Denis Semionov x NewImages

XR dance performance "Flame"

Denis Semionov - concept, artist, scenography
Louis Cacciuttolo - concept, creative producer
Samantha Alcon - dancer, music design
Alejandro Ugarte Mendia - singer
VRrOOm - production
In partnership with VRChat

The performance "Flame" took place during the opening of The NewImages Film Festival in Paris offline and in VR simultaneously. In VR viewers found themselves in an abandoned hotel, where they moved in "Pater noster elevator". Offline viewers saw the dancer with decorations, which VR viewers were driving through.

The idea of the performance is to reamagine natural phenomenon like sun, rain and earth as God machines. Every natural process is demonstrated as a mechanism.

The entrance zone of the platform is an elevator in some imaginary Grand Hotel. There is a logo above the doors, an interactive button to open them and animated arrow. Near the lift is the stairs that leads nowhere if you don't know a secret button. This is a way to the stages that won't be accessible for regular viewers.

The episode Sun starts with the background of microcircuits and cables moving from left to right. Then small light bulbs start to blink. Electric signal goes through the main cable to the dark sphere. The sphere starts shining and the viewers see that this is the artificial sun. The sun and light bulbs react the music. The sun moves around the dancer.

The rain is presented as a nuclear reactor cooling system. Dark graphics is combined with the shining moving elements. The decorations are moving down.

Earth is presented as an underground futuristic tunel. Graphics are moving forward to the viewer.

In this episode the dancer appears on the screen as an avatar from VRChat. The avatar is made from shining particles. The set design is simple and dark. The distance is presented as different portals. When a portal comes through the dancer, her avatar changes its color. The portals are located on the rotating scene, so they move around the dancer changing colors from time to time.

In this episode a PC cooler is used as the main machine. The decorations move down. The avatar reats the cooler with the effect of extruded strokes.