Lu Yang / Louise Lecavalier

A unique experience between dance, technology and virtual fantasy: Lu Yang creates a dizzying neon world encompassing Chinese mythology, sci-fi and hyperpop. On tanzhaus nrw’s great stage, legendary dancer and choreographer Louise Lecavalier performs live while her body is transformed into fantastic digital avatars through motion capture technology – from mutated manga creatures to cybernetic deities. The virtual world’s visual effects and camera movements are guided via a gaming controller, accompanied by GameFace’s dark and dense trap soundtrack.
Lu Yang’s live motion capture performance has already been realised with different dancers in various contexts. The version presented by tanzhaus nrw was developed in collaboration with dancer and choreographer Louise Lecavalier for the 6^th International Biennial for Digital Art in Montréal in 2023. Delusional World is part of a series of Lu Yang’s live motion capture performances which transpose notions of Buddhist reincarnation (saṃsāra) as well as mutations into virtual environments. Yang incorporates his own body in her creations, staging a multitude – continuous physical proliferation, dissolution or disassembly. Dance plays a large part in this.

Lu Yang lives and works in Shanghai and Tokyo and counts among the most exciting positions in contemporary art. The artistic practice involves 3D animation film, game installations, holograms and graphic works as well as virtual reality. The works connect manga, sci-fi, and club culture with neurosciences, biotechnology and Buddhist thought. In Düsseldorf, Lu Yang’s works were already part of the exhibitions Worldbuilding. Gaming and Art in the Digital Age by the Julia Stoschek Foundation and of Superheroes at the NRW-Forum. Gaining fame in the 80s as a protagonist in La La La Human Steps, Louise Lecavalier develops solos for herself, all of which premiered at tanzhaus nrw.

Duration: approx. 30 mins.