Animated particles
A WATERY MESH OF HUMAN AND ELECTRONIC MOTION, GENERATING ALCHEMICAL IMAGE/SOUNDSCAPES
Aqua Khoria
Peter Trosztmer & Zack Settel
50 minutes
Within the hemispheric immensity of the Satosphere, a man stands alone, poised in a reflective pool of water. His every movement, and that of each of us filtering into the space, is motion-captured, tracked and synchronized with the surrounding audio-visual projections. We are submerged into a hypersensitive musical environment filled with floating objects and rippling water. Together we play the sound-and-image system as if an enormous instrument. A sometimes contemplative, other times turbulent, performance of intense dramatic scope and virtual poetry unfolds around us as we embark on a collective and immersive journey.
Choreographer and performer Peter Trosztmer
Composer Zack Settel
Creative process… movement tracking… dance and music… full immersion. We (Zack and I) have been working in the SAT’s Dome for a number of years now, trying, experimenting, inventing, taming and developing in many ways a rather large musical instrument. Dance, music/sound, choreography, environment are linked at a fundamental level where movement is the common operator. We are working with concepts of physical and musical composition, where themes emerge and progress, as virtual sounding-bodies are set into structured motion by choreography. Aqua Khoria will be a water-bound road trip, spanning the broad, the deep, the familiar and the strange.
Thank you Dean Makarenko, Sonya Stefan, Susan Paulson… I am not sure that we would have much of clue as to what we are doing here without your participation and time spent in careful studied play. Zack and Peter, Louis Philippe St-Arnault, Joseph Lefevre, Sébastien Gravel, Olivier Rhéaume, Guillaume Bourassa; this kind of thing does not happen without a generous team of highly specialized and talented individuals.
After receiving his B.A. in Classics, Peter Trosztmer studied at the Concordia University Department of Contemporary Dance before moving to Toronto to complete the School of the Toronto Dance Theatre training program. Since then, he has distinguished himself as in interpreter of the highest caliber and has worked and continues to collaborate with many national and international choreographers. As a choreographer Peter has created five critically acclaimed solo works. His choreography was selected as a top 5 show of the year (La Presse 2006 and Voir 2012). As well he was recognized for the best performance – (The Hour 2006). His work on the multi media work Norman also received many accolades including an Angel Award at the Brighton Festival UK (2009). Peter continues to define his place as a creator who is invested in work that is sensitive, deeply researched and physically realized. His co-authored article “Collaboration as Practice The Winding Road” was presented at the Canadian Society for Dance Scholars Conference 2012. Peter is currently researching interactive movement tracking with sound and video at La Société des arts technologiques in Montreal, with Zack Settel, as well he is artist in residence at Techno Lith – New City Gas in Griffintown.
Zack Settel started playing and writing music early on, studying classical piano and electronic music, and playing in rock jazz groups. He received a BFA in Music Composition from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), where he studied composition Mortons, Subotnick and Feldman. In 1986, Settel came to work at the Institute for Research and the Coordination of Acoustics and Music (Ircam), headed by Pierre Boulez, where he remained until 1995, composing and working full-time in music production and research. From 1997-99 Settel chaired the Music Technology area at McGill University. Then in 2001, Settel received his Doctorate in Music Composition from the University of Montréal. From 2004-2009 Settel collaborated with the Center for Intelligent Machines at McGill, co-directing immersive audio/music projects. From 2003-2008, Settel directed the immersive audio research group he founded at the Société des arts technologiques (SAT), where he remains a resident artist and researcher. In addition to composing full time, Settel also teaches at the Arts and Science faculty at the University of Montreal (UdeM), where he teaches courses in immersive audiovisual arts.
In co-presentation with
