Video
Release date
Release time
Trailer
29/10
1PM
Daito Manabe │ ELEVENPLAY

Daito Manabe │ ELEVENPLAY

About the Artists

Daito Manabe │ ELEVENPLAY

Daito Manabe │ ELEVENPLAY

About the Artists

Premieres on 5 Nov

A true master does it all

Ever the boundary pusher, legendary choreographer Merce Cunningham, by the 1970s, had started creating dance work specifically to be filmed. The camera was thus no mere witness to the action but a choreographer in its own right.

And long before art tech became a trend, Japanese new media auteur Daito Manabe was already miles ahead of his time. In 2013, for instance, when AI was still relatively unknown, he masterfully developed an automated trading system and transformed real-time transaction data from the Tokyo Stock Exchange into an interactive art piece.

 

Rhizomatiks, co-founded by Manabe and his creative partner, has a lot to be proud of: their direction of the 2016 Olympic Games closing ceremony, where choreography, dancers’ movements and perfectly-synced hardware melded into AR and projected visuals, won worldwide acclaim; they have also tailored concert effects for Japanese pop group Perfume, while working closely with the all-female dance troupe ELEVENPLAY to try out their new ideas. From hardware to software, the pair do it all — and Manabe is even learning how to dance too to be a true master of his art.

When it comes to dance work, the choreographer/dancer naturally know best. This time, ELEVENPLAY doubles as the cameraman to film their latest act with smartphones, before Rhizomatiks adds the final touch.

The viewer and the viewed — a paradox that never ceases to inspire.

Credits