"dance prompts" is a community developed open-source AI choreographer focused on inclusive and accessible movement. Utilizing experimental scores, participants generate and refine prompts to train the AI, which aims to democratize dance by empowering all bodies to move freely. The project encourages improvisation, collective exploration, and healing through the morphic embodiment practice and engagement with local ecosystems. Central to the project are questions of movement accessibility, ethics in AI training, and the transformational power of communal dance experiences.
dance prompts <performing the system>, Romancing the Machine Symposium, NYU, March 2, 2025
Key questions include:
- What constitutes accessible and inclusive movement?
- How can we encourage bodies to engage with these movements freely?
- How can movement and improvisation promote healing?
- How can we challenge traditional views that only trained individuals can dance?
The project involves a collaborative investigation led by cari ann shim sham*, Karsen Tengan, Meenah Nehme, Demetris Charalambous, and joey zaza using their bodies, community engagement, media and a neural network.
*Funded in part by a Collaborative Impact Grant through the NYU Tisch Center for Creative Research