Everybody Dance Now: Tensions between Participation and Performance in Interactive Public Installations

Abstract

In this paper, we report on Encounters, an interactive public installation that provides a basis for studying the effect of dance performances on the emergence of creative, social experiences. Based on observations and interviews with dancers and participants, we identified a range of tensions that arise from integrating a staged performance with participatory interaction. These tensions occurred among both participants and performers, and influenced the social and performative experience. Based on our analysis, we propose several strategies to smoothen the integration of performative and participatory interaction. These strategies reconsider the role of the interactive installation, the eff..