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為什麼整個設計可以這麼作得如此完美呢? 超強的製作團隊 !!

音樂一停，還在想接下來會是什麼樣的一個驚喜時，突然6位舞者們走到台前準備謝幕 ~ 此刻劇院的氣息彌曼著一個特大問號(?) ~ 幾秒後，掌聲此起彼落 ~ 「是看到累? 看到睡著嗎??」...幾秒後才有更多的觀眾給與些更多的回響…我第一次在劇院看到觀眾如此「不熱情」呀 ~(呵)

轉頭稍為看一下在控制台的三位技術藝術工作者時，看不出他們到底臉上有沒有三條線，或許他們也習以為常了吧 ~呵。

「到底是發生什麼事了呢????????」

其實，沒有什麼事，只是大家仍在熱頭時表演就那麼地結束了！殘念~

看了這麼多的演出，這絕對是一場讓我由衷感到不可置信的完美演出！舞者的謝幕讓大家有點不知所措「結束了 ?」

瞬間連空氣也都停止打轉了，全場觀眾專注舞台的那股能量久久無法散去，在服務人員打開門、燈光亮了，還是無法致信「ㄟ~真的結束了 ?」

舞台上透過科技軟體互動系統程式、雷射燈光的運用，隨著舞者身影傳遞出編舞者有意識的訊息，算是很高的困難度。舞者當然優秀、系統程式科技軟體高超，兩者搭配得天衣無縫 ~。

這次坐位剛好在控制台右邊‧‧桌上只有三台電腦，負責雷設與音效、有點微胖的 Robin Fox ；多媒體執行的Nice Roux；還有一個不知是不是編舞及舞台設計的Gideon Obarzanek ~ (呵)

每每坐在離這些技術藝術工作者很近時，總覺得很幸運、開心無比，呵，真希望有機會可以「參觀」一下那些存在電腦中的「秘密」呀， 呵 ~

除了影像與舞者互動之外，雷射燈光的設計真的無話說，當綠色雷光左右來回掃射台下時，簡直就是置身在宇宙星空裡，很不可思議，一度讓我覺得登上了星際大戰、月球軌道上 (哈)~ 能得到電子藝術大獎真的實至名歸！

散場時，大家都靜悄悄的 ~ 只聽到幾位帥哥們竊語著：「那程式太厲害了 ~」，很有趣、很妙的一個夜晚。 ^0^

由於程式、舞台設計及燈光雷射的完美組合，有人可能會覺得這樣的表演，舞者似乎不是最重要的 ~ 但其實不然， 正因為舞者也不差所以才能與技術調和到一個編舞者想要呈現的主題而非硬梆梆純技術的炫耀，且畢竟還是要有創意、智慧腦袋才能作出如此驚人的作品吧！

Chunky Move's Mortal Engine

 Chunky Move- Biennale Danza 2010

▓ < 以下整彙於相關網站 >

首度來台演出的澳洲塊動舞團（Chunky Move）的作品《致命引擎》（Mortal Engine）：「不是一般的舞蹈節目，它是一部結合舞蹈、多媒體影像、音樂與雷射的新形態演出。在編舞家基登˙歐巴任尼克與一群傑出的藝術家持續探索下，讓科技、美學與動能巧妙地融合，並賦予彼此延伸的意義。

不斷扭曲翻轉的幻變舞台，舞者一轉身留下殘影斑斑，有時則是群影交疊融會，整體呈現一種時而瑰麗豐饒、時而詭譎冷冽的視覺感受。舞蹈、影像、聲音結合雷射，展現藝術總監歐巴任尼克（Gideon Obarzanek）所說的「生命是一團混亂衝突」感受。 」

◆編舞家 基登‧歐巴任尼克

曾於昆士蘭芭蕾舞團、雪梨舞團擔任舞者，之後成為獨立舞者和編舞家，與許多舞團合作，包括來自澳洲芭蕾舞團、荷蘭芭蕾舞團等等創作委託。他也說，年少時曾看過雲門舞集的表演，十分驚豔，成為他編舞的經驗養分。

在1995年成立塊動舞蹈視覺劇場，並擔任藝術總監至今，以現代舞蹈與科技藝術結合作為特色，目前是國際各大藝術節與劇院的熱門邀演團隊。去年獲得號稱「電子藝術界奧斯卡」的奧地利電子藝術大獎（Prix Ars Electronica Awards）。

