Hilary Bergen – författare

The practice of dance holds a paradox at its core: we view dance as a uniquely human thing, and yet, training in technique and choreography produces the dancer as a mechanized body whose porousness of boundaries mark the more-than-human condition of our present. Furthermore, because dancing bodies have been instrumental in the development of photography, film, and motion capture tools, dance facilitates an exploration of two interrelated realms: emergent technology and the ontology of the human.Through a series of interdisciplinary case studies from cinema, animation, robotics, and image-based social media, and using a methodology critically attuned to issues of race and embodiment, Hilary Bergen examines dances driving energy, naming it "dance anima." Bergen argues that this kinetic power—produced collectively by dancers, choreographers, techniques, technologies, and the imagination of the audience—is a valuable (and extractable) resource for engineering life and infusing things with sentience and soul. A new history and theory of dance, one that moves beyond the human, is necessary to understand dance as a cultural technique of ensoulment that can travel between (nonhuman, animated, robotic, digital) bodies.Why are the Boston Dynamics' military-industrial robots, designed to be soulless and dehumanized on the battlefield, doing the twist to African American soul music in viral videos online? How does Loïe Fuller's Serpentine Dance, described by symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé in 1897 as the dizziness of soul made visible by an artifice, become even dizzier within today's algorithmic suck of YouTube, where it gathers up countless other dancers under Fuller's name? Dance Anima follows these and other questions to explore dance as both an apparatus of vitality and an uncontainable energetic force.

The practice of dance holds a paradox at its core: we view dance as a uniquely human thing, and yet, training in technique and choreography produces the dancer as a mechanized body whose porousness of boundaries mark the more-than-human condition of our present. Furthermore, because dancing bodies have been instrumental in the development of photography, film, and motion capture tools, dance facilitates an exploration of two interrelated realms: emergent technology and the ontology of the human.Through a series of interdisciplinary case studies from cinema, animation, robotics, and image-based social media, and using a methodology critically attuned to issues of race and embodiment, Hilary Bergen examines dances driving energy, naming it "dance anima." Bergen argues that this kinetic power—produced collectively by dancers, choreographers, techniques, technologies, and the imagination of the audience—is a valuable (and extractable) resource for engineering life and infusing things with sentience and soul. A new history and theory of dance, one that moves beyond the human, is necessary to understand dance as a cultural technique of ensoulment that can travel between (nonhuman, animated, robotic, digital) bodies.Why are the Boston Dynamics' military-industrial robots, designed to be soulless and dehumanized on the battlefield, doing the twist to African American soul music in viral videos online? How does Loïe Fuller's Serpentine Dance, described by symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé in 1897 as the dizziness of soul made visible by an artifice, become even dizzier within today's algorithmic suck of YouTube, where it gathers up countless other dancers under Fuller's name? Dance Anima follows these and other questions to explore dance as both an apparatus of vitality and an uncontainable energetic force.

The practice of dance holds a paradox at its core: we view dance as a uniquely human thing, and yet, training in technique and choreography produces the dancer as a mechanized body whose porousness of boundaries mark the more-than-human condition of our present. Furthermore, because dancing bodies have been instrumental in the development of photography, film, and motion capture tools, dance facilitates an exploration of two interrelated realms: emergent technology and the ontology of the human. Through a series of interdisciplinary case studies from cinema, animation, robotics, and image-based social media, and using a methodology critically attuned to issues of race and embodiment, Hilary Bergen examines dance's driving energy, naming it "e;dance anima."e; Bergen argues that this kinetic power produced collectively by dancers, choreographers, techniques, technologies, and the imagination of the audience is a valuable (and extractable) resource for engineering life and infusing things with sentience and soul. A new history and theory of dance, one that moves beyond the human, is necessary to understand dance as a cultural technique of ensoulment that can travel between (nonhuman, animated, robotic, digital) bodies. Why are the Boston Dynamics' military-industrial robots, designed to be soulless and dehumanized on the battlefield, doing the twist to African American soul music in viral videos online? How does Loie Fuller's Serpentine Dance, described by symbolist poet Stephane Mallarme in 1897 as "e;the dizziness of soul made visible by an artifice,"e; become even dizzier within today's algorithmic suck of YouTube, where it gathers up countless other dancers under Fuller's name? Dance Anima follows these and other questions to explore dance as both an apparatus of vitality and an uncontainable energetic force.

The practice of dance holds a paradox at its core: we view dance as a uniquely human thing, and yet, training in technique and choreography produces the dancer as a mechanized body whose porousness of boundaries mark the more-than-human condition of our present. Furthermore, because dancing bodies have been instrumental in the development of photography, film, and motion capture tools, dance facilitates an exploration of two interrelated realms: emergent technology and the ontology of the human. Through a series of interdisciplinary case studies from cinema, animation, robotics, and image-based social media, and using a methodology critically attuned to issues of race and embodiment, Hilary Bergen examines dance's driving energy, naming it "e;dance anima."e; Bergen argues that this kinetic power produced collectively by dancers, choreographers, techniques, technologies, and the imagination of the audience is a valuable (and extractable) resource for engineering life and infusing things with sentience and soul. A new history and theory of dance, one that moves beyond the human, is necessary to understand dance as a cultural technique of ensoulment that can travel between (nonhuman, animated, robotic, digital) bodies. Why are the Boston Dynamics' military-industrial robots, designed to be soulless and dehumanized on the battlefield, doing the twist to African American soul music in viral videos online? How does Loie Fuller's Serpentine Dance, described by symbolist poet Stephane Mallarme in 1897 as "e;the dizziness of soul made visible by an artifice,"e; become even dizzier within today's algorithmic suck of YouTube, where it gathers up countless other dancers under Fuller's name? Dance Anima follows these and other questions to explore dance as both an apparatus of vitality and an uncontainable energetic force.

Robot Theaters explores the fascinating theatrical nature of robots and their unique capacity to illuminate human performativity through their own machinic performances.This groundbreaking anthology challenges conventional scientific and commercial approaches to robotics by positioning theater and dance methodologies as essential frameworks for understanding our increasingly automated world. The collection traverses diverse territories – from the historical contexts of performing robots in social and staged settings to the industrial and military applications of robotics technology. Contributors examine the creative possibilities emerging at the intersection of choreography and robotic performance, revealing unexpected spaces for play, joy, and artistic collaboration. The book weaves together scholarly perspectives with insights from practicing artists through illuminating interviews with prominent figures in the field: Thomas DeFrantz discusses the racial dimensions of robot performance, Sydney Skybetter reflects on choreorobotic practice within university research environments, and Taiwanese choreographer-roboticist Huang Yi shares his pioneering creative methodologies. By bringing together these interdisciplinary conversations spanning choreography, critical race studies, feminist media studies, research-creation methods, and biopolitics, the anthology offers a rich tapestry of perspectives on the robot as performer.This innovative collection will appeal to scholars and practitioners in performance studies, robotics, media arts, and cultural studies, as well as anyone interested in the evolving relationship between technology and creative expression.