Comments from Participating Members of Dance Repertory Theatre at Florida State University

Telematic Jam Session: Interactive Dance Improvisation via Internet2
April 4, 2006


“I think it was a great opportunity for communication with others in the dance community. Hopefully, this is only the beginning.”

“I just found it fascinating to be able to share space with the Utah dancers and dance with them, yet we were such a great distance apart. It was amazing to see a problem such as distance to be eliminated with the use of some cameras and set spaces.”

“I can honestly say I was blown away. I mean, we were improvising over the Internet with people in another state. I thought it was an amazing experience – you got to experience something so very unique. I enjoyed making connections with people in this 3rd space – when that happened it was like ‘wow’…I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

“There were new aspects to think about and decisions to be made that were unique to a telematics experience. I enjoyed the process – figuring out how to make something work without having a body in the space with me. It’s very beneficial as a mover – to learn how to work in a small space, to know what can be added – what’s too much. The technology would be beneficial for rehearsals, improv jams, building choreography – much more. It was so much fun and a wonderful experience; dancing with people across the country without traveling there is a special opportunity, and one that I hope continues.”

“I found during these sessions there were several truly special moments where the barriers of time zones and miles seemed to dissolve to create some fascinating movement…I think it could be beneficial to do more of this because it is far out of my comfort zone, and would provide great opportunity to grow in my understanding of my own potential as a dancer.”

“It was such a surreal experience and so interesting to explore the different relationship what could be established spatially with a person that’s no there in the flesh… I thought it was a fantastic opportunity!”

“I would love the prospect of rooms being set up and running for regular jams or collaborations. This would increase the pool of dancers available to create work, etc… This was great.”

“This was very exciting and interesting to explore all the ways to move with dancers in Utah. This session was very helpful to me in order to understand the technology that would e involved during the Jam.”

“I feel that some of the ideas and inspirations will be beneficial to me in the future…even thought I don’t plan to use technology in my choreographic work at this time. I may entertain that possibility some day!”

“I enjoyed that we had the opportunity to work with dancers that we’d probably never otherwise be able to dance with… This will definitely be beneficial tin the future because it gave me ideas about staging and perspective, it also let me see how new dancers move.”

“I totally enjoyed this experience because, I have never had the opportunity to work in this way and it helped me appreciate the benefits of technology…Thank you for the experience.”

“I really enjoyed the telematic experience. For me, it was a great way to combine my dancing with my love for technology. I felt that the experience has opened my mind to some new creative ideas… I would love to participate in another opportunity like this if the opportunity becomes available.”

“This session was so awesome because I have never seen/done anything like this before! I feel so lucky that I got to participate in the first run of this process and I think the door is now being opened to a whole new world!”

“I think this experience was amazing. This is new experimentation in technology and linking two separate entities. Having a chance to take part in this opened my eyes to new possibilities in dance, technology, choreography, design, sculpture, the place of ’moment’. This is definitely beneficial, because even if you don’t’ want to go down the technology road, having experience only broadens your mind to possibilities available.”


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