As an electronic score plays at New York Live Arts, where “discrete figures 2019” is being presented as part of its Live Ideas festival, a strobe light begins to flicker, softly at first and then more aggressively. The women behind the translucent projection screens reach their arms up and twist their torsos in slow motion.
Like chic ghosts in matching tops and pleated skirts by Yae-pon, they curl around the edges of the screens and sit in front of them to stare back at themselves. Or, at least, at their likenesses. It’s sort of charming — at least for a minute or so.
Artificial intelligence is the topic of Live Ideas 2019, and a provocative question is part of the festival’s title: “Are You Brave Enough for the Brave New World?”
There are arresting moments in this technology-driven production, but there are also monotonous ones — and little seems particularly brave. This year, the festival is dedicated to the work of Neil Postman, the cultural critic and educator who questioned the role of technology in society.
Who knows what he would have made of the project, but bringing “discrete figures” to life wasn’t simple: Two of its three collaborators are from Japan: Elevenplay, an all-female dance group led by choreographer Mikiko; and the research and development company Rhizomatiks Research. Kyle McDonald, an American artist who works with code, is the third collaborator-creator.
In this attempt to create an alternate reality, the dancers move in unison, like a collective, but also break apart for solos and duets that show their lissome forms in bursts of full-bodied, undulating and jittery physicality. Projected on a screen at the back of the stage — Muryo Honma of Rhizomatiks Research steps into the action frequently to film the dancers live — are images of the women who appear to be floating in infinity.
Yet for all its use of drones and projection mapping, the work itself feels more like a series of experiments than a visionary whole. There are scenes in which the use of technology overpowers the dance; in other moments, the opposite is true. But the two never gel into a satisfying, transformative work of art. While the dancers are precise and committed, they’re placed in a container that is not unlike a music video. It’s not so much that they are backup dancers, but that this, in the end, is a backup dance.
—
“discrete figures 2019” runs through Saturday at New York Live Arts; newyorklivearts.org.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.