I Spent an Evening at the Robot Ballet

Dancers and robots shared the stage last weekend at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, for a performance that personifies the machine and mechanizes the human. The brainchild of choreographer Blanca Li, ROBOT is a 15-piece dance ensemble that comprises eight humans and seven humanoid toddler-size robots (NAO bots) dancing side by side, fully immersed in the sounds of a “mechanical orchestra.” Known for her colorful, offbeat choreography, Li uses ROBOT as a means of exploring the polarity between human and machine, seeking out the nexus where the two can thrive. With humans mimicking robots and robots mimicking humans, ROBOT attempts to tackle grand concepts through the lens of irony, humor, and the juxtaposition of the beauty of the human form with that of machinery.

With ROBOT, Li poses several questions, including, What defines the borders between ‘us’ and ‘them?’ and Can sophisticated machines truly replicate the human relationship to Nature? The performance begins with a male figure standing still center-stage. Amidst a soundscape of mechanical tinkerings, projections splay across his mostly nude body. The audience watches him morph from spinning wheels, gears and levers to full-bodied representations of various pop culture robots. Soon, the other dancers join him on stage, their robotic movements synchronized to the beat of a heart, transitioning to classical music and a slower, more fluid choreography that hints at life and humanity's beginnings.

The first robot introduced is part of the musical ensemble, or “mechanical orchestra.” This group of machines was designed by Maywa Denki, an award-winning Japanese product design duo comprised of two brothers who create musical art objects they dub, “products,” which they use to put on live performances called, “product demonstrations.” Each piece of the orchestra has a different role, from chimes, to percussion, to maracas, culminating in an eclectic overall sound that is minimal yet versatile. Tao Gutierrez composes the masterful score for ROBOT: Every scene requires its own atmosphere, and his compositions remain varied, innovative, and far from tedious, though his palette was limited to primitive sounds. During the show’s integral scene, where robot and human perform the relationship between master and student or, likewise, father and son—the robot learning how to walk, then how to dance—Gutierrez’s music transcends. In a nod to Carl Orff and Mark Mothersbaugh, its beauty lies in its simplicity, the most minimal of sounds emboldening compassionate moments of humanity between humans and robots.

ROBOT touches on ideas of posthuman evolution, the transformation from human to humanoid, and among other things, the empathy that can exist between humans and their creations. One of its greatest successes lies in the nascent air of life that each robot seems to possess, derived from the most unassuming details, like the tilt of a head or a struggle to stand upright. The audience responds with unified exclamations of encouragement or dismay as each tiny robot succeeds or fails. It is this emotional evocation coupled with the thought-provoking subject matter that transcend: ROBOT vacillates between a spectacle for younger audiences and an adult dance performance, but never quite coalesces.

True to form, Li’s quirky humor shows itself in moments such as the nightclub scene, wherein one of the miniature robots, bedecked in a purple sequin dress and a hot pink boa, dances and sings "Bessame Mucho," replete with female humans staged as backup dancers, fawning and cooing. Its comedic nature bears resemblance to the routines she choreographed for Pedro Almodovar’s 2013 I’m So Excited. The more somber parts, generally from the human dancers, reflect on gender ambiguity and the historical path of humanity. Li sought to “explore the relationships between human and artificial bodies,” and to convey the idea that robots can be intimate and caring companions. In ROBOT's best moments, she succeeds in revealing this sentiment and exploring the notion of what it means to be human in a world where our dependence on technology deepens by the day.

ROBOT was at BAM from Jun 9—Jun 14, 2015. Click here for more information.

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