"My Avatar Dance live performance draws inspiration from and gives homage to classic pantomime, vaudeville, and dance movements of the past, while updating their interactivity for the future. The routine includes variations of the Mirror Gag, Rope Pull and Ladder Climb Mime, Breakdancing Battle, and a Juggling Toss. To my knowledge, this is one of the first times, if not the first time, that these gestural classics have been done on stage between a human performer and a virtual 3D character in front of a live audience The dance features the Organic Originator (Topher 1.8) dancing with his Digital Doppelganger (Topher 2.0), and is part of a performance study on creating believable real-time character interaction between live performers and digital synthespians on a theatrical set. This interdisciplinary MFA project, called Mimesis & Mocap, applies techniques from pantomime and puppetry to 3D computer animation, while using motion capture technology and projections, to create a hybrid performance medium that seeks to embody and update Craig’s theatrical concept of The Ubermarionette. This piece is my first performance in a new type of live entertainment I call the Theatre of the Avatar." (Topher Maraffi)
"Chris(Topher) Maraffi is a performance artist, technical animator, educator, and author. For over ten years he has lectured on the topic of 3D character rigging at many of the top animation schools and industry conferences, and has written three popular books on the subject. His current MFA research is a cross-disciplinary performance study in creating believable real-time interaction between human performers and 3D characters within a theatrical environment. In the fall he will be starting a PhD to develop expressive and improvisational real-time synthespians."
link: Christopher Maraffi
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