Entr’acte
Concept and Choreography: Ari Tenhula
Video and Still Photography: Teemu Määttänen
Max/Jitter programming: Teemu Määttänen
Sound Design: Johanna Storm
Clothing Design: Lotta Esko
Choreography and Dance: Elina Hauta-aho, Mikko Heino, Laura Norppa, Saara Töyrylä, Panu Varstala
Producer: Theater Academy of Finland, TaDac
Premiere: 15.1.2008 Helsinki
Entr’acte is a dance video installation that can be manipulated in real time. Several temporal structures cross in the screen. Layered dance produces endless enthralling potentialities. The choreography is created live by an audience member by manipulating and clicking three volume knobs - the simple interface creates the picture in three layers. Audience takes the role of a vj playing the dance in different degrees of slow motion (or in reverse), contrasting layers and exploring this prerecorded material, where the danced sentiments are divided into space. Clicking and changing a dancer does not change the kinesthetic -the dance keeps going.
The daily cycle of sunshine and darkness creates a pulse for this dance-stream. The misty morning light and the shimmer of the blue hour repeat endlessly in the background. A plunge into darkness during the night opens up a possibility of viewing the dancers' surreal faces.
Entr’acte is third piece where Ari Tenhula explores issues related to dance and technology. Currently Tenhula is holding a position as a professor for contemporary dance in the Theater Academy of Finland.
This real time presence and the potential manipulation of video layers is made possible by a made to order software in Max/MSP/Jitter environment. The software counts in real time the closest crossing point in overlapping pieces of danced footage and therefore produces the continuum in this dance. Following these routes as they occur a viewer can experience countless variations in movement patterns and manipulate microscopic moments in danced time. This programming and an extensive use of virtual studio make this work very special in the field of Finnish video dance.
The visual design and programming is by Teemu Määttänen, an young lighting designer and a media artist, who has gained a firm reputation with his innovative and refined works in dance. This is their first collaboration.
Entr’acte is inspired by a film Entr’acte by René Clair for Ballet Suédois’ production of Relâche (1924).