In this blog we’ll keep you updated with photos, video, and sound snippets that accompany the development of our piece CATENA that’s going to be premiered online on January 13th — livestreamed from CounterPulse’s theater in San Francisco.
Learn More about CATENA and Dilate Ensemble here
A NOTE FROM DILATE ENSEMBLE & COUNTERPULSE:
Due to the spread of Omicron, Dilate Ensemble has experienced significant financial losses, such as non-refunded national and international flight cancellations. Dilate Ensemble is planning to present the piece in-person in the future and these funds would help them to not only cover expenses but build towards the in-person version of this piece. We appreciate your contribution and support. DONATE NOW >>
Take a look at what we’ve been working on and stay tuned for more content to follow soon…
Update #8 – January 13, 2022
On Wendesday we did a workshop and video shoot with members of the CounterPulse Community to accomplish the third part of our presentation.
Today and tomorrow you will see the results at 8 pm PST / 11 pm EST / 5 am CET on Counter Pulse’s Twitch channel…
Follow the link below to RSVP:
For now we leave you with some impressions from behind the screens…
Update #7 – January 10, 2022
Last weekend we had intensive recording and shooting sessions for our upcoming final presentations. We were exploring the potential of hybrid art production and we are happy to share our experiences on Jan 13&14 at 8 pm PST/ 11 pm EST/ 4 am GMT / 5 am CET on CounterPulse’s Twitch-Channel.
As there still is one recording session and a workshop with CounterPulse-Community-Members ahead of us, we’ll soon be back with more photos from behind the scenes.
test projection basement 
video stills from the basement 
video stills from the basement 
video stills from the upstairs studio 
video stills from the upstairs studio 
video stills from the upstairs studio 
Shinichi Iova-Koga and Carole Kim inside test-projection (Basement) 
Carole Kim and Shinichi Iova-Koga inside the projection surfaces 
Carole Kim testing projections 
Full DILATE ENSEMBLE
From their home studios: Scott L. Miller – Minnesota, Luisa Muhr – New York, Gloria Damijan – Vienna
At CounterPulse (San Francisco) Jon Raskin, Shinichi Iova-Koga and Carole Kim
Seen from a Laptop’s perspective
Update #6 – January 6, 2022
In light of the current COVID surge, we have decided to shift from live performances with an audience at CounterPulse to live streamed presentations that will include:
- a Dilate Ensemble welcome/introduction
- pre-recorded performance snippets
- a section featuring live community participation via Zoom*
- and a concluding Q&A.
These presentations will still take place on Jan 13 & 14 @ 8pm PST on CounterPulse’s twitch channel https://www.twitch.tv/counterpulsesf
Nevertheless we’re looking forward to producing our first hybrid piece and we want to give you a little inside into our schedule:
- From Friday to Sunday we will rehearse and produce high resolution audio/video recordings of networked performances at CounterPulse and the virtual presence of Luisa Muhr, Gloria Damijan and Scott Miller at their home nodes. These will be edited and mixed into the pre-recorded performance excerpts for the livestreams.
- These session will be followed up by additional rehearsals and recoding sessions on Monday and Tuesday next week.
- On Wednesday we’ll work with the participants of the CouterPulse community, who will co-create a section of our hybrid live-performances on Jan 13 & 14.
*For the community participation section, Dilate Ensemble is extending an invitation to the CP community to jump into our sandbox of liveness where a Zoom live-feed will merge with the installations we have set up at CounterPulse. Luisa and Carole will guide a workshop for everyone to familiarize themselves with how their body merges with the video projections and develop a simple score that will be performed with Dilate Ensemble Thursday Jan 13 and Friday Jan 14 night.
Update #5 – December 21, 2021
Right after the start into the new year Dilate Ensemble will return to CounterPulse reinstalling networks, projectors, sound systems, produce more video and audio material for the projections and interludes, and of course dive into final rehearsal sessions.
Join us on January 13 & 14, 2022 @CounterPulse SF …
The audience will circulate to 3 different locations at CounterPulse to experience a non-looping, full-length visual and sonic landscape in which Dilate Ensemble plus special guest dancer/choreographer Shinichi Iova-Koga will be investigating how the imprint of a physical space and the bodies within it can impact a networked ecosystem.
