Please, Turn on Your Cell Phones and Enjoy the Show!

Stepping into the black box theater of UC Irvine’s Contemporary Arts Center was like entering an art exhibition, but instead of the usual static paintings, observers beheld dancers elevated on wooden tables, each engaged in their own unique set of choreography. October 24th ushered in the second performance of Interface: Public Figure, directed by UC Irvine’s own Professor Chad Michael Hall and his associate Professor John Toenges from the dance and music departments at the University of Illinois.

Showtime

Interface opened the performance with a “gallery” section. Four tables each held a pair of dancers, one dancer sitting at a laptop while the other began a series of contemporary dance phrases on the table in the silence of the theater. In contrast to dance performances that shun technology, Interface embraced the idea of integrating social media into a live performance, hence the presence of laptops in the gallery exhibit where it was later revealed the dancers had continually been updating their Facebook accounts and posts on the Interface: Public Figure Facebook page.

The performance progressed to the main stage with a projected backdrop of a live Facebook feed that was continuously updated by dancers backstage as an audience of 60 people took their seats. Updates ranged from the conventional posts of “Yesterday, I almost walked into a pole” to the more profound “On Facebook, I post my ideal life”. All the while, dancers performed in front of the backdrop with choreography ranging from contemporary, modern, and partnering in these genres. Their movement and costumes emphasized the natural and almost pedestrian choreography as they wore street clothes throughout the performance.

Interface dancer Lucy Dillon elaborated on the purpose of this section saying that she hoped it would provide “awareness of how much we rely on technology and question why we do what we do on social media.”

From Conception to Execution

Interface: Public Figure she said, was a show conceived when Professor Hall was walking from the Contemporary Arts Complex to Cyber and noticed a student in his class so absorbed in the contents of her phone that she did not even realize his approach. Social media has always been considered a distraction that pulls its users away from the present, an idea that Professor Hall decided to challenge with his development of Interface.

Not only was the audience encouraged to observe and engage in the Facebook posts and recorded videos of dancers projected on the screen during the performance, but the use of cell phones was permitted as well. Each audience member downloaded an app called LAIT onto their phone prior to the performance, which provided updates and cues to act for audience members such as “clap” or “stand up”. Pictures and videos of the performance were also encouraged, a promotion very rarely encountered in a visual performing arts venue.

In addition to the unique premise of Interface with its hands-on integration of social media and technology, its execution was unconventional in the sense that it was self-choreographed by members of the Interface Ensemble. The dancers took it upon themselves to choreograph each section with flexible guidelines set down by Professor Hall.

“Chad didn’t choreograph anything”, said Lucy. “The hands on and gallery sections at the opening of the show were both set with minimal direction on his part. It was up to the dancers to build upon his guidelines.”

Interface Ensemble cast in preliminary rehearsals

As a result, each performance was different as improvisation techniques were utilized by dancers in each show. Among these was the idea of “flocking” where one dancer in a group leads the entire flock by coming up with movement on the spot. The group follows their actions to create ethereal movement in unison, reminiscent of a flock of birds traveling across the main stage.

Each section was symbolic for a different aspect of social media. Solos in the performance emphasized the loneliness of social media users and their detachment from face-to-face and engaged human interaction, though all remained in the common theme of contemporary dance. In addition, duets created by the dancers would intermingle with each other to stress the confusion of multiple conversations at once, commonly found in the overlap of texting, emailing, and other forms of online communication.

The Process

The forty-five-minute showcase was put together in a mere four weeks, with rehearsals beginning on the first day of classes (September 24th) and the premiere of the show occurring on October 23rd. Not only was the choreography of the performance being developed in this time, but the technology behind it as well. Six laptops were needed to power the show to coordinate lighting, sound, the LAIT app, and the continuous stream of Facebook posts and videos being projected behind the dancers.

“Every rehearsal was a building process and it didn’t really come together until the night of (the performance)”, said Lucy. “On Friday the app wouldn’t work because so many people were on the WiFi and we had to restart the network. Somehow it all came together though.”

Interface: Public Figure presented a clear message for audience members to reflect on society’s growing reliance on social media and all the perks and pitfalls that come with it. In a closing Q&A session between the audience and cast, Professor Hall expressed his hope for the spread of Interface’s message and his conviction that dance can transcend beyond the realm of visual pleasure to an art form that promotes intellectual stimulation and awareness for issues relevant in today’s society.

Photos courtesy of Interface: Public Figure Facebook page