Thanks to virtual reality, the public invites themselves on stage, in the midst of the dancers of the Capitole ballet
How does it feel to be on stage, among the dancers, when you’re just a spectator? To be able to follow them behind the scenes between two paintings or to be able to capture their gaze when they have just created an arabesque? It’s hard to see all these details or all these emotions when you are well settled in your seat.
However, from October 16 to 23, the ballet audience Toulouse Lautrec, the new creation of
Kader Belarbi on stage at the Théâtre du Capitole, will be able to live this unique experience. Thanks to virtual reality, some people in the room will immerse themselves in the heart of this show dedicated to the painter of Montmartre of the Belle Epoque.
Toulouse-Lautrec & virtual reality
A first at the Théâtre du Capitole and in Toulouse: experience the thrilling experience of virtual reality and discover dance as you have never seen it!
🎥 Watch the video in full: https://t.co/5SQSOwwOoL pic.twitter.com/Hwp5HA9TGw
– Théâtre du Capitole (@theatrecapitole) October 6, 2021
Thanks to wireless headphones, during the show they can see in three dimensions a dozen pre-recorded sequences of one to three minutes. Thanks to a signal, they can escape, transforming themselves into invisible witnesses. The idea for this foray into virtual reality was born during the confinement that led to the report of the premiere of this new choreographic work.
“Not a replacement but a supplement”
“It allowed us to ask something more consistent. It was added as an annex. But the show stays on stage, I don’t want to replace the live performance with virtual reality. It’s a supplement, it allows you to have another look, to see something that you have never seen anywhere, ”says the director and dance director, Kader Belarbi. For these scenes, he wrote a storyboard, built a story parallel to the show.
They were then recorded beforehand using eight cameras which operate simultaneously. And whose “stitched-up” images make it possible to recreate the human gaze, to capture a 360 ° image. “Thanks to the helmet, we can position as many people on the stage as we could not put in reality, to have an impossible proximity. This allows you to be a voyeur, sometimes right next to Toulouse-Lautrec who was himself an observer of the intimacy of prostitutes, ”explains director Luc Riolon, who regularly films the Capitole ballet.
Fifty seats per show
For the latter, no question of seeking the sensational either, the spectator must not make a link back when a dancer launches into a grand throw. Nor to be tossed about to gag, or to kick your neighbor without wanting to. Only 50 spectators during each performance can have access by reservation and to specific places. And as soon as he takes off his helmet, he will be able to resume ballet lessons without any problem.
A world premiere, funded to the tune of 100,000 euros by sponsorship, and which could be a new way to extend the show. “Or to get another public car, one of the challenges remains that of demystifying and democratizing access to dance”, pleads Kader Belarbi.