Technology

TECHNOLOGY

DANCE FORMS

Dance Forms, formally known as Life Forms, is a 3D character animation program that has become the cornerstone of new media choreographic software. The success of Dance Forms as a specific purpose animation program is in part attributable to its addressing the expanding need of the dance artist to employ new emerging explorations in choreography through technology.

This application allows the dance artist to create new and exceedingly varied movement possibilities and to instantaneously document their work. As the program functions in 3D, the dance can be viewed from any distance and at any angle at the whim of the computer user. The work can be exported to most other major animation and video programs for further presentation enhancement.

Dance Forms, a Canadian product marketed by Credo Interactive Inc., began development in 1985 under the direction of Dr. Thomas Calvert at Simon Fraser University. American choreographer Merce Cunningham has used Dance Forms extensively during the last fourteen years in pieces such as Trackers, Beach Birds for Camera, and CRWDSPCR. Rhonda Ryman, an acclaimed Canadian author and professor, developed an extensive library of Dance Forms generated classical ballet movements, positions, and tutorials, and with Credo Interactive has marketed them in Ballet Moves.

Dance Forms, while originally conceptualized to aid in dance choreography, is now used globally and in a variety of disciplines. It has been utilized in the pre-production on movies such as Jurassic Park, Batman and Robin, and Terminator 2. As well, it has been very efficacious for athletic coaches, robotic animators, airplane engineers, prosthetic designers, architects, gymnasts, skaters, avatar creators, and game developers.