29/08/2023

Event at Casa Firjan brings together dance, technology and mathematics.

Mathematics is part of everyday life and is present in different aspects, but even in dance? At the VFXRio Dance event , on September 7th and 8th at Casa Firjan in Botafogo, IMPA researcher Luiz Velho proves that it is possible. The event will feature various keynotes and workshops exploring dance and technology. With the aim of fostering knowledge exchange and the development of new projects, the program includes the participation of academics, representatives from the audiovisual industry, electronic games, and dance.

Luiz Velho's lecture will be on September 7th at 1:30 PM, and will present the computational system developed at the Visgraf Laboratory (IMPA's Computer Graphics Laboratory) for the creation of dance performances. The model that will be explained is part of Adriana Schulz's master's research, under the supervision of the researcher.

The project allows for the creation of virtual group performances and the visualization of real choreographies. It uses motion capture of dance sequences synchronized with a musical track and adapts motion synthesis methods for controlling the group of dancers on stage, including the creation of formations and trajectory tracking. Furthermore, the integrated platform enables collaboration between artists, allowing the performance to evolve naturally from iterative contributions from dancers, musicians, and choreographers.

“It’s an unprecedented and very interesting event in Brazil. My presentation is about a revolutionary project carried out at Visgraf by a former master’s student, currently a professor at the University of Washington. It’s a system for creating dance shows with the involvement of everyone who creates a performance, using technology such as image synthesis and motion capture. The system has been tested and also used by other people,” says the researcher.

The opening lecture will be given by Gilles Jobin, Swiss choreographer and founder of Cie Gilles Jobin. In his remote presentation, he will explore the intersection between real-time technology and performance, through a dance show broadcast with virtual reality.

VFXRIO takes place on September 7th and 8th at Casa Firjan in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro. Registration for the event is free and can be done through the website .