iConcert for an iGeneration

iEcho stage performance

Nichole Canuso and Dito VanReigersberg. Photo by Lars Jan.

Dickinson's Dance Theatre Group presents iEcho

by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson

What is reality, and how does technological phenomena shape our perceptions of it? One year after the election that placed the term "fake news" in conversations across the political divide, the Dance Theatre Group (DTG) tackles this complex question in innovative ways.

Choroegraphy created by Philadelphia-based artist Nichole Canuso, Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance Erin Crawley-Woods and Director of Dance Sarah Skaggs uses movement, multimedia and communication technologies to examine the effects of echo chambers, robots, algorithms, live feeds, sharing, oversharing, augmented reality, fake reality and artificial intelligence on our lives and perceptions. 

The concert is part of a yearlong artistic exploration for DTG. Like past productions arising from our socially conscious dance program, it draws from real-world events.

“After the 2016 presidential election, discussion ensued about echo chambers and the role of technology in generating slippery definitions of reality and shaping our choices, preferences and outcomes,” writes Skaggs, in the concert program. “From dancing with cell phones to choreography created via Skype, we hope to enliven the discussion.”

The fall DTG concert will be presented Friday, Nov. 17, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 18, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 19, at 2 p.m. in Mathers Theatre in the Holland Union Building. Tickets are $7, or $5 with a student ID, and are available through Dickinson’s online box office.

DTG

 

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Published November 16, 2017