a line (point-point-line, one of Forsythe╒s dance metaphors). Practical presentations of individual elements are accessible in Chapters 1 through 4. The lines connecting the points above the bodies of the dancers form a triangle (point-line-space, also one of Forsythe╒s dance metaphors). This is Chapter/Point 2, Laban, and represents the intersection between point-point-line and point-line-space (1-2-3). The chapter also has an important thematic function. In it, Forsythe discusses the classical dance theory of Rudolf von Laban as the starting point for his choreographic work.
This main survey, which provides an overview of references and connections, is followed by another layer. Henceforth the dancer is visible only as a silhouette in which Forsythe himself appears. The geometric costume of the main chapter remains, supplemented by individual subheadings. The figure is larger than the screen and can be viewed in its entirety only if the user moves it. Each chapter can be reached by clicking.
In the background, Forsythe accompanies the user through individual chapters. In front of his figure appears the guide to the current theme. Forsythe himself explains and demonstrates choreographic notations and lines of movement. Illustrative lines can be switched on or off. The dance theory is explained with the help of video, audio, and animation.
[2] The Finale
Via the shovel carrier the user can experience the finale of The Loss of Small Detail. The surface here, which serves to research and to reconstruct the events and themes of the performance and the multiple layers of the production, consists of one large and two smaller video screens. The large screen shows the stage from the spectator╒s point of view╤orchestra, last row, center. The two smaller video screens, stacked on top of one another, present the view of the camera positions left and right of the stage. If the right video screen is activated, the sequence will run synchronized with the main screen, which makes it possible for the user to see the same scene simultaneously from different perspectives and settings.
During the video sequence the slider on the time line beneath the screen can be moved backward or forward. At certain moments, references to individual scenes will appear on the time line, allowing the user to explore the work╤a solo, for example╤in greater depth. When this special information is called up, a screen appears, the background of which shows a still photo of the theme. Before the photo there is a chronological discussion, consisting of video sequences of studio and stage rehearsals and the two productions from 1991 and 1994. The shovel carrier at the screen╒s right frame returns the user to the finale, to the place where the solo or pas-de-trois occurs.
Through playful use of source material, the installation transforms the dynamic of the dance. The interface design attempts to simplify the user╒s approach to the ballet works of Forsythe.
