Daedalus Dreams
A post-digital pas de trois for one dancer and two drones
June 22, 2022
Saturday, Oct. 22 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 23 at 3 p.m.
Creativity & Innovation District LLC Performance Hall
185 Kent Street, Blacksburg
The show is 40 minutes long, with a brief Q&A with the artists to follow each performance.
Daedalus Dreams is a performance for a solo movement artist and two drones (unmanned aerial vehicles). This work marks the creative collaboration between visual artist Zach Duer, dance artist Scotty Hardwig, and choreographer Eric Handman. In this postdigital pas-de-trois, the dance of human and drone asks questions that are both contemporary and mythical in the unfolding queerness of body and machine.
Warning: Please note that this performance contains drones flying indoors - safety precautions and netting will be in place to protect audience members. The performer will be releasing mouth water vapors during this performance, at a distance from the audience. Audience masking is recommended but not required.
Eric Handman is a choreographer and an Associate Professor at the University of Utah’s School of Dance. Prior to receiving his MFA from the University of Utah in 2003, he earned a BA in English from Skidmore College in 1991. He was a member of New York Theatre Ballet and then a professional dancer in various New York–based contemporary dance companies such as Doug Varone and Dancers, Nicholas Leichter Dance and Joy Kellman and Company.
Scotty Hardwig is a dance and digital media artist, choreographer, improviser and teacher originally from southwest Virginia. His research practice stems from the confluence of digital technology, cyberculture and the moving body. He is currently an Assistant Professor in Movement, Performance and Integrated Media at Virginia Tech, where he is creating dances at the intersection of technology and the body.
Zach Duer is an educator and artist. He is an Assistant Professor teaching in the Creative Technologies Program in the School of Visual Arts at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. His work lies at a series of intersections: sound and visualization; careful composition and improvised performance; intuitive musical spontaneity and structured digital systems.
Co-created by: Eric Handman, Scotty Hardwig, and Zach Duer
Costume design by: Christopher Larson
Performance and soundscore by: Scotty Hardwig
Creation of this project was funded through the Digital Matters Grant at the University of Utah, with additional support from the University of Utah School of Dance, the Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts, and the Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology at Virginia Tech.