Accessibility: Audiences will begin seated in the Main Stage and be led in 3 groups throughout the space. Audience will be asked to walk up and down stairs if able and an elevator will be available as needed. All spaces are fully ADA accessible. Please email info@counterpulse.org with any accessibility needs or questions!
Presentations will be followed by a discussion with the Dilate Ensemble artists to reflect on what this prismatic approach yields for performer and audience.
You can already reserve your tickets on http://dev-counterpulse.pantheon.io/catena. (Sliding scale from $ 15 – $ 35)
Please note that as the COVID pandemic continues to evolve, there might be necessary changes and restrictions to our show. Safety is of our utmost concern! You can find the actual information on https://dev-counterpulse.pantheon.io/covid19/
So, follow us along in this blog, we’ll keep you updated!
We wish you joyful holidays and hope to see you back in January at CounterPulse…
Update #4 – December 6, 2021
Between November 16 and November 30, we started our first phase of intensive rehearsals of CATENA. For the first time we could work with the full size installations and projections on site. We took the opportunity to refine sound and audio reactive video settings and as a bonus dancer Shinichi Iova-Koga joined us.
We’re looking forward to continuing our rehearsals on site in January and of course we’re looking forward to welcoming you at the final presentations on January 13 and 14.
Meanwhile you can enjoy some photos and video snippets from our rehearsals at CounterPulse.
We’re also happy to announce that we get supported by Austrian Arts Council
Update #3 – November 22, 2021
In this edition we want to introduce you to the ecosystemic audio processing, developed by Scott.
This will be the key part of the our sonic interventions with and within the architecture of CounterPulse.
The individual sound of each musician is broadcasted on a remote speaker, captured by a microphone, processed and sent to different remote speakers in different rooms, captured by a microphone and finally recorded.
The following audio footage imprints the sound of all our spaces on the finished mix.
Update # 2 – November 11, 2021
Only a few days left and we’re going to start our first production period on site at CounterPulse/San Francisco.
Besides preparing installations and projections we’ll shoot videomaterial and record audiomaterial that is going to become part of our performances in January 2022.
We will share short videos and audiofiles of the ongoing artistic process in a daily update starting at the end of next week.
Until then we want to share some of Carole Kim’s photos from earlier stages of our project, featuring Jon Raskin and Luisa Muhr:
Update # 1 – November 9, 2021
We’re very exited to give you a first inside into our multimedia-performance CATENA we’re going to present live at Counter Pulse on Jan 13 and 14, 2022:
CATENA: sound/image through a hybrid network
The CounterPulse/Thoughtworks residency presents an opportunity for Dilate Ensemble to take on a physical and conceptual expansion of their telematic practice. In the setting of a live hybrid installation “CATENA: sound/image through a hybrid network” will explore: What does it mean to scale up again to incorporate the body and the architecture of a space? How does the nature of connection shift when incorporating hybrid presence (live & remote for performers and audience)? Are there different ways of thinking about what “hybrid” performance can mean or how it can manifest? How will these changes to each “node” within the technological network impact the nature of the exchange?
After an initial site visit at CounterPulse in September, Dilate Ensemble identified certain spaces at CP with which they are interested in engaging. In November, they will return to CP to experiment with setting up a local network within the entire building to connect 3-4 separate spaces that performers and audience will circulate between. The live audio feeds will network to Scott in Minnesota and be filtered through his sonic ecosystem where variables such as amplitude, frequency or physical characteristics of the room, speaker placement or microphone can impact layered simple behaviors that result in complex outcomes. An improviser’s agility in being responsive in the moment allows for the greatest agency as a performer to ride and shape this evolving time-bending soundscape.
In January, we will return to CP to offer a community workshop and continue to develop this piece with a public presentation January 13 & 14. Live-feed video and a final audio mix from Scott of each of these spaces will converge in the basement installation. This will be a non-looping continuous event where each migrating group will experience the evening from different perspectives. We are interested in invigorating the exploration of what can constitute a hybrid performance and satisfy the kind of connection we seek as live performers. There will be a post-performance discussion to reflect and voice what this prismatic approach yields for both performer and audience.
https://dev-counterpulse.pantheon.io/event/catena/
https://www.thoughtworks.com/de/arts
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