The LARTech was founded in 1999 by choreographers and film directors Martine Époque and Denis Poulin to promote their technochoreographic research/creation and their work on the digitalization of human movement. In aiming to expand dance into digital spheres, they have expressed an artistic preference in their approach that they have come to name “danse without body”.

In their recent (Tabula Rasa : sequel, 2003) and present (NoBody Dance…) work, the digital actors, free from their physical appearance, offer a dance in which “Human” manifests itself through a dynamic print carrying the signature of its motion. Liberated from the traditional reference to body, this new work magnifies the danced movement and its energetic expression.

The LARTech’s research and creation program is based on an artistic (dance, choreography) and scientific (digital recording and analysis of human movement) hybridizing which entails many different aspects:

• creating and promoting choreographic stage work utilizing digital video and 3D animation ;
• producing digitalchoreographies and cinedances for screen and/or projection ;
• aiming, through research, to enhance MoCap processes and develop tools to widen the scope of human movement digitalization technologies.

Curious about the possible developments of digital dance, the LARTech aims :

• to open dance and human movement to new research, creation and expression ;
• to stimulate the dance community’s interest for technochoreographic programs as well as technochoreographic research/ creation ;
• to favor exchanges between groups interested by the digital expression of dance and human movement to create synergetic research/creation projects ;
• to become a reference in technochoreography and in digitilization of dance and human movement.

Technochoreography is a generic term grouping digital choreography, choreographic digital notation and digital treatment of movement (all neologisms created by Martine Époque).