NEWS


28 July 2023

Discover Young Hackney

1 August 2023

2pm-5pm

Studio 90, The Trampery, E3 2XF

Join the first ever workshop at our new satellite space at Studio 90. Supported by Discover Young Hackney and Hackney Council, Digital Makers invites young people aged 16-25 to expand their experience of virtual production, creative technology and dance.

Led by Alexander and Stacie from our team, alongside our long term collaborator Luca Biada (Fenyce), the session will dive into interdisciplinary collaboration and offer a chance to try Digital Dance Studio yourself.

Book a space for free >


20 July 2023

People Dancing Summer Intensive

28 July 2023

10am-5:30pm

DeMontford University, Leicester, LE2 7DP

Alexander and Stacie from our team will be heading to Leicester next week to lead Digital Futures, as part of People Dancing’s 2023 programme.

This hands-on course will include an introduction to the 8 Minutes Learning Resource, as well as exclusive use of the Digital Dance Studio tool.

This exciting workshop will support artists and facilitators in working with digital technology, digital composition, cross disciplinary and inclusive approaches.

Find out more >


21 June 2023

Economist Metaverse Summit 2023

28 June 2023

Alexander is delighted to have been invited to speak at this event hosted by Economist Impact. He will be joining 100 influential speakers for the event which runs 28th-29th June. 

Following a presentation of our Digital Dance Studio tool, Alexander will be joined by David Ripert to discuss digital technology and mixed realities within creative practice.


17 June 2023

TORCH EVENT AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY 

20 June 2023

Radcliffe Humanities, Woodstock Road,0X2 6GG

Following Shaping Destiny’s ‘Experiments in Embodiment’ event on Saturday 10 June, we are hosting a Digital Dance Studio (DDS) presentation and panel discussion next week as part of their programme. 

Following an interactive demonstration of the Digital Dance Studio software, Dr Wes Williams from Oxford University and Alexander Whitley will be diving into the world of AI and Dance in a live discussion.

Sign up for FREE >


10 June 2023

Goldsmith’s Mocap Streamer Research Project

15 July 2023

Target 3D, 11 Dock Street, E1 8JN

We will be presenting the Digital Dance Studio (DDS) as part of an exciting programme for this one off event, led by our partner Dr Dan Strutt. We will dive into the innovative user-focussed software app and give audience members the chance to try it themselves.

Brining together multidisciplinary artists for an interactive day of demo, workshop and performance, there will also be work by Katie Dale Everett Dance, Unwired Dance Theatre and Studio Aszyk

Reserve your free spot >


22 May 2023

AWDC at Studio 90

Studio 90, The Trampery, E3 2XF

Today is the day we move into our new satellite space at Studio 90. Our home remains firmly at DanceEast, Ipswich, but we felt it was about time we had a hub in London so that we can engage with, and give back to, the community we’ve built there.

We’re busy making plans for activities to kick off this centre for new creative, education and mentoring programmes led by AWDC and our team of incredible collaborators.

A performing arts and creative technologies driven working studio, community makerspace and professional development hub for artists, education and technologists.


21 April 2023

Earth Day Ritual 2023

22 April at Granary Square N1C 4AB

Photo by John Sturrock

This Saturday 22nd April, London’s Granary Square will come alive with rhythmic drumming, lavishly colourful clothing and performers coming together to celebrate Earth Day 2023.

AWDC has collaborated with Professor Lucy Orta for this performance, which comes as part of a longer research project entitled ‘The Lost Species’, which uses creative practices to draw attention to the significant species loss the planet is currently facing.

This performance is supported by King’s Cross Artist in Residence Programme 2022-2023, the UAL Climate Emergency Network and the Centre for Sustainable Fashion UAL.

Learn more about Professor Lucy Orta’s The Lost Species >


14 April 2023

Creative Residency at MA Scène Nationale

22 March - 06 April

Last week the AWDC team along with a group of our trusted collaborators returned from Montbéliard, France, where we ran a two week creative residency.

Hosted by our long-standing partners MA Scene Nationale - pays de Montbéliard, this residency offered a rare opportunity to get the team together to work on Future Rites, Digital Dance Studio (DDS) and a new stage production.

We kicked off the residency by running DDS workshops with local artists and students, spent two weeks exploring the choreographic and technical elements of all three projects and finished our time with a public sharing for a local audience.

Thank you to our hosts at MA Scène Nationale and to our wonderful collaborators and dancers who joined us for the trip.


19 March 2023

Alexander Visits Japan with Delegation of UK Artists

19-25 March 2023

Alexander is on his way to Japan with a group of eight UK artists invited by the British Council to visit Tokyo, Japan.

This trip is an exciting opportunity to refresh and nurture relationships and share creative practices. With a packed schedule of meetings with producers and facilitators, the group are set for an exciting few days.


13 March 2023

SXSW Festival and New Partnership with Dr Dan Strutt

Alexander is in Austin, Texas for international music, film and tech festival, SXSW. This trip kicks off a new research process with Dr. Daniel Strutt of the @goldsmithsmocapstreamer research project. 