◆發展過程

在實驗的初期，只是把科技影像拿來輔助說故事，事先配置好所有可能，其實這對創作是種限制。後來，他認識了專精於即時運算與表演藝術所用的互動電腦系統工程師維斯（Frieder Weiss），藉由維斯寫的視訊感測系統軟體，台上舞者動作將立即被紅外線偵測，轉換成數據、畫面位置傳到電腦運算，又轉以聲響、雷射光束與影像投射反應。他希望能持續不斷地開創現代舞新的形式及可能性，重新改寫其意義。《致命引擎》是其代表作。另一近期作品是《Glow》

此作品最特別的是，每一場都是獨一無二的演出，團隊成員富來德‧維斯(Frieder Weiss)專精即時運算與表演藝術所用的互動電腦系統，寫過兩套「EyeCon」與「Kalypso」以視訊感測動作的系統軟體，使用於舞蹈、音樂與電腦藝術。《致命引擎》並沒有事先運算的視訊、雷射或燈光效果，音樂的部分也是由不同的元素，透過動態的演出而即時產生；有一些事先編寫好的樂段是透過舞者的動作或控制人員依照舞者的狀態而播放，意味著整部作品沒有固定的時間線，而是透過舞者的節奏產生的；雖然每一場景的順序不變，每一晚的演出卻都是獨一無二的現場表演，無法完全預料，也不斷在改變。

基登‧歐巴任尼克2日在抵台記者會上表示，他在結合音樂、影像和舞蹈等元素時，常會刻意要讓音樂和影像配合舞蹈，卻反而限制舞者的肢體；因此透過使用視訊感測動作軟體，先精算好表演與音樂的時間，再加以投射影像，這套系統可讓舞者盡情發揮肢體，並自動感測舞者動作再投射光影，讓每場演出都是獨一無二。

但是他強調，「致命引擎」並不是要去展現科技藝術的厲害，而是利用科技的發展，幫助藝術家更貼切地描繪人際關係中的熱切與冷漠、緊密與疏離，以及每個人都要面對的孤獨課題。

◆    舞作中的代表意義

《致命引擎》並著力黑暗影子的動態力量，描繪不斷變動的人際關係，一般表演藝術作品通常都會打亮表演者，而《致命引擎》最特別的地方則是兩極的對立：一是明亮的表演者；一是黑暗中的影子。表演者處在「黑」或是「影子」中，打破舞蹈一定要觀看肢體細微動作或面部表情的習慣，反而形成一股渾沌又詭譎的力量，隱喻每個人都想要逃離卻又離不開的黑暗、死亡、貪婪與慾望。

《致命引擎》關注於關係中的連結、衝突與孤立等不斷變動的狀態。雙人舞部分可視為雙人肢體對話、或是獨立個體試圖逃離內在的黑暗、死亡、性與渴望。能夠感應聲音與動能的互動影像，與舞者的動作精密配合，讓人體轉化為動態的能量、光影、聲音以及一個個炫目詭譎的幻象世界。

演出最高潮所呈現的畫面是十分驚人的，從舞台上產生的巨大黑色雲霧，逐漸吞沒觀眾；極亮的綠色雷射光束在大廳中掃射；高頻率的音樂穿透耳膜……顯示出爆炸性的威力，徹底顛覆平日的感官習慣。

基登‧歐巴任尼克說，他的生命始終處於理性和非理性想像2種情緒中，這樣的混亂狀態，讓他對人性充滿興趣，也是他創作時的主要靈感來源。他說：『(英文原音)我的生命總是一團混亂，所以我想把這種混亂呈現在我的作品，而不是理想的國度。』

「致命引擎」雖然沒有敘述性的故事，而且充斥大量科技效果，但基登‧歐巴任尼克強調，他並非想表現科技有多偉大，而是在人性的支持下，表達內心世界感受，顯出藝術的真正價值。

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Direction/Choreography：Gideon Obarzanek

Interactive System Design：Frieder Weiss

Laser and Sound Artist：Robin Fox

Composer：Ben Frost

Costume Designer：Paula Levis

Lighting Designer：Damien Cooper

Set Design：Richard Dinnen & Gideon Obarzanek

Performers：Kristy Ayre、Sara Black、Amber Haines、Antony Hamilton、     Lee Serle、James Shannon、Charmene Yap

Chunky Move is supported by the Victorian Government, through Arts Victoria and the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

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Choreographer Gideon Obarzanek describes Mortal Engine as a dance-video-music-laser performance. The hyphens are fully justified. An awe-inspiring hybrid work that explores the relationship between movement and technology, Mortal Engine takes live interaction to a new level.

