Sept. 22, 2024

Grooving to Choreorobotics | Kate Sicchio

One of the most fascinating thinkers and innovators I've spoken to, evidenced by her love for robots and how that marries with dance.

When Boston Dynamics, an engineering and robotics design company went viral for successfully creating the now famous Atlas dancing robots video, it caught more than a few people in the world of dance by storm. Would our jobs be threatened by robots too now? Enter the fascinating world of Choreorobotics, a field that explores the convergence of dance choreography and robotics technology.

At the forefront of this interdisciplinary domain is Dr. Kate Sicchio, a choreographer, media artist, performer and Assistant Professor in Dance and Media Technology at Virginia Commonwealth University, whose groundbreaking work has garnered international acclaim. Dr. Sicchio's pioneering research delves into the creative possibilities of integrating technology into dance performance, pushing the boundaries of what is possible when humans and machines collaborate on stage. Sicchio's contributions to the field of dance and technology have earned her recognition as a leading figure in the emerging field of "digital dance" or "dance and technology.''

Continuing a brand new season and month of Dance Technology, this episode investigates Choreorobotics, dancers’ attitudes towards technology and what the future holds for aspiring tech enthusiasts in the world of arts and culture. Ready to discover the roboticist within you? Join us as we foreground dance in the background!

Soundtracks:

Birds - Tyler Twombly
Poison Ivy Yard Work - Uncle Milk
Whipped-cream - WatR
Ambient Technology - Mapa Music

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Chapters

02:13 - Introduction

12:11 - Dancers are extreme user testers

23:23 - Robotics needs dance

31:19 - A robot arm is not a human arm

Kate Sicchio

Roboticist / Choreographer / Researcher / Lecturer

Dr. Kate Sicchio is a choreographer, media artist and performer whose work explores the interface between choreography and technology with wearable technology, live coding, and real time systems. Her work has been shown in the US, UK, Australia, Belgium, Sweden, Netherlands and Qatar at venues such as PS122 (NYC), Banff New Media Institute (CAN), Arnolfini Arts (UK). She is a 2024-25 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellow in New and Emerging Media. She has given invited talks at EU Parliament, Eyeo, Resonate, Node Code, Expo ‘74 and countless universities and events across the globe and co-edited the book Intersecting Art and Technology in Practice: Techne/Technique/Technology (Routledge) with Dr. Camille Baker. Her work has been in New York Times, Dance Magazine, Daze Digital and El Diarios. She is currently Associate Professor of Dance and Media Technology at Virginia Commonwealth University.