 Dan has recently been awarded a one-year British Academy Innovation Fellowship to work with AWDC to address issues around inclusivity, diversity and accessibility in dance tech. This comes on the back of a three-year research relationship, collaborating on a set of ideas around remote choreographic collaboration, virtual embodiment, and meaningful dance communication in shared digital landscapes.

 Dan and team are at SXSW to present a conference panel ‘Dance in the Metaverse: Tools for Accessibility’, and to deliver the project Figural Bodies in the XR Experience Spotlight section of the festival. This was made possible through funding provided by @aceagrams and @britishcouncil through the wonderful @british_underground #futureartsandculture. Future Art and Culture is produced by British Underground at SXSW funded by Arts Council England with additional support in 2023 from the British Council.


10 March 2023

Shaping Destiny Project - Continued

Events to be announced

Last week Alexander headed back to Oxford to continue his work on Shaping Destiny with the University of Oxford. They brought together some of the elements they’ve been working on over the last few months to explore an interactive experience where people can explore physicality in a virtual space.

A combined influence of science and art, Shaping Destiny is a multidisciplinary public engagement, exploring themes of ‘destiny’ and ‘embodiment’, and how they are impacted by external environments and social norms.

The project will be announcing some exciting events soon, including their TORCH event on 10 June 2023, stay tuned!

Find out more here>

Listen to interviews with partners - skip to 1:53 to hear Alexander>


20 February 2023

The Great Communicator Course

Available from 21 February 2023

Last month, Alexander had the pleasure of being interviewed as a guest teacher on The Great Communicator Course.

Led by communications specialist and founder of FullTilt and FullTilt Education, Jennifer Rosen, this brand new course contains a series of audio lectures aiming to unlock some of the mysteries of human communication.

Released as part of Module 1, Alexander’s contribution touches on the inner experience of contemporary dance and the ways dance can impact the way you interact with the world.

From tomorrow, you can access Alexander’s conversation, as part of the fuller programme by signing up online.

Find out more and sign up >


1 February 2023

London College of Fashion MA Showcase

17 FEB 2023

Dancer: Chia-Yu Hsu

Designer: Xiang Li

This month, Alexander and our dancers are developing the creations made with students from the MA Costume Design programme at London College of Fashion last Autumn, and presenting them as part of the LCF Postgraduate Showcase.

This is an exciting opportunity to continue our partnership with LCF and present work as part of London Fashion Week.

Composer and producer Kincaid, who previously collaborated with us on Anti-Body, is joining us again to create music for the work.

While the event including live performance from AWDC dancers is not open to the public, there will be a public version of the graduate exhibition on Saturday 18 (11am - 8pm), and Sunday 19 February (11am - 5pm).

The exhibition is free and no booking is required.

Find out more here >


11 November 2022

COMPANY CLASS - LONDON DANCERS WELCOME

28 NOV - 15 DEC 2022

10:15-11:45am

For the last time this year we invite professional dancers to join the company to take morning class. Attendees will be led through a 1.5 hour class exploring a range of contemporary dance techniques including Cunningham, release and floor work, which echoes the technical demands of Alexander’s choreography.

Classes are £6 and we have limited spaces.

Email hello@alexanderwhitley.com to book >


1 November 2022

WINNER ONE DANCE UK AWARD

We are excited to announce that we have won One Dance UK's 2022 Bob Lockyer Award for Digital Innovation, which recognises innovation in the artistic elements of dance, and how artists can unlock new ways of storytelling, explore themes and challenge how we think.

Thank you One Dance UK for this accolade, which holds a special place in our hearts: Bob Lockyer, who died earlier this year, was instrumental in supporting our collaboration with Daniel Elms, The Age of Spiritual Machines, having been funded through the Drummond Fund, which he founded.

A huge thank you goes out to all our digital collaborators who make this work possible, especially Fenyce, Uncharted Limbo Collective and Studio Aszyk, and also to the wonderful composers, technical team and of course dancers, who are always open to accept whatever new challenges we throw at them.


7 November 2022

GOLDSMITH’S MO-CAP STREAMER PROJECT

12 NOV 2022 1-5pm

Alexander has continued to contribute to the VR Mo-cap Streamer project, a partnership with Dan Strutt and the Department for Media and Communications at Goldsmiths University, London. This project attempts to bring live, fully embodied interactive performance from remote locations.  

Alexander has provided expert training and mentoring to six dance/technologist residency teams around the world, which culminates in a special event this weekend. Global Dance Collaboration in the Metaverse will present live, real-time virtual dance performance and installation spanning the globe - a vibrant and diverse showcase of digital dance possibility.

Reserve a space >


17 October 2022

NEW WORK FOR BFI GALA

In September, Alexander was invited to create a performance to open the BFI Luminous gala. Marrying archive film and live performance, Prefigures creates a link between past and future representations of the body in moving image.

