As part of TAD Week Opening event, there will be seen a dance performance ROCK/STAR Vol.1. It is a mixed reality audiovisual dance performance, where a virtual avatar, animated in real-time by a human performer, explores and interacts with the virtual cave environment through movement and choreography. The performance explores the themes of identity at the intersection of digital and physical worlds, as well as the mechanisms of empathy between physical and digital entities. Inspired by post-humanist and new materialist theories we question what we consider to be real or what we perceive as reality, who and what is worthy of empathy and what can we as humans empathize with and experience.

ROCK/STAR Vol.1 was made in collaboration between Erika Rustamova (creative technologist), Johan Högsten (choreographer), and Henia Nikkilä (sound designer) in winter/spring 2023 as a part of Rustamova’s artistic research. Since its premiere in Otaniemi in May 2023, the piece has been performed five times and featured in the programmes of several Finnish festivals, including Ääniaalto (2023), Urban Apa (2024), Tanssivirtaa Tampereella (2024), and the Oulu Music Video Festival (2024).

Duration: 20 min

Since the performance is part of TAD Week’s opening event, pre-registration is needed. Register for the opening event and the performance here.  

Performance in the framework of TAD is part of Unframed: AR for Artmakers supported by the EU, Nordic Council of Ministers, and the Sweden-Estonia Cooperation Fund. Motion capture suit used in the performance is a courtesy of CIVIT.

Photograph: Tuukka Ervasti

Paikka: Finlayson, Terde, Väinö Linnan aukio 13
Aika: Perjantai 26.9.2025 klo 19.00–19.20
Järjestäjä: Tampere Intercultural Art, TIcAS