AstroDance II: Across The Universe

AstroDance II: Across the Universe explores basic concepts of gravitational waves and the interactions between objects in space through a series of vignettes in dance, ASL, music, and digital visual storytelling. This aesthetic, educational, and interactive performance combines ballet, modern dance, tap dance, hip-hop dance, step dance, aerial & circus arts, and astrophysics, along with technologies of motion capture, projection mapping, and augmented reality (AR) interactive experiences for the audience). AstroDance II builds on the success of AstroDance I, nearly 12 years ago, that told the story of the search for gravitational waves, and was funded by the National Science Foundation. This new production is an interdisciplinary and collaborative project with students and faculty from several colleges at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT): College of Science, National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) Department of Performing Arts, RIT School of Performing Arts, Collage of Art and Design – 3D Design Program (CAD), College of Science – Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation (COS-CCRG), Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences - School of Interactive Games and Media (GCCIS – IGM). The performance aims to engage both performers and audience on a shared journey of discovery, innovation, artistry, and education. In addition, a documentary film of the design and creation process will be produced by Department of Modern Language and Culture professor, Elisabetta Sanino D’Amanda with students from the School of Film and Animation and NTID.