The Perception is a Prism: body, presence and technologies

Starting from an interdisciplinary perspective of the concepts of body, perception, and technologies in the contemporary scene, this text will attempt to define the general aesthetic notion as bodyscape as an extension of the performer’s perception. Through a survey of some key practices from the contemporary scene such as choreographic compositions by Myriam Gourfink, Isabelle Choinière, and the project of motion signature by Martine Époque and Denis Poulin, the impact of technologies on redefining the process of the performer’s perception in the composition of the movement and the change of the notion of presence will be analysed. In this sense, a series of modifications that influence also the spectator’s perception is presented. Therefore, the notion of empathy is discussed, and an attempt to find out how this applies in the context of a digital image of the body is made.En partant d’une perspective interdisciplinaire autour du corps, de la perception et de l’intervention des technologies sur la scène contemporaine, ce texte définit la notion de bodyscape comme forme d’extension de la perception du performeur. En analysant des processus de composition chorégraphiques contemporains – Myriam Gourfink, Isabelle Chonière, et le projet signature motrice conçu et dirigé par Martine Époque et Denis Paulin – nous discuterons l’intervention des technologies sur la redéfinition de la perception des performeurs, pendant la composition du mouvement en redefinissant la notion de présence. Le cadre de cette réflexion mène aussi à interroger les modifications de la perception concernant le spectateur en nous permettant d’introduire la notion d’empathie pour comprendre si cela s’applique face à l’image numérique du corps.Starting from an interdisciplinary perspective of the concepts of body, perception, and technologies in the contemporary scene, this text will attempt to define the general aesthetic notion as bodyscape as an extension of the performer’s perception. Through a survey of some key practices from the contemporary scene such as choreographic compositions by Myriam Gourfink, Isabelle Choinière, and the project of motion signature by Martine Époque and Denis Poulin, the impact of technologies on redefining the process of the performer’s perception in the composition of the movement and the change of the notion of presence will be analysed. In this sense, a series of modifications that influence also the spectator’s perception is presented. Therefore, the notion of empathy is discussed, and an attempt to find out how this applies in the context of a digital image of the body is made