Tiny Dancers

It seems vodka, creativity and choreography go hand in hand – and we’re not just talking interpretive dancing.

Back in July, 18 artists designed their own Absolut bottles, with nothing but an Absolut Blank canvas for inspiration.

Now, the vodka brand is taking things one step further with an entirely immersive, experience, Absolut Live.

This will see anyone who fancies its given free rein to create their own digital artwork using nothing but their body and the mighty power of dance. The individual dance ‘artworks’ will then be added to those from other disco dollies to create a digital art installation, which will be shown at the culmination of the project next month.

The brainchild of Absolut and video director Saam Farahmand, the project invites participants to dance in a massive white cube to any song they choose, and their movements produce unique digital trails. Their shape-pulling is shown to the outside world on small screen displayed round the edge of the cube.

The entirely new software it uses was designed by creative studio The Mill. Joel Godfrey, digital producer at The Mill, says, ‘Absolut knew they wanted to do generative art based on movement, but they weren’t sure how it was possible.

‘The technology we’re using tracks movement – it understand where you’ve been, where you’re going to and what speeds, and generates the images from that.’

The technology has three different options for the appearance of the trails: one appears as water-based particles emanating from the dancers; one as a polygon effect based on a unique mesh depending on body movements; and one that reacts to a virtual grid around the dancer. These are randomly generated in any of eight different colour palette options.

A few weeks ago Design Week took to Hoxton Square to see the piece in action before it launches properly this weekend at East London’s Truman Brewery. Although we weren’t quite brave enough to display our ludicrously uncoordinated moves, we saw some rather phenomenal aunty-at-a-wedding dancing; spectacular Beyonce-style booty-shaking and a few more awkward ‘Oh God, I’m in a massive white box and everyone can see me on a screen outside’ jitters.

However, if through the use of smoke, vapour trails and clever software the Design Week trademark Ian Curtis-cum-Kate-Bush choreography can look as good as this, it seems The Mill are really onto something.

Absolut Live will be open from 17 – 20 and 24 – 27 November at Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London E1