How Can Technology Be Incorporated with Dance?

Abstract

Technology, especially the kind involving screens, is increasingly becoming a part of our daily lives. We use screens for an average of 10 hours and 39 minutes every day (Torres, 2017). These days, it is nearly impossible to get away from screens because it is required to do our jobs, study for school, pay bills, communicate with loved ones, and more. Yet in contemporary concert dance choreography, screens are rarely incorporated. To represent the involvement of screens in our daily tasks, I set out to research how to incorporate technology with screens into choreography and compile the results into a 10-minute film. I chose to preserve this work in film so that the audience could have a personal view of the dance and would be able to refer back to the dance in years to come. This film is intended to inspire other dance artists to dive into research regarding technology and dance. The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical discussion of the creative process of this project, implications of attachment of technology to the body, current and future technology usage in dance, lighting, and film as an invaluable way to preserve dance works.