Simple Machines

Having found human dancers too expensive and too needy, choreographer Ugo Dehaes turned to robots.

Born in his basement from slimy, strange cocoons, they grow into shiny, intelligent machines. Some of them crawl across the table like caterpillars, some stumble around like puppies, others turn themselves in all directions, while some others simply repeat the same movement over and over again.

In this intimate performance, Dehaes tells the story of how his robot dance-troupe came to be, he explains the process from which they are born, and displays some of his choreography. All the while, the robots dance, swing, crawl, and interact with the audience and each other.

After the performance, the audience is invited to explore an installation in the space featuring other robot designs. Attendees will have the chance to imagine and create their own robotic choreography.