Tasdance
Relax the Chimp was an outdoor dance event that invited festival goers to dance, experiment, play and get physical whilst watching their own larger-than-life avatar dancing on the big screen. Created by Tasdance Artistic Director Felicity Bott and launched via a partnership with University of Tasmania, Relax the Chimp featured the University of Tasmania’s community and Launceston’s dance groups. The invitation:
“Come and let your inner dancer free in an environment where there is no right or wrong, nor any limits on age, ability or style. The music will be based on open requests from the community made in the weeks leading up to the event and will represent the feeling and culture of the community we are based in and the dance styles this community enjoys. Let us know your ‘trigger song’ and then come along to play and groove in the open air at the festival hub.”
Felicity Bott AD
Relax the Chimp at Junction Arts Festival
Prince’s Square was transformed into an outdoor immersive dance environment throughout Junction Arts Festival so that Tasdance could present Relax The Chimp, as an interactive experience which projects movement onto a large public screen in avatar form. The unique technology at the core of the project was tailored for the project in a partnership between Tasdance and the University of Tasmania, Tasmanian College of the Arts during an eight week Tasdance residency which commenced in July of 2016. Tasdance artistic director and the creative driver behind Relax The Chimp, Felicity Bott, said they wanted to see everyone in Launceston at Prince’s Square, moving, playing and experimenting with dance:
“Relax The Chimp is really about the people who come to dance in front of the sensors,”
“We have found that once people realise that their movements are creating large scale images on the screen, they really start to have fun with it.
“Dancing becomes easy and exciting even for people who wouldn’t call themselves dancers.
“When you add a favourite music track into the mix, the stage is completely set for the humans to relax, let go and dance together.”
Felicity Bott AD
Relax the Chimp at Junction
Sarah Aquilina
Prince’s Square will be transformed into an outdoor immersive dance environment throughout Junction Arts Festival.
Tasdance presents Relax The Chimp, an interactive experience which projects movement onto a stadium-sized screen in avatar form.
Tasdance artistic director and the creative driver behind Relax The Chimp, Felicity Bott, said they wanted to see everyone in Launceston at Prince’s Square, moving, playing and experimenting with dance.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t think there is a rhythmic bone in your body – you will definitely still have fun.”
The unique technology at the core of the project has been developed in partnership between Tasdance and the University of Tasmania, Tasmanian College of the Arts during an eight week Tasdance residency which commenced in late July.
The application is designed to pick up cues from body movements and project them onto a big screen.
“Relax The Chimp is really about the people who come to dance in front of the sensors,” Ms Bott said.
“We have found that once people realise that their movements are creating large scale images on the screen, they really start to have fun with it.
“Dancing becomes easy and exciting even for people who wouldn’t call themselves dancers”.
Prince’s Square will be transformed into an outdoor immersive dance environment throughout Junction Arts Festival.
Tasdance presents Relax The Chimp, an interactive experience which projects movement onto a stadium-sized screen in avatar form.
Tasdance artistic director and the creative driver behind Relax The Chimp, Felicity Bott, said they wanted to see everyone in Launceston at Prince’s Square, moving, playing and experimenting with dance.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t think there is a rhythmic bone in your body – you will definitely still have fun.”
The unique technology at the core of the project has been developed in partnership between Tasdance and the University of Tasmania, Tasmanian College of the Arts during an eight week Tasdance residency which commenced in late July.
The application is designed to pick up cues from body movements and project them onto a big screen.
Relax The Chimp is a free event, running from September 8 to 10.
