AI Takes Over Dance: Aussie Choreographer Lets AI Lead

Published Date: 31/08/2024

In a bold experiment, Australian choreographer Alisdair Macindoe has handed over the creative reins to artificial intelligence in his new work, Plagiary. But what happens when a computer tells dancers to 'Stop, listen! Do an unexpected yoga session on a moving train'?

In a time when many artists are sounding the alarm about artificial intelligence, choreographer Alisdair Macindoe is embracing it. His newest work, Plagiary, has handed over the role of playwright and choreographer to an algorithm.Each night of the run, 10 dancers improvise a performance entirely based on live directives issued in-ear by a computer voice. The instructions given to dancers might be whimsical, such as 'Romp like children in a field at a neighbourhood potluck that turns into a surprising culinary competition.' Or they might be more surreal, like 'Create, and manifest … Let the adjusting dance run out of your corpse.'

Macindoe says he's interested in seeing how the dancers respond to these algorithmically generated prompts. 'One of the things I love about Plagiary is how out-there some of the instructions are … [which] reveal how rich and flexible human minds can be [in the way the dancers respond],' he says.The title, description, and themes of each night's performance of Plagiary are generated by Macindoe's program. The computer provides between 600 and 900 directives, some to the entire group but others to individual dancers. It also supplies direct criticism  on opening night, it praised the work of one performer, while reining in another.

In the middle of the performance, two dancers split off from the group and are fed a dialogue script into their earpieces, also generated by Macindoe's system, which they immediately perform out loud, attempting to pass off the computer's words as their own.Macindoe describes that script as a 'false director's cut interview about the piece that you're watching.' 'Programmatically, I've described the general arc that an interview might take, and then I lead a large language model through that interview, step by step … with the AI filling in gaps.'

The resulting work is frenetic, self-referential, self-consciously wanky, and very uncanny valley. It's also delightfully nonsensical.Despite the heavy use of AI, Macindoe is clear about who the real author of Plagiary is. 'It's absolutely myself and the artists involved … It's very important moving forward in a society which is adopting these new technologies that any activity or action taking place that uses AI is ultimately the responsibility of the person who's producing that work.'

Macindoe is also clear that he's not worried about rendering himself and his work redundant. 'For me to do this work in this way is far more work than just making a [normal] piece. So … by exploring this idea in this particular way, I've given myself more work.'In yet another algorithmically generated layer to the performance, media artist Sam Mcgilp provides AI-generated video.

In the end, Plagiary is a strange performance that ultimately celebrates the human rather than the artificial. 'Dance is a very human process,' Macindoe says. 'That's why I think this project's interesting. It heroes the dancing, human, living, breathing body, as the central figure of the work. The technology's the slave of the work, and the dance is the hero, champion, legend of the work.'Plagiary runs until August 31 at Arts Centre Melbourne as part of the Now or Never Festival, before showing at the Sydney Opera House from September 12-14 as part of UnWrapped.

Lucy Guerin Inc is a Melbourne-based contemporary dance company that has been a hub for innovative and experimental dance since its inception in 2000.Alisdair Macindoe is a choreographer and composer who has won six Green Room Awards, a Helpmann, and a Bessie (New York Performing Arts Award).Sam Mcgilp is a media artist who has worked with a range of companies and artists, including the Australian Ballet and the Sydney Dance Company.

FAQS:

Q: What is Plagiary?

A: Plagiary is a new Australian dance work that uses artificial intelligence to generate live directives for the dancers.

Q: Who is the choreographer behind Plagiary?

A: The choreographer behind Plagiary is Alisdair Macindoe.

Q: How does the AI system work in Plagiary?

A: The AI system generates live directives for the dancers, including instructions and criticism, as well as a dialogue script for two dancers to perform.

Q: Is the AI system responsible for the creative decisions in Plagiary?

A: No, the choreographer, Alisdair Macindoe, is ultimately responsible for the creative decisions in Plagiary.

Q: Where can I see Plagiary?

A: Plagiary runs until August 31 at Arts Centre Melbourne as part of the Now or Never Festival, before showing at the Sydney Opera House from September 12-14 as part of UnWrapped.

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