Leaves of Grass
Dance performance about survival through the ecology of love, the power of movement, plants and technology.

Leaves of Grass
Support the project and maybe you'll win an exclusive signed print of a work of LUCAS RACASSE ou VINCENT PAESMANS or an original piece of art of BOB VERSCHUEREN. The prize will be awarded to one of the contributors by drawing lots.
LUCAS RACASSE
VINCENT PAESMANS
BOB VERSCHUEREN
THE PROJECT
With his new group piece, the choreographer Bud Blumenthal takes on a theme of pressing concern that has been but touched upon in spite of his long time interest in the subject : Ecology.
His idea is to bring the spectator to understand, without guilt and through dance, the direct relationship that humanity has with the environment. With digital interactive techniques that amplify and sense movement of live plants on stage, the impact of the vegetal realm becomes visible.
© Lucas Racasse
DANCE
This dance and new technology production deals with ecology as a theme for love, struggle and survival.
All interpersonal, political, ethical and even moral questions, are subservient to the ecological question.
How to care for vegetal life as much as we care for our beloved?
How to survive… ourselves?
The central challenge in the choreography of Leaves of Grass is to reveal in space and between bodies the incessant dance of complexity inside human relations. Relations that form and transform our lives and in turn model our planet
@ Chris Harrison-Kerr
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
In order to give plants a veritable role to play in the performance, meaning not as elements of decoration or ornament but as living beings, we must capture and amplify their internal changes and the outer movements calling upon high levels of technological development.
Several technical challenges for this creation :
1. Interaction with plants and flowers : objective of detecting with optics and sensors the movements in the reactions of plants to light, heat and humidity. The mimosa pudica, desmodium gryrans, venus fly trap, morning glory or desert rose for example, all act on different time scales from instantly, five seconds, one minute or a half hour and govern the cadence of the show.
2. The interactive sound : the choreographer/botanist is also the DJ. Wireless sensors on his body allow his gestures to start, stop and modify in real-time the audio files and generative algorithms of the sound score.
3. Projection Sphere : through an ingenious optical system, live close-up images of the plant installation on stage are projected from within onto the curved surface of the sphere floating over the stage.
OPTICAL MOVEMENT DETECTION
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
SKETCH FOR SPHERE MOVEMENT
PRODUCTION CALENDAR
FEBRUARY 2015 Digital and botanic research in Studio Hybrid (Brussels) MAY 2015 Audition for 6 dancers in Studio Hybrid AUGUST 2015 First choreographic residence in the Centre Culturel La Marlagne (Wepion) OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 Choreography, music and vegetal composition. DECEMBER 2015 - JANUARY 2016 Company residency in Centre Culturel La Marlagne for finishing choreography and technical integration. JANUARY 2016 Presentation of first stage of Leaves of Grass : choreography, music, plants, lights in the Centre Culturel La Marlangne. APRIL 2016 Residency for finalisation of digital integration : interactivity of plant and body to sound, video cameras and spherical projection. AUTUMN 2016 Final residency and premier of Leaves of Grass
Discover the complete presentation file here
Allocation of funds
https://vimeo.com/141880247
Video made by IHECS students for the partnership IHECS/ Europe Refresh.
Dear Readers,
We are calling upon you to help us insure that the innovative dance-vegetation-technology performance Leaves of Grass can really happen.
It is essential for us to remunerate correctly each participant of this creative adventure that is so close to our heart.
The money that is donated through this group effort will allow us to finance some of the following :
- The salaries of the six dancers during part of the creation period (4000€)
- The musical composition (2000€)
- The development of the system for the interaction between the plants and the performers (2000€)
An enormous Thank You in advance for your participation in this beautiful adventure!
8000€ will be a great first step for this project but this amount is only part of the creation's budgetary needs.
If the crowdfunding goes beyond this amount the bonus will allow us to deepen our digital interaction and projection research, create the costumes and hire an artistic assistant.
!!! The website sometimes has problems with Belgian credit cards, if you are kind enough to participate, it would be better to make the transaction with Bancontact or PayPal. Thanks!
ARTISTIC AND TECHNICAL CREW
Choreographer
BUD BLUMENTHAL
Dancers
ANNE-CÉCILE CHANE-TUNE
ZOI EFSTATHIOU
RIINA HUHTANEN
CHRIS HARRISON-KERR
ALEXANDRE BACHELARD
MATEVZ DOBAJ
& BUD BLUMENTHAL
Scenography
PETER MASCHKE
Interactive sound system, special sound effects and composition
FRED-B
Interactive lighting design & stage manager
FRÉDÉRIC NICAISE
Interactive systems development and live visual effects
VINCENT PAESMANS
Visual conception, illustration, film & animation
LUCAS RACASSE
3d, visual effects & animation
ROBIN YERLÈS
Poetic and vegetal participation
BOB VERSCHUEREN
Costumes
HEIDI ERHARDT
Project manager for the company
SOPHIE SOURDIAUCOURT
Administration
MARTHA BEULLENS
A production of Company Bud Blumenthal/Hybrid
co-producers:
CENTRE CULTUREL DE LA MARLAGNE
BOTANIC GARDEN MEISE
"Resist much
Obey little"
Walt Whitman
Bud Blumenthal
photo @ Alexander Garrido
The Company is subsidized by le Ministère de la Communauté Française Wallonie-Bruxelles de Belgique.