Mastery & Insignificance: Process & Paradox

Dance is increasingly a site of research for experts within the discipline and beyond. With the development of digital technologies, artists and researchers are exploring ways to develop new dance events, to engage with audiences and in doing so, to shed more light on the art form itself whilst expanding its boundaries and limitations. Building on these developments this chapter will share problems and challenges faced when motion capture technology tries to capture dance movement which emerges through somatic movement practices, in particular, an established practice, Skinner Releasing Technique (SRT). This chapter reports on the Capturing Stillness project and it’s early stages, the first of it’s kind, to visualise SRT through motion capture technology. The principle project’s aim is to generate new visualisations based on the capture of SRT dance that emphasise stillness, interiority and close contact with the floor; to encourage critical engagement with this practice: to expand the possibilities of motion capture technology (hardware and software): to enhance audience kinaesthetic engagement within interactive virtual performance environments.