THESE STORIES WE TELL.
EXPLORING IMMERSIVE DANCE-THEATRE.
With support from the Immersive Arts Explore Award, we began exploring how immersive technologies — motion capture, projection, and animation — can deepen the audience’s connection with dance.
Our ambition is simple: to create fully enclosed, pop-up dance-theatre experiences that can tour small, local venues.
Performances where audiences step into the story, not just watch it.
IN DEVELOPMENT.
FROM FIRST TESTS TO ARTISTIC FOUNDATIONS.
We began by testing Rokoko Studio’s system as an affordable entry point into motion capture. It allowed us to experiment with data in Blender and visualise possibilities, but its limitations soon became clear: the system lacked the precision needed to capture the subtle detail of the choreography.
Moving to a Vicon suite confirmed this. The higher quality capture honoured the expression of the dancer’s movement, showing us the standard we needed to work to.
With the digital foundation in place, we turned to the realities of touring. Mocking up the set with screens let us test how the design could adapt to rural venues, while working with Vent Media helped us explore projection placement and audience experience. We also consulted Entify to ensure the set could be built in a way that supported both form and function.
Explore the websites of our collaborators, software providers, and sources of inspiration:
FROM SKETCH TO CONCEPT
TO DIGITAL REALISATION
All of these tests fed into the artistic concept…
SHAPING STORY
PROJECTION
LIVE DANCE
…into one integrated performance language.
SHAPING OUR PATH THROUGH OTHERS’ WORK
At the Immersive Arts Conference in Bradford we saw how technology can transform storytelling - and how crucial it is to keep the audience at the centre.
YOU: Matter by Marshmallow Laser Feast showed the power of simple, clear interactions
Unframed by the National Portrait Gallery revealed how 360° projection can turn storytelling into a shared experience
KEEPING ACCESSIBILITY AT THE HEART
Across every example we explored, accessibility was vital.
From exhibition design to interactive technology, the lesson was clear: immersive experiences only succeed when everyone can take part. This principle now guides the way we design our own space and performances.
FROM TESTING TO TOURING — YOU CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN
WHY OUR WORK MATTERS.
The next stage is about building, testing, and opening the doors to audiences. With your support, we can make these steps a reality.
FINISH OUR IMMERSIVE PERFORMANCE
By creating high quality animations to complement the physical performance and experimenting with how we can put these together to create a seamless immersive experience.
EXPERIMENT WITH INTERACTIVITY
We want to experiment with ways to make the audience active participants in the performance through binaural sound and allowing the audience to interact with the projections.
Construct our immersive touring space with Vent Media and Entify
This partnership will allow us to design and build a portable set where animation, live dance and audience can come together seamlessly.
WORK WITH AN ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSION SPECIALIST TO ENSURE THE PERFORMANCE IS OPEN TO ALL
From space design to interaction, accessibility will be embedded at every stage so that every audience member can share in the experience.
TRIAL THE EXPERIENCE WITH AUDIENCES IN LOCAL VENUES
We will bring our accessible pop-up space to the University of Worcester and the Hive library to gather feedback on the immersive experience and what our audiences took from the performance.
HELP US BUILD THE NEXT CHAPTER
These Stories We Tell is about making sense of the hardest experiences through dance and story.
By blending live performance with immersive technology, we can invite audiences not just to watch, but to step into that journey.
We are now seeking partners and funders to help us take this vision on the road. With your support, we can build the space, develop the technology, and bring this work to communities who rarely experience live dance-theatre.
Get in touch to support the project.
