A Constructed Response: Designing and Choreographing Robot Arm Movements in Collaborative Dance Improvisation

TL;DR

This paper investigates how dancers design and improvise with a non-humanoid robotic arm across one-to-one and group settings. Through three interconnected workshops with nine professional dancers, the authors examine movement design, interaction dynamics, and perception of the robot as tool versus partner, using qualitative analyses of video, sketches, and interviews. The results show that 1-1 interactions yield more fluid, intimate engagement with the robot, while 3-1 contexts divide attention and recast the robot as background, revealing important design implications for end-user robotics in movement-based performances and education. The findings advance understanding of human-robot collaboration in dance and offer actionable insights for creating expressive, adaptable robotic systems that support kinaesthetic development and interdisciplinary practice.

Abstract

Dancers often prototype movements themselves or with each other during improvisation and choreography. How are these interactions altered when physically manipulable technologies are introduced into the creative process? To understand how dancers design and improvise movements while working with instruments capable of non-humanoid movements, we engaged dancers in workshops to co-create movements with a robot arm in one-human-to-one-robot and three-human-to-one-robot settings. We found that dancers produced more fluid movements in one-to-one scenarios, experiencing a stronger sense of connection and presence with the robot as a co-dancer. In three-to-one scenarios, the dancers divided their attention between the human dancers and the robot, resulting in increased perceived use of space and more stop-and-go movements, perceiving the robot as part of the stage background. This work highlights how technologies can drive creativity in movement artists adapting to new ways of working with physical instruments, contributing design insights supporting artistic collaborations with non-humanoid agents.

Figures (15)

• Figure 1: Examples of Dancer-Robot Interactions in Improvisational Dance. One human-one robot improvisation sessions (Top, middle). Multiple humans-one robot sessions from different groups (Bottom).
• Figure 2: Experimental Setup Overview: a) Non-humanoid robotic arm used in the workshops. b) Schematic of the experimental setup.
• Figure 3: Co-Designing Robot Arm Movements with Dancers. Top: dancers individually design and perform solo with robot movements. Middle: Group collaborates to synthesize individual designs and perform with the robot. Bottom: One choreographer creates a set of robot arm actions for a single dancer or two other dancers, who then perform with the robot.
• Figure 4: System Overview for Robot Control and Movement Recording: The robotic arm is controlled through Ufactory software connected to a laptop. The system enables movement design and recording by selecting "manual move" and then clicking "recording." The recorded movement is played back for dancers' improvisational performance, with music played through a connected speaker.
• Figure 5: Movement Design demonstration vignettes: "Born" movements series in lc2023contradiction.