The short film shows an experiment for this innovative process in the making. Using dance-related footage from the BFI’s National Archive, interactive visual artists Uncharted Limbo Collective have digitally processed the material to reconstruct the scenes with a relief-like 3D effect, while three dancers are choreographed to mirror the movements of these long past dancers.

Music is Paused by Kiasmos.

Watch the trailer >


11 October 2022

COLLABORATION WITH LONDON COLLEGE OF FASHION 

Dancer: Hannah Ekholm

Designer: Mingrui

Last year we worked with the Costume Design for Performance students at London College of Fashion. Our dancers, along with digital interpretations created by our regular collaborators UL Collective, helped showcase their MA projects.

We are delighted to have been invited back to work with this years cohort, rehearsals begin next week. . .

Watch last year’s designs >


20 SEPTEMBER 2022

JOIN COMPANY CLASS 

26 SEPT - 05 OCT 2022

10:15-11:45am

Professional dancers are invited to join the company for morning class this autumn. Led by Alexander, the 1.5 hour class incorporates Cunningham and more release based styles.

Classes are £6 and we have limited spaces.

Email hello@alexanderwhitleydance to book >


6 MAY 2022

DIGITAL DANCE STUDIO PROTOTYPE PRESENTATION

Our team recently hosted a lecture for students and the faculty of the University of East London as part of their Cultural Manoeuvres Programme, which showcases multi-disciplinary practices that take place in the cultural and creative sector.

We presented a prototype of our Digital Dance Studio (DDS), an interactive tool that provides a dynamic and enjoyable space to explore choreography in a virtual setting.  


  AWDC are committed to empowering students to be pioneers in the use of new technology and are working closely with developers and teachers to build an innovative online tool for use in schools and at home.

Learn more about DDS >

"This would be amazing for filmmaking, to position the camera and "act out" a scene before bringing the actors in" Student Comment UEL.


20 MAY 2022

BEHIND THE SPINE PODCAST

Alexander recently spoke to Behind the Spine about how his digital work is reinventing the landscape of dance.

Listen to the full interview where he discusses the powerful possibilities of storytelling through the human body and how his immersive work in virtual, augmented and mixed reality offers audiences a deeper sense of connection to dance.

Listen now >


25 APRIL 2022

MO-CAP STREAMER WITH GOLDSMITH’S UNIVERSITY

Alexander worked remotely with the inspiring students at the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts earlier this year to create a new entry into the Digital Body Project.

The short film, METAmorphoses, was created remotely in collaboration with digital artist Neal Coghlan using the Goldsmiths Mocap Streamer system. This enabled Alexander to move within a shared virtual space with the students and develop material for the piece directly in response to the way their figures and movement were transformed by the technology.

Watch it now >


28 JULY 2022

IMMERSIVE ASSEMBLY

Alexander has been invited to join Mediale’s project, Immersive Assembly, which aims to bring new knowledge and experience to emerging immersive practitioners and digital artists. As a creative contributor Alexander presented to the ‘Vol 2: Bodies and Geometry’ cohort back in June.

"Alexander delivered an incredible presentation and talk as part of Immersive Assembly Vol. 2 (Bodies and Geometry). As a keynote speaker, Alexander gave our cohort a masterclass based on his creative practice and experience in developing, creating and delivering complex immersive performance projects. The feedback from the artists in our cohort was universally positive. Inspiring, impressive and thought-provoking were some of the keywords that came out of the session that Alex delivered." Dan Tucker, Executive Producer, Mediale

Read more about Immersive Assembly >


15 June 2022

OPEN COMPANY CLASS 

23 JULY 2022 10-11:30am

£10 Admission, Age 16+

Are you a contemporary dancer based near Wiltshire? Come join our advanced level class taught by Alexander on stage whilst the company prepare for their performance of Anti-Body at Messums.


Attendees will be led through a 1.5 hour class exploring a range of contemporary dance techniques including Cunningham, release and floor work.

Book a place >


21 July 2022

SHAPING DESTINY WITH UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

21 JULY 2022

Alexander joins the University of Oxford's project, Shaping Destiny, to create an interactive experience which will immerse the public within a scientifically inspired virtual world of movement. 

Shaping Destiny is a multi-disciplinary public engagement project led by members of the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG) and TORCH, and brings together the fields of molecular biology and the arts, to explore the concepts of ‘destiny’ and ‘embodiment’.

Read more >


11 March 2022

MO-CAP STREAMING & DANCE PERFORMANCE IN VR

14 JAN 2022 2:30-3:30pm

Alexander joins a panel at SXSW to discuss the technical, creative and conceptual issues around distributed performance experiences in VR.

The conversation will focus on the VR Mocap Streamer project, a partnership between Alexander Whitley Dance Company and Dan Strutt at the Department for Media and Communications at Goldsmiths University, London, which attempts to bring live, fully embodied interactive performance from remote locations into a multi-user VR experience based on the seminal ballet The Rite of Spring.

Join us in person, book a place >


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