Life in the fast lane - graphics software that helps choreographers - includes related article on Life Forms software

Dance Magazine, Nov, 1998 by Genevieve Katz

Dancers pooped, but your ideas still popping? Need more time for rehearsal? Then you're a dancemaker who could use a new method for marrying choreography and computers: software that lets you take dance into a new dimension.

Imagine, for a moment, the dream of a hardworking, stressed-out choreographer: a studio that is open twenty-four hours a day; tireless dancers who will repeat a combination over and over until it feels right; immediate access to not just one, or two, but up to twenty dancers; and documentation of the work as it progresses.

Just a fantasy? No. It's a computer program called Life Forms. Yes, it's the one Merce Cunningham has used since 1991. And no, if you use it, your dance won't look like his (unless you want it to). Most choreographers who use the Life Forms program see it as a tool to enhance the creative process by providing additional ways to experiment with form and movement. It also offers solutions to some of the more mundane problems faced by choreographers: the cost of rehearsals and the availability of dancers and studio space.

LEARNING ABOUT COMPUTERS AND DANCE

I first came upon this program when I attended a computer graphics conference. My background is in architecture--more specifically, using computers in architecture--and I already know what a boon computers have been to my profession. When I saw Life Forms, my first thought was, "What a great tool for choreographers!" But how would a dancer take to using a computer program?

A well-designed computer program should entice the beginner with enough useful effects to make him or her want to spend time exploring its more powerful features. This, of course, results in a better and an even more spectacular outcome. In this article we'll examine the first step in the process because if the first step doesn't work, there will be no second step.

Carla DeSola volunteered to be our test subject. She's an experienced choreographer, currently working on a liturgical performance piece, but a novice with computers. I also enlisted the aid of Jason Marchant--a professional dancer who is familiar with Life Forms--as the instructor, because communication from dancer to dancer would make learning easier.

A QUICK TOUR OF LIFE FORMS

Start with the Figure Editor. Figure Editor is where you pose a three-dimensional figure to resemble the dancer in your mind. With thirty-seven articulated segments (seventeen sections in the back alone), it's easy to shape dance positions and attitudes--even express emotions. Toes can be tapping or sur les pointes; hands can be gracefully opened or clenched; backs can be bent and cowed or heads uplifted and defiant. The choice is determined by your vision. You can select a female or male figure in one of four different styles that range from a stick figure to one that looks like a slim Michelin man. To perform a dance sequence, you pose the figure in the beginning position (establishing what is referred to as a keyframe) and in an ending position (another keyframe), then place them on a Timeline.

Think of the Timeline as your score, which shows dancers' positions and the relationships among multiple dancers. Place your beginning figure in the first frame, then place your ending figure ten or so frames away. The program will create all the in-between positions. If you don't like the way that Life Forms interprets the transitions, select one of the figures in between, change its position in the Figure Editor, and the program will redo the sequence using the new form. Of course, this is just the beginning of manipulating the Timeline; you can extend or compress the length of the dance, view multiple dancers, repeat dance sequences, play them backwards, and synchronize your dance to music. The figures you placed in the Timeline will automatically appear on the Stage.

The Stage is where you take your figure (which has, up to now, been dancing in place) and block its movement. It is also where you control the elevation of certain steps. (Be reasonable. Jimmy Gamonet De Los Heros, resident choreographer and ballet master of Miami City Ballet, says that some of his dancers have been known to exclaim, "You don't really expect me to do that!") Blocking the sequence onto the Stage takes the most time because you have to place each step. On the other hand, if you just want to roughly block the dancers to see how the configurations work out and to rectify any collisions, you can do so by sweeping the figures though large paths. The Stage can be manipulated to show various views. You can see your dancers from the balcony, first row, or even from the back--which is useful when teaching other dancers. Three- to five-minute sequences involving twenty or more dancers can be created.

Along with these three basic tools--Figure Editor, Timeline, and Stage--Life Forms has one other that can help the beginning choreographer. Palettes are libraries of dance positions that have already been created. Instead of starting with a brand-new figure, it is often easier to start with one of the existing palettes of poses, then modify it. Life Forms currently comes with a library of thirty palettes. An additional library of three hundred palettes, called Power Moves, is available on a separate disk.