Contradiction pushes me to improvise”: Performer Expressivity and Engagement in Distanced Movement Performance Paradigms

The workflows of performing arts communities have been altered by the virtualization of typically in-person experiences, leading to shifts in performance venues and resulting in changes in expressivity and interaction. To investigate how virtualization processes affected the practice and conditions of performers and how they adapted to these changes, we interviewed 25 professional movement-based performers who have engaged in both live and online performances. We found that performers treated online performances akin to time-limited movie recordings without audience interaction. Instead of avoiding distanced venues, performers adapted to new limitations, inventing improvisation strategies in distraction-filled situations and using time and technical limitations as creative constraints. To examine how a distanced paradigm impacts dancers' live-action workflow, we conducted a performance involving a dancer interacting with a robot at a distant location. The case study showed that the performer altered her rehearsal strategies to work with distanced technology and adapted to the live interaction with a distanced audience by imagining unseen interactions. This work provides insights to guide the design of interactive technology for virtual performances to account for the adapting strategies performers are currently taking to overcome limitations in time, location, and lack of presence.