This photographic artwork forms part of the new dance work Half | Life, an intriguing multidisciplinary full-length work by Lo|Co Arts, directed and choreographed by Loughlan Prior, with music performed live by New Zealand composer, Claire Cowan.
Along with the manipulation of MiMU (wearable) music technology, the photographs and video are projected in grand scale above the dancers and move and morph as the dancers perform on stage. The production explores the vertical integration of digital space with an outstanding company of dance artists in the live world below.
‘As life recedes further into a virtual space, corporeal existence is slowly left behind. The frontier of physical and psychological extremes is crossed as the spiritual and the digital intertwine. Shut down the somatic. Construct upgraded reality. Run the human race. Everything can be yours’.
Loughlan Prior
Described by Dance Aotearoa New Zealand as ‘a creative tour de force’, Loughlan Prior is an award-winning choreographer and creative director working internationally.
With a portfolio spanning theatre, film and television, Prior is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Lo|Co Arts, and Choreographer in Residence at the Royal New Zealand Ballet.
Prior’s critically acclaimed productions include Hansel & Gretel (2019, RNZB), The Firebird (2021, RNZB), Cinderella (2022, RNZB), Half | Life (2022, Lo|Co Arts), and Woman of Words (2023, RNZB). He has created and staged works for Alberta Ballet, BalletCollective Aotearoa, BalletX, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Queensland Ballet, and Singapore Ballet, among others.
Prior has created numerous live and digital projects for a diverse range of creative partners, including TV3’s Dancing with the Stars, as well as Auckland Arts Festival, BalletCollective Aotearoa, Chamber Music New Zealand, iD Fashion Week, New Zealand String Quartet, Te Papa National Museum, Tempo festival, Vogue Australia, Wānaka Festival of Colour, WGT LUX festival, and Zambesi fashion house.
His dance-films have been screened at numerous international film festivals, including the Film Society of Lincoln Center, San Francisco Dance Film Festival, and the Short Film Corner of the Cannes Film Festival. His film Inklings received first prize in the dance category at the Berlin Filmhaus Awards in 2022.
Celia Walmsley
Half | Life, the photographic work is a very special collaboration with Laura Saxon-Jones (dancer Lo | Co Arts and x Royal New Zealand Ballet) and Loughlan Prior (Director Lo | Co Arts and choreographer in residence Royal New Zealand Ballet).
I've known and admired both artists for many years and presented Loughlan's work during my tenure as Director at Tempo Dance Festival. Loughlan and I also collaborated on the The Line 2021.
Laura and I collaborated to create these images for Half | Life based on the brief from Loughlan.
The images, along with video, formed a key part of the performance Half | Life as part of the projection above the dancers performing on stage.
