ABSTRACT
This chapter explores recent shifts in traditional choreographic practice that have occurred as a result of the use of new technologies in contemporary dance work. I am interested in whether, when and how the use of new technologies informs traditional techniques for the development of movement material and structures, and ultimately transforms traditional approaches to choreography. If an established notion of choreography changes, the accompanying definitions of dance as art form may adjust accordingly. This is a circular process: new techniques inform the development of new conceptual positions. Yet, once the conceptual boundaries about what can be accepted as ‘dance’ become looser, artists find it easier to see what their tools can do; and through developing increasingly appropriate novel techniques, they discover ways to push technical experimentations to extreme places they had not envisioned before. Furthermore, technical experimentation accompanied by appropriate conceptual freedom also stimulates questions about how artistic work is presented; fresh artistic and technological discoveries require fresh forms of presentation. This is a slow process and, in many ways, organic, although often extremely complex.
