This work allows the audience to observe the process of choreographing and synchronizing the movements of two choreographers in one body in virtual reality. They can experience this by selecting the two spaces (virtual studio and virtual theater) that are connected to each other.
In the virtual studio, the mirrors needed for practice and the space for movement were arranged. Ten images on a wall were notated by two people. When creating a two-person dance with one body, the structure of time and space connected by the two bodies were imagined. To imagine this concretely, a movement path was drawn on a piece of paper with a grid drawn on it, placed the grid on the floor, and moved according to the movement path. Furthermore, photograph of this path were taken and it was guessed what it would look like in real life. On the TV screen, one can enjoy the main movements that make up each two-person dance. The article located at the entrance of the studio was written while the author worked as a reporter for the Korea National University of Arts magazine. As the pandemic began in 2020, the situation in the performing arts industry in Korea, alternatives, and policies for the artists were addressed. This was the starting point for implementing choreography in virtual reality.
In the virtual theater that follows the virtual studio, one can enjoy three stages from different viewpoints. In the theater at the center, the audience can view 5 two-person dances (Inventio 1, 5 ,9, 10, 6), and in the theater on the right, they can view 3 two-person dances (Inventio 2, 4, 7). Finally, in the theater on the left, the audience can view 2 two-person dances (Inventio 3, 8). These three stages, which exist only in the online virtual space, were inspired by viewing the same choreography from different perspectives depending on the location of the audience in a real theater. The installation of only one seat reflects the unique characteristic of an online virtual theater viewed through a monitor.
This work conceived a form that can only be appreciated in media. In addition, it discovered the possibility of creating a work solely with choreography. Can the audience visiting this virtual space also discover this possibility? If so, it is hoped that they join this journey in the future.
Teri Seo is a choreographer who creates a structure of time and space that is linked to body movements. The artist started choreography by exploring the movement of bones affected by gravity when the artist created “Parts of body (try to be) in a whole body” (2017). Moreover, the artist explores ways to choreograph group dances by applying the theories of Space Harmony and Counter Point created by Rudolf von Laban (1879–1958).
With “Portal Site” (produced by Dong-Jun Park and Da-Young Lee), which exhibits the reconstruction of “Duet with One Body” (2020) in a virtual space, the artist begins to actively explore the unique possibilities of the online virtual stage. The artist aims to carry out convergence art in the direction in which body choreography in the real space is expressed as a movement in the digital space.