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Virtuosity with Artificial Intelligence (AI): Explorations and Challenges in Music, Performance and Higher Education: Live Performance & The Performing Arts

Artificial Intelligence is making significant strides in the fields of live performance, dance, and theater, transforming various aspects of these performing arts. 

Live Performance

AI technologies, combined with Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), create immersive concert experiences, allowing artists to perform in virtual environments and engage with global audiences.

AI-driven smart cameras and audio processing tools enhance live performances by analyzing crowd reactions and dynamically adjusting elements like lighting and sound.

Performing Arts

Training and Education

AI is revolutionizing dance training and education by providing tools that enhance learning experiences:

  • DancingInside: This platform uses AI to offer remote and asynchronous dance education, providing feedback through a teacher-AI collaboration. It employs 2D pose estimation to assess a learner's movements against a teacher's, helping dancers refine their skills regardless of their location.

Choreography

AI is also being used to innovate choreography:

  • The Living Archive: This platform utilizes AI to catalog and analyze dance performances, offering choreographers historical references and inspiration. It can predict dancers' next moves and provide options, aiding in the creative process.
  • Discrete Figures: Developed by Rhizomatiks in collaboration with Kyle McDonald, this project uses real-time motion capture and AI algorithms to create dynamic visualizations of dance movements. It even integrates audience movements into live performances.
  • LifeForms: This tool allows dancers to sketch choreographies on a digital canvas, transforming concepts into dance sequences using AI. It was notably used by Merce Cunningham to explore unconventional movements beyond physical capabilities.

Performance Enhancement

AI can also serve as a dance partner, creating interactive performances that blend human and machine elements. For instance, projects like LuminAI and Hyundai’s robot dancers are exploring these possibilities, pushing the boundaries of traditional dance performances.

 

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Playwriting and Script Generation

AI is being used to co-create theatrical scripts:

  • Annie Dorsen's Algorithmic Theater: Dorsen's work involves custom algorithms that generate unique scripts, creating a new experience for each performance. This approach blends AI with classical theatrical techniques to explore the digital world's impact on society.
  • The Singularity Play: Written by Jay Stull and directed by Keenan Tyler Oliphant, this play explores the implications of AI in theater by having an AI named Denise write parts of the script. It raises questions about what makes art "human" and how AI can contribute to creative processes.

Stage Design and Production

AI is also being integrated into stage design and production:

Enhanced Creative Processes

AI can aid in various creative processes in theater:

  • AI algorithms can help students and professionals brainstorm ideas, plan rehearsals, and generate new content. This can foster innovation and inclusivity in theater programs, especially at the high school level.

Performance and Audience Interaction

AI is being used to create interactive and immersive theater experiences:

  • Performances like A&I by Orange Grove Dance integrate AI to control aspects of the performance in real-time, blending human and machine elements to create a unique theatrical experience.

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An AI-generated image

"The intersection of AI and a music and performing arts education" by Stacey Snyder generated by Perplexity.ai with Playground

More Berklee College & Boston Conservatory AI Resources (may require Berklee login)

AI Tools Used to Generate and Organize the Content on this Guide

  • Descriptions, images, research, and citations supported with Perplexity.ai
  • Citations formatted using Scribbr
  • Organization and summaries using ChatGPT
  • Images generated with Playground