The Future of Performance?

by Julie on February 5, 2010 · 3 comments


My husband, Nikola Danaylov of Singularity WEBLOG came across this neat BBC news item which I just have to share!

Honda's ASIMO, an example of a humanoid robot

Image via Wikipedia

The video showcases a robot which has been programmed to break dance.

Although the technology is primitive, when the mechanics improve, the question remains:

Will robotics be the future of live entertainment?

Check this out and judge for yourself:

Break Dancing Robot Video from the BBC


Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

{ 1 trackback }

“What Really Makes You Tick?” 10 questions you should ask to yourself: a preparation to self-improvement
February 21, 2010 at 6:36 am

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Shary February 5, 2010 at 4:30 pm

When I watch a dancer, I know that I am watching a human being with feelings who communicates through his/her body language. However, when I see a robot dancer, I know that I am watching a programmed machine performing.

My best guess is that robots can be used to study choreography, which could help choreographer’s creativity. However, the fact remains that a machine can never be a person. There may be fans who watch robots performing, but there will always be people who would love to see humans perform and express themselves.

Art can take on new forms, but it does not mean that its old forms will necessarily disappear. In my field (photography), photographs cannot be a substitute for paintings although when photography was invented this was the assumption. Painting and photography are two related and yet distinct art forms (same way, digital photography still cannot wipe out film based imagery as an art form etc.).

Cheers!

2 Julie February 6, 2010 at 8:24 am

Shary,

I love your point about art taking on new forms.

In the dance world, there was ballet, then there was jazz, then there was hip hop, then there was pop and lock, etc etc etc. Each new dance form was a new and fresh derivative of the discipline which came before it and not a replacement.

Thanks for taking the time to comment as you raise some very good points!

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: