About the "NetJam"

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Who is satorimedia LLC?

satorimedia LLC specialises in choreography and performance on the Internet. Its directors, Jeffrey Gray Miller and Sita Popat, are based in the U.S.A. and the U.K. respectively. Miller and Popat regularly teach workshops in both countries using videoconferencing for lecturing and improvisation "jamming" sessions. Popat"s research, the Hands-On Dance Project, also involves videoconferencing as part of Internet choreographic projects with online community groups.

For the NetJam, the Madison, WI dancers will be:

Kate Hewson	Neal Jahren
Jeffrey Gray Miller	Tonya LeHolm

"We had our first rehearsal/runthrough for this particular project on Sunday. It was an interesting, exhilirating challenge to try to improvise not only with a partner, but with an image across the room--there's a different directing of energies. After a few tries, we found that it became much easier when we directed our dances out--towards the camera, towards the audience, and towards the spaces between each other."--Miller

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How does the netjam work?

While it would be ideal to work with dedicated videoconference equipment, as this would supply far greater movement and image clarity, the cost of such equipment makes this unfeasible for most artists and viewers. satorimedia regularly works with iVisit videoconference software, which can be downloaded free from the Internet and used on PC or Mac computers with Internet connections. It is relatively simple to use, although not always completely reliable. However, satorimedia has found that iVisit"s availability to all Internet users largely overrides its unpredictability. |^|

Why do it?

Popat"s use of videoconferencing in choreographing dances with online communities has proved to be beneficial inspite of the reduced image quality. She uses it in combination with movies on the Hands-On Dance Project Web site, so that the participants may see the movement clearly in the movies before joining videoconference rehearsals. In that way, participants gain from the creative atmosphere of a "live" online studio rehearsal whilst having access to clear recordings of the movement. |^|

What problems occur?

The greatest negative issue in using Internet videoconferencing with dance is the lack of quality and clarity of images. Frame rates can drop to three frames per second or less on modem connections. The resultant movement is often fragmented, yet there are approaches that can overcome or take advantage of this. |^|

What is it like?

Students attending videoconference improvisation sessions ("netjams") for the first time often express fear that the computer as "mediator" will make the connection with the other dancer too "cold" for a true sense of sharing the movement. They almost always revise their opinion as they become accustomed to the situation, stating afterwards that actually they felt very close to the other dancer during the dance. |^|

Where could this go?

Internet videoconferencing has many limitations, but these will be reduced as communications technologies advance. Meanwhile, it permits dance-makers from all over the world, "professional" or community-based, to create dance together and to enrich their creations with their cultural diversity. |^|

for more information on satorimedia's performances and presentations,
email us at director@satorimedia.com

Web site: http://www.satorimedia.com