HAL: Mystery 91_Magnetic Dance: A Digital Performance at the X-bowling Center in Eleusis, in the framework of the Eleusis23 Cultural Capital of Europe Festival

Project Mystery 91_Magnetic Dance, explores the relationship between technology and culture through a series of performances in collaboration with artists from Greece, Japan, and France. Dancers Jun Takahashi, Asagio Hisai, Natali Mandila, and Justine Goussot use sensors to create live sound and music through their movements in works by composers Iannis Zannos, Haruka Hirayama, and Hideaki Isobe. The performance also features remote participation from Japan by Yoshimitsu Yoshiya and 3ducksDADA, a group of young artists based in Tokyo, in an innovative technological setting of live collaboration over the internet.

In addition to conventional teleconferencing methods, the work utilizes original technologies that translate the body movements of the artists into data for the production of sound and imagery using open-source software. The technology for the project was developed within the framework of the HAL research project of the Department of audiovisual Arts at the Ionian University and is presented here for the first time in autonomous, large-scale works.

Two works are presented, based on well-known Greek and Japanese myths: The myth of Echo and Narcissus, from the poetic circle “Metamorphoses” by the Roman poet Ovid, and the myth of "Izutsu" (Well-Cradle) from the work of the same name by the Japanese playwright Zeami. These two works explore themes of gender and identity in the broader context of the transition between the immediately perceivable world and the hidden worlds of Fantasy and Transcendence.

Last, the city of Eleusis hosts the audiowalk “Feygousa” with soundscapes of the city and sounds of the Mystery91_Magnetic Dance performance. The audiowalk is geo-located by the Akoo.o team (Nikos Bubaris, Dana Papachristou, Yorgos Samantas and Sofia Grigoriadou). The audiowalk will be available through the Echoes.xyz app throughout the event.

The premiere of the work will take place at X-Bowling Art Space on Saturday, October 21st at 19.30 pm.

On Sunday, October 22nd at 12.00 pm the project presents a collaborative work with live video, sound, and data interaction between Tokyo and Elevsis, with 3ducksDADA, a group of Japanese and Chinese artists organizing an event in the Sanya neighborhood of Tokyo, aiming to bridge the working-class neighborhoods of Sanya and Eleusis.  This will be followed by a panel discussion between the artists and media theorists and digital arts specialists from Greece, Japan and internationally. The event will close with a repeat performance of the Echo-Narcissus and Izutsu performances at 19.30 pm.

Premiere: «Echo-Narcissus and Izutsu» 
Saturday, October 21st 2023
X-Bowling Art Center
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDvZqq7lek8

Collaborative work with live video, sound, and data interaction between Tokyo and Elevsis, with 3ducksDADA
Sunday, October 22nd 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D28kxpjihB8

P discussion between the artists and media theorists and digital arts specialists from Greece, Japan and internationally.
Sunday, October 22nd 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alenoNeVlsU

«Echo-Narcissus and Izutsu» 
Sunday, October 22nd 2023
X-Bowling Art Center
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A3vqCpccFY

The program of Sunday, October 22nd:

12.00 - 13.00 Τelematic walking performance in public space - Justin Goussot, Elli Lymperopoulou, Vicky Bisbiki, Ιannis Zannos, 3ducksDADA

13.30 - 14.00 : Iannis Zannos (Ionian University) Welcome, Introduction

14.00 - 14.20 : Takaku Satoru (Nihon University) In search of musical similarities: major events of the history of reception of Greek music, from ancient to modern, in Japan

14.20 - 14.40 : Christophe Charles (Musashino Arts University) “Ki” (spiritual energy) and “Kehai” (sensing presence) in Japanese Network Arts

14.40 - 15.00: Anastasia Georgaki (National Kapodistrian University of Athens) Augmented cicada chorus as a tool for climate change exploration

15.00 - 15.20 : Martin Carlé (Ionian University) All our tech is kind of frugal

15.20 BREAK

16.00 - 16.20 : Akoo.o Team - Dana Papachristou (University of Thessaly), Nikos Bubaris (University of the Aegean), Yorgos Samantas (TWIXTlab), Sofia Grigoriadou (Panteion University) Geolocation and Psychogeography in Eleusis, the audio walks of Mystrey_91_Magnetic Dance

16.20 - 16.40 : Apostolos Loufopoulos (Ionian University) Sound, Image, Performance: Creating the common language of communication in contemporary art.

16.40 - 17.00:  Peter Nelson (Edinburgh University) Technology, Friction, and the Production of Scale

17.00 - 17.30: Artists Statement - Haruka Hirayama, Hideaki Isobe, Jun Takahashi, Asayo Hisai, Justine Goussot, Νatalie Mandila.

19.30 Mystery 91_Magnetic Dance Show

Live streaming: https://avarts.ionio.gr/stream/

Contributors:
The production is coordinated by the research center To Aesthate.
Concept, Composition, Artistic Direction: Iannis Zannos
Artistic Direction Assistant: Justine Goussot
Production Direction: To Aesthate, Dana Papachristou
Composers: Iannis Zannos, Haruka Hirayama, Hideaki Isobe.
Choreography: Jun Takahashi, Justine Goussot.
Choreography Consultant: Mary Randou
Dance: Jun Takahashi, Asayo Hisai, Justine Goussot, Natali Mandila.
Performance: Yoshimitsu Yoshiya.
Graphics, Programming: Vicky Bisbiki.
3ducksDADA: ZHANG Junkai, YANG Pulaixin

Sanya-Elevsis Project Team:
Dancers (Sanya/Sumida River): Yoshimitsu Yoshiya, YANG Chen, SHIBATA Sakurako
Dancers (Elevsis Old Town Hall / Eleusis Archaeological Site enclosure): Justine Goussot, Elli Lymberopoulou
Tech-support: QIAO Qiao, LIU Tianqi
Camera: Andrés Madrueño, Lu DONG, Yiming LI
Equipment management/stage manager: Mix_Zero, LIN Xuan
Lighting: TOHO Komi
Executive Producer: ZHANG Junkai, YANG Pulaixin
Thanks to LI Jingran, ZHANG Junkai for Graphics Design.
Thanks to Martin Carlé for for network support (OSC over VPN for Wireless Network).

Soundwalks: akoo.o team (Nikos Bubaris, Dana Papachristou, Yorgos Samantas, Sofia Grigoriadou)

Technical Support: Vasilis Agiomirgianakis, Nikos Charalambidis

Sound design: Thanasis Epitidios, Apostolos Loufopoulos

Lighting and Video Coverage: Spyros Skandalos and the "Assumed Position" production team.

Thanks to the research Project HAL (Hub of Art Laboratories) of Ionian University, Department of Audiovisual Arts for financial and technical support in realizing this project.
Thanks to EU-Japan Fest for supporting the cooperation with Japanese Artists.