The Music Center has announced Live from Geneva, Switzerland Cosmogony, a fantastical live digital performance will take place in the Jerry Moss Plaza for a live audience to watch on giant LED Screens. Dancers in Geneva will perform this original work in real time while tethered to 42 Motion Capture Cameras. With the help of modern technology, Los Angeles audiences will be able to watch a performance that is taking place live from 6.000 miles away. There will only be four performances on May 12; June 3, 10, and 17, 2023 and all Performances will begin at 7:00 p.m. (PDT). It gets better, these performances are free.
The dance company that created these amazing performances is Cie Gilles Jobin was founded by Artistic Director Gilles Jobin in 1995 and has created more than 20 choreographic projects known around the world. In 2015 Gilles Jobin received the Swiss Grand Award for Dance and with the 3D film WOMB in 2016, the company started investigating digital possibilities for contemporary dance within “the volume of the frame.”
Conceived by Cie Gilles Jobin during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cosmogony made its debut in 2021 at the Singapore International Festival of Arts and at the Sundance Film Festival in 2022. This 30-minute work features three dancers, under 42 motion capture cameras, who will be digitally-altered into avatars and perform in real time remotely from Cie Gilles Jobin’s studios in Geneva. The dancers will be accompanied by music recorded by Swiss rock band Tar Pond and audiences will have a choice of observing the performance shown on Jerry Moss Plaza’s two 12’ x 20’ LED screens. While Los Angeles audiences will see the performance starting at 7pm (PDT), the dancers will be performing at 4:00 am Geneva time. Throughout the performance, the dancers will be revealed on screen in human form, intermittently, to give audiences a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the dancers in their Geneva studio.
“The Music Center is presenting an arts experience that has never been attempted before in our organization’s nearly 60-year history: a free live dance performance transported from the other side of the globe that comes to life for Angelenos watching in Downtown Los Angeles,” said Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center. “Thanks to the power of technology and the strength and ability of these dancers to perform in the wee hours of the morning, Angelenos are able to witness incredible talent in what will be a groundbreaking experience.”
To enhance Angelenos’ experience with Cosmogony, they may download the free Dance Trail app, also created by Cie Gilles Jobin, into their smartphones or tablets. The app allows users to bring virtual dancers in the real world and video capture them in outdoor and indoor surroundings using Augmented Reality (AR) technology. Dance Trail users can place multiple dancers anywhere in the world and share the AR dance experience on social media… TMC press release.
“The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative triumphs, once again, in presenting bold digital experiences that will take Angelenos, artists and culture makers on an immersive journey through time and space,” said Kamal Sinclair, senior director of The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative. “It’s unbelievable that dancers are bringing joy and wonderment to Angelenos from halfway across the world in real time, and that Cie Gilles Jobin is spending zero carbon emissions to perform in Los Angeles! The Music Center is changing the landscape with how artistic experiences can be presented and enjoyed.”
“Cosmogony has been performed from our Geneva studio and screened live for audiences in many cities across the world such as Singapore, Cairo, Milan and Miami—and now in Los Angeles for the first time,” said Gilles Jobin. “The reality of #touringwithouttraveling has meant a huge shift in our practice. Today, when we dance for a live audience, it is from our hometown; only our digital bodies are teleported in real time to the other side of the world. Telematic performances have opened new and more sustainable possibilities for our work to be seen across the world.”
Cosmogony marks the third public art installation presented by TMC Arts’ Digital Innovation Initiative (DII). Launched in 2022, DII is a 10-pilot program designed to “explore and create free digital and virtual reality experiences throughout Los Angeles.” Readers may at experienced DII’s first public art exhibit in Gloria Molina Grand Park, We ARE Here: A Celebration of Legacy, which offered audiences a chance to learn with amplified reality. This project followed the legacies of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities and individuals who have contributed to Los Angeles County’s rich diversity. “DII’s second public art exhibit, Our Common Home, addressed issues of climate change by integrating participants’ live facial expressions and physical movements into digital artworks created in real time and projected on Jerry Moss Plaza’s LED screens.” TMC press release.
For more information about The Music Center’s presentation of Cosmogony, please click HERE.
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WHAT:
Cosmogony
Projected in real time on LED screens on Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center, dancers perform an original contemporary work remotely from Geneva, Switzerland—6,000 miles away from Downtown Los Angeles. The dancers, under 42 motion capture cameras, will be digitally altered to become avatars for the high-tech performance. Throughout the 30-minute experience, the dancers will be revealed in human form on screen, intermittently, to give audiences a behind-the-scenes glimpse of them dancing from their Geneva studio. Open to the public, this fantastical free performance is making its debut in L.A. and is the third installation presented by TMC Arts’ Digital Innovation Initiative, which explores and creates digital and virtual reality experiences on The Music Center campus and throughout Los Angeles County. Cosmogony is created by Geneva-based digital contemporary dance company, Cie Gilles Jobin.
WHEN:
Friday, May 12
Saturday, June 3
Saturday, June 10
Saturday, June 17
All performances will begin at 7:00 p.m. PT.
WHERE:
Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center
135 N. Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
TRANSPORTATION:
Public parking will be available for $10 per vehicle in The Music Center Main Garage (accessible via the Grand Avenue entrance) and the Walt Disney Concert Hall Garage (accessible via the 2nd Street entrance).
The public is highly encouraged to take public transportation. The Civic Center/Grand Park station along the Metro B Line (Red) and Metro D Line (Purple) is located conveniently in Grand Park with a short walk to Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center.
MORE INFO:
For more information About The Music Center, please visit their website. Follow The Music Center on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @MusicCenterLA.
For more information about Cie Gilles Jobin, please visit his website.
Written and complied by Jeff Slayton from TMC press release.
Featured image: Cosmogony – Photo courtesy of Cie Gilles Jobin
