AXIS Dance Company to Present KINEMATIC/KINESTHETIC
Performances will take place on May 8 & 10, 2025 at Exploratorium, San Francisco, and on May 21, 2025 at Stanford Live, Bing Concert Hall, Stanford.
AXIS Dance Company will present Kinematic/Kinesthetic, a groundbreaking new work that integrates emerging and existing technologies—including telescoping crutches and robotic hexapod legs developed by engineering students at Carnegie Mellon and University of Maryland working with multidisciplinary artist Ben Levine—to expand movement potential for both disabled and non-disabled dancers. In partnership with San Francisco’s Exploratorium and Stanford Live, audiences are invited to journey to the intersection of art, disability, and access technology in this captivating performance.
Said AXIS Dance Artistic Director Nadia Adame: "With Kinematic/Kinesthetic, we aim to push the boundaries of movement by blending technology with dance, unlocking new possibilities for both disabled and non-disabled dancers to move, connect, and express themselves in ways we never imagined."
“AXIS Dance Company has positively challenged us to expand our thinking about accessibility to our museum and is bringing our audiences an inspiring entry point to STEAM,” said Sam Sharkland, Program Director, Public Programs at the Exploratorium. “Performing arts at the Exploratorium offer a creative lens to view the world. Kinematic/Kinesthetic surfaces timely and relevant conversations about our relationship to technology and what choices we can make as a society to champion human flourishing alongside technological innovation. Working with AXIS on this project over the last two years has revealed mutual admiration for our respective missions and synergies in community engagement."
“Stanford Live’s stages have long served as a platform for artistic exploration across a wide range of disciplines, and the Robotics Showcase is no exception,” said Albert Montañez-Sánchez, Producer of Artistic Programs at Stanford Live. “This event highlights the intersection of technology and performance, fostering innovation in movement and expression. With a focus on research and development, the showcase offers a glimpse into the creative process, where new ideas emerge, challenges inspire breakthroughs, and the boundaries of possibility are reimagined. More than a presentation, it is a dynamic forum that advances the dialogue between robotics and movement as a fundamental element of human interaction”
Performances of Kinematic/Kinesthetic will take place at the Exploratorium (Pier 15, San Francisco) on Thursday, May 8, as part of After Dark, Exploratorium’s evening series exclusively for 18+ (7 p.m. performance; followed by an 8 p.m. panel discussion) and Saturday, May 10, 2025 (12 p.m. and 3 p.m. performances). Performances will also be held at Stanford Live’s Bing Concert Hall (327 Lasuen St, Stanford) on Wednesday, May 21 (7:30 p.m. performance). The performance at Stanford Live also includes work by choreographer and roboticist Dr. Catie Cuan. A panel discussion featuring Nadia Adame, Ben Levine, and Catie Cuan—and moderated by Sydney Skybetter, Director of Brown Arts Institute and associate professor of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies (TAPS), Brown University—will follow the performance.
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