This project is the first exploration into bringing together Dance and Human Augmentation. The larger goal is to understand how to create a feeling of connection between Humans and Technology. This is motivated by my research on spatial disorientation (and human augmentation) and also by my spiritual exploration of why technology/AI feels so external to us. Much of the exploration in this video is focused on using narrative, storytelling and ritual as a way to generate genuine emotion and connection when using this seemingly external piece of Technology.
In this video, after the Introduction, I explain my research on using vibrotactile feedback as a countermeasure for spatial disorientation, and, how it motivates this dance project.. Then, I describe how the human augmentation device works and the parameters of the dance. Next, I share the rituals my Mother and I collaboratively brainstormed and performed to create the feeling of connection. Finally, at the end, is our rough draft performative piece with our storyline.
A special thanks to Jacob Smith for all of the help on the technology development, and Mother (Rita Pandey) for all the help with the ritual and dance, and Elizabeth Leary for all of the help on making the primal drum beat.
Other members of the Technology Development Team include:
Jacob Smith, Rick Roy, Sacha Panic, Aliyah Olaniyan, Braden Vaccari and Liam Alcalay.
Other members of the Dance Development Team include:
Jordan Kokot, Amir Alexander Hasson , Liz Halfen, Jacob Smith, Noam Kazis-Taylor , Angela Garabet and Rita Pandey.
What part of the process really made the device elicit genuine emotion?
VV: For me, the birthing process of the device was the first place of magic. I helped design, make, troubleshoot and code the device and that process across a year made me emotionally connected to the device. The active sensing helped create a feeling of 'reality', in the sense that it convinced me that the device really does work and therefore it increased my faith in the device. The pooja, by itself, didn't increase the sacredness for me but because I did it with my Mother and then because we used the same mantra for the song we composed, it did increase the sacredness. The storytelling helped during the dance because it allowed me to focus my mind on the feelings I was trying to awaken.
RP: Everything played a role. The mantra was very important, as was practicing several time. The story was the most important part.
During the dance, did you feel 'one' with the device?
VV: In the first parts of the dance, I didn't feel that 'oneness'. Some of this was because of the time constraints which made us rush recording the video. Also, because we had never done a dress rehearsal, thinking about everything that we needed to do consumed mental bandwidth. Finally, as the narrative explains, the first parts of the dance were more about visual synchronization than feeling 'oneness' wiht the device. However, at the absolute end, when I was in the candlelit basement, I could feel the vibrations and I could focus on them. At that point, it was beautiful and emotionally evocative...I felt a real sense of connection as my movements became synchronized with the vibrations. Because Mother and I had experienced the device working across many practice sessions, I had a real feeling that the vibrations were conveying the movements of Mother.
RP: For me, as well, it was at the end because Vivek was missing and the device was the only way to communicate.
What would you do different to enhance that feeling of 'oneness' and connection with the device and the dancers?
VV:
I think having the full week to design the rituals, practice with the device and also practice with one another was essential. One main takeaway is that this sort of thing takes a significant amount of time and repetition. The more complex it is, the longer it takes.
I think it was good that the dance was constrained to a single axis because even with just forward and backward movements, it took mental power to focus on the vibrations.
Having more powerful vibrotactors would help because during dance they were hard to detect. I will also have to make the device more secure because one of the wires came loose during the dance and I had to fix it in middle of the dance.
RP:
More practice and exposure to the device and the dance.