Adelka Polak “From Mourning to Moonlight” performed by Adelka Polak with video by Zoë Woodworth combines Butoh movement & video to retell Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” How was digital technology integral to the form/content of your piece?My piece was split into two sections, both which combined video and dance in different ways. Video aided in playing with time, textured static surfaces, and allowed me to create an affective performance. Were there staging challenges that you overcome through the use of digital technology?Yes. In the first section video functioned as a tool for lighting and atmosphere by giving moving texture and color to the huge white surfaces surrounding me. Later video allowed the transformation from human to insect to be clear by viewing both forms simultaneously, live and projected. Projected images created the desired atmosphere in very limited space without using scenery or props. Also, as a soloist I was able to create the image of getting lost in a crowd without any other performers onstage. Did the digital technology itself present any staging challenges?Butoh dance often uses improvisation while being keenly aware of every other performers’ rhythm and placement. As a soloist I had no other live performer to relate to, so I had to create a relationship with the video. Timing myself with the video was crucial for key moments in the performance, so my “improvisation” required very strong focus and direction when working other pre-recorded elements. Were there any technologies that you would have liked to have used but did not?I would loveto have used moving screens and projectors with images of people walking in the second section. Also, live fed of the audience could have brought everyone present into the imagery onstage. Did your piece impact the audience in the way you anticipated?The audience was not impacted in the way I desired on Thursday night, so I changed some of the choreography that wasn’t quite working and Friday night was extremely successful. The open lab worked within itself for my piece by displaying improvement from the first to the second viewing. Adelka's Blog http://www.ReinventYourPants.blogspot.com/