Obarzanek’s fixation on the idea of contrast is boldly visual from the outset. The performance begins in darkness, with a host of laser images flashing across the raised stage. A single dancer emerges, bathed in white light. As she moves, she leaves a white glow around her, a beacon in the dark.

Only when this image is reversed do we see the sinister ‘other’ side of the equation. A blackened multi-legged creature, made from the intertwined bodies of several other dancers, chases our heroine, enveloping her in its shadow. It is at once a part of her and also her nightmarish opposite. Good and evil, light and shadow, the self and the other, mortal and engine; all these themes resonate throughout the performance.

Whilst the movements themselves, though beautifully danced, hold little intrinsic interest, the effects they trigger in the music, lighting, and lasers are astonishing. Mortal Engine has no pre-rendered video, light or laser images and the music is similarly generated by movement. Pre-composed phrases are triggered by the dancers’ motions, or by the operator at the correct point in the performance. The whole production is pulled together by computer engineer, Frieder Weiss. That means each night, Mortal Engine is truly live. Though its sequences are always in the same order, the work’s total length is determined by the rhythm of its performers.

Many moments brought to life through this interaction are magical. In one instance, a dancer is followed by trails of marble-like dots, made of light, across the stage’s platform. After each pause, the dots are sucked back into the dancer’s physical frame, only to spread out again as she resumes her dance.

Another note-worthy sequence sees two dancers, a man and a woman, stand together against the now vertical platform-turned-wall.  As they lean away, peeling noises from Ben Frost’s experimental score integrate so seamlessly with their movements that the dancers seem to literally peel off each other. As in film, each element of the performance is perfectly integrated, creating a satisfying, total experience.

It must be said, however, that Robin Fox’s laser designs steal the show. Though the laser-only section of Mortal Engine lacks the dynamic tension of the other hybrid sequences, the show would be barely recognisable without the lasers that interpret and transform almost every scene. Special mention must be made of the show’s conclusion. Smoke machines engulf the audience, isolating each member, and green lasers project outwards into the theatre, creating an illusory tunnel. The distortion of space and perception is both fascinating and somewhat unsettling.

Though it seems an obvious warning for a show involving lasers, epilectics beware. Strobe-lighting is used heavily, and if you happen to be conservative in your artistic tastes, please note that partial nudity and uncomfortably loud noises also feature. For those who have seen Mortal Engine in the past, the ending has been slightly altered for this revival.

Mortal Engine is a captivating exploration of the line that separates movement and technology. Guaranteed to keep you thinking for days, the return of Chunky Move’s award-winning hybrid show to Melbourne is a triumph for Victoria’s own state-funded contemporary dance company.

The effect is terrifying, beautiful, unique and absolutely unforgettable…from the second the whirlpool of light hits the surface of the unfeasible steep set, the audience is at Mrtal Engines mercy” The Metro, London

2008 Helpmann Award Best Visual or Physical Theatre Production

Somewhere between waking and sleeping, between thought and feeling, lies a body that we possess but cannot control - Chunky Move's startling new work begins here.

Mortal Engine is a dance-video-laser performance using movement-responsive technology to portray an ever-shifting, shimmering world in which the limits of the human body are an illusion. Mortal Engine accelerates us into a reality of permanent change where crackling light and staining shadows represent the most perfect and the most sinister of souls.

Following the resounding success of Glow for the 2007 Melbourne Festival, Mortal Engine continues Gideon Obarzanek and Frieder Weiss' interactive fusion of live performance and digital technology.

After its sell-out premiere for the Sydney Festival, Mortal Engine enjoyed standing ovations at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival. In this co-presentation with Chunky Move, Malthouse Theatre brings this highly anticipated production home to Melbourne.

Chunky Move is one of Australia's leading contemporary dance companies who regularly tour the world with their distinct dance performances. Chunky Move's work constantly seeks to redefine what is or what can be contemporary dance within an ever-evolving Australian culture.

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