Ted Warburton’s Lubricious Transfer project used the Internet2 to connect dancers in New York City and Santa Cruz, California, during a simultaneous, collaborative performance. Inspired by the parallels between communications technology and the neuroelectrical impulses of the human body, Warburton created a performance in which participants danced while surrounded by screens showing the concurrent actions at the other site.
While originally envisioned as a way of exploring interrelationships, the short lag created by the connection became an integral part of the performance as the project evolved. The lag forced Warburton to reevaluate the idea of ensemble performance, and led to a style of choreography that embraced randomness and fluidity.
Reflecting on the project in a recent article in World Literature Today, Warburton contrasts the multisite performance with multimedia performance art that relies on participants interacting with prerecorded elements. The collaboration of two dance companies–as filtered through technology–allows a level of spontaneity and inspiration as performers respond to one another and their environment. More morbidly, the coordinated performances emerge under a host of possible problems–enhancing the feeling of live art for audience members.
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. Historian Shae Davidson's research interests include public policy and the relationship between culture and civil society. His publications range from articles on industrial history to absurdist poetry.
