The Modern Dance Theater (MDT) in Stockholm will in the near future temporarily move out of their existing venue on Skeppsholmen. The move has initiated a lot of discussions about what the change of location could mean for MDT; whether they will move into an existing space in town or if they will take the opportunity to rethink and restructure their organization to allow for new possibilities in the production of dance and performance. The direction of dance performance has for a long time been torn between visual art and theater.

During a course at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm called “Unreal central perspective”, we were interested in exploring the role of an architect in the online platform Second Life and how Second Life could be used as a tool for producing interesting spaces in First Life. We contacted MDT on Skeppsholmen and suggested to translate their organization into Second Life and to start producing dance performances in the interface between two worlds. A collaboration between us and MDT was initiated and SL Modern Dance Theatre was created.

How can Second Life be used as a tool for producing performance? The virtual online platform has a range of possibilities that could enrich a production in First Life. The economy of producing strong and powerful spatial effects in Second Life is efficient compared to the cost of producing spatialities in First Life. The character of the audience in Second Life is different from that of First Life. The virtual audience come from all over the world and is anonymous. They are more likely to interact and participate in a production than the First Life audience. Incorporating and activating a virtual audience into a production therefore became interesting. The Second Life Modern Dance Theatre became interested in interweaving all these aspects into First Life/Second Life performances.

SL Modern Dance Theatre experiments with dance performances that merge the physical environment with the virtual environment. The set design, which often has very limited budget in First Life productions, could be generated in Second Life. Projections from Second Life can fill a series of plain screens with content and space. Two dimensional visuals representing three dimensional virtual space becomes the interface between the two worlds.
As with all creative processes, unexpected possibilities continue to appear. The future of SL Modern Dance Theatre will continue to blur the interface between First Life and Second Life. How can the First Life audience meet the avatars in Second Life? How can the Second Life audience meet the First Life audience?

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