STOCOS – Dance in a Synergistic Environment
Daniel Bisig, Pablo Palacio · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2012
STOCOS is a dance performance that combines stochastic processes and artificial life based simulations in order to create mutual aesthetic and behavioural dependencies between dancers, simulated entities, music and imagery. At the core of Stocos lies the notion of a synergistic environment whose physical and virtual characteristics are interrelated via simulations of natural phenomena. The environment is populated by natural and artificial entities whose mutual perception and engagement alternate between different forms of autonomy and dependency. The choreographic structure of the performance emerges from these changing behavioural relationships. Stocos is centered on the analysis and development of gestural relationships between dancers, music and simulated entities. The activities of the dancers, music and visuals relate to each other via underlying processes of brownian movement and flocking behaviour. A dense network of mutual influences emerges that establishes coherency among the spatial, perceptional and behavioural properties of its natural and artificial participants.