Dancing with robots: Tchaikovsky ballet captured by robotic cameras

San Francisco – Tarik Abdel-Gawad, film director and self-professed creative technologist, has filmed two dancers using robotic cameras.

Intrigued by the precision of a professional ballet, Abdel-Gawad chose Fantasia, Francesca da Rimini, a ballet famed for its incredibly precise choreography, for the dancers to perform. Using motion-capturing to create a digital version of the performance, Abdel-Gawad was then able to decide how he wanted to film the dancers and programmed the robotic cameras accordingly.

The result is an intimate and beautiful portrayal of the dance that breaks down the imaginary Fourth Wall that separates performers from the audience. The viewers feel like they are on stage with the dancers, and the intimacy has a cinematic quality. 

Tarik Abdel-Gawad gained notoriety in 2013 with Box, the first production of its kind to use motion control, robotics and projection mapping. Yet his exploration of robotics began before Box, although only now have details of the project been released. 

At our forthcoming Autumn/Winter Trend Briefing, we will look at how technology is become humanised in Awakening Tech. For more on the event and the themes we will be exploring, go to The Future Laboratory Eventbrite page.