Masterclass: Choreography & Motion Capture

Motion capture is transforming the way choreography is created, performed, and experienced. By translating the movements of the human body into digital environments, it enables choreographers to create performances that extend beyond the physical stage into virtual and immersive worlds.

Choreography with Motion Capture introduces participants to the artistic possibilities of motion capture through presentations, live demonstrations, performance excerpts, and conversations with internationally recognised artists working at the intersection of dance and technology.

Led by Cie Gilles Jobin, one of the world’s pioneering companies in digital choreography, the masterclass also features insights from the company’s collaboration with Pichet Klunchun Dance Company, alongside a guest presentation by Australian choreographer Victoria Chiu, whose research explores choreography, animation, and digital storytelling.

Participants will gain an understanding of how choreographers, dancers, programmers, and creative technologists collaborate to transform movement into digital performance, while exploring new artistic approaches to choreography in virtual and immersive environments.

The programme is open to dancers, choreographers, artists, students, researchers, and anyone interested in creative technology, digital performance, and the future of movement.

Date, Time & Venue

Programme (Conducted in Englisht)

13.00 – 13.40: Choreography Beyond the Stage: Motion Capture as a Creative Medium

An introduction to Cie Gilles Jobin‘s artistic practice from Studio 44 MocapLab and the evolution of choreography through motion capture and immersive technologies.

Topics include:

  • The artistic vision of Cie Gilles Jobin
  • How motion capture is transforming choreographic practice
  • From live performance to digital embodiment
  • Creative collaboration between dancers, choreographers and technologists

Since the 1990s, Swiss choreographer Gilles Jobin has been recognized for his groundbreaking approach to contemporary dance, with his works presented at major international festivals, including Montpellier Danse Festival, the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, and BAM New York. With a body of work spanning three decades, he has established a strong international presence, touring worldwide.

In 2016, the company expanded its artistic practice into digital creation, pioneering the integration of dance and new technologies. With works such as the stereoscopic film WOMB and the immersive VR experience VR_I, Cie Gilles Jobin quickly gained recognition in the digital arts. The company’s work has been presented at top XR festivals, including the Venice Biennale (2018, 2020) and Sundance Film Festival (2019, 2020, 2022), earning multiple international awards for technological and artistic innovation.

With a commitment to redefining dance through technology, Cie Gilles Jobin is one of the few dance companies in the world pushing the boundaries of choreography in real-time motion capture and immersive digital performance. The company continues to pioneer new ways of integrating dance, motion capture, and virtual environments, expanding the possibilities of digital dance and shaping the future of performance in virtual spaces.

Gilles Jobin is a Swiss choreographer, dancer, and filmmaker based in Geneva. His productions have been presented internationally since 1995. Between 1997 and 2004, he was based in London, where he developed a choreographic language outside established aesthetic conventions, and closely aligned with visual and live arts.

In 2015, he received the Swiss Grand Award for Dance. Since then, his artistic research has increasingly focused on the integration of digital technologies into choreography and the performing arts. 

Susana Panadés Diaz is a dancer and digital choreographic artist. Since 2004, she has been a performer with Cie Gilles Jobin, taking part in numerous stage productions that have toured internationally. As the company has evolved towards digital arts, she has specialised in motion capture and the embodiment of movement in digital environments, both within Cie Gilles Jobin and at Studio 44 MocapLab in Geneva. Today, she explores choreography through avatars, virtual bodies, and new forms of presence, at the crossroads of dance, cinema and immersive technologies.

Adryan Barrilliet is an interactive media designer specializing in immersive 3D experiences and video game development. He graduated in Interactive Media Design from ECAL Lausanne in 2023 and joined Cie Gilles Jobin the same year as a Unity developer. Today, he works as a Creative Technologist, Creative Developer, and Mocap Master, developing real-time interactive environments and motion capture workflows for immersive performances. 

13.40 – 14.10: Privilege & Prejudice — Work-in-Progress Showcase

Australian choreographer and performer Victoria Chiu presents excerpts from Privilege & Prejudice, a new performance developed through her PhD research and a residency at Cie Gilles Jobin’s Studio 44 MocapLab in Geneva. The work combines contemporary dance, motion capture, animation, and immersive digital environments to explore themes of identity, migration, colonial histories, and belonging.

Through this presentation, Victoria demonstrates how choreographic movement is captured and transformed into animated digital characters, offering participants a rare insight into the creative process behind integrating live performance with virtual worlds and immersive storytelling.

Credit:

  • Elise De Wit – 3D artist
  • Monica Lim – Composer and Sound Artist 

“This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body.”

Victoria Chiu:
Victoria Chiu’s practice investigates physicalising concepts in relation to histories of self, peoples and place and she works at intersections of dance, place, screen and technology. Chiu has collaborated, performed and toured extensively with artists including Cie Gilles Jobin, Micha Purucker, Cie Nomades, Jozsef Trefeli, RDYSTDY, Rudi Van Der Merwe, Kristina Chan, Candy Bowers, Roland Cox, Gabrielle Nankivell, Carol Brown, Amelia McQueen, Bernadette Walong, Arts Fission, Yinan Liu, Shian Law, Mindy Meng Wang, Nebahat Erpolat, Monica Lim, Megan Beckwith, Hellen Sky, Ma Haiping and Cate Consandine. Collectively her choreographic work has been presented in Europe, North America, China and Australia. www.victoriachiu.org  

Monica Lim:
Monica is a composer and sound artist whose work spans installations, performance art, contemporary dance and screen, exploring new cross-disciplinary genres and the combination of technology with music. Her work has been presented at Arts House, Science Gallery Melbourne, AsiaTOPA, Venice Biennale Architettura, Sydney Dance Company and WorldPride, as well as international symposiums including ISEA and SIGGRAPH Asia. She holds a PhD from the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne, in movement-led composition and new technologies, and is co-creator of the Electromagnetic Piano. Monica has been nominated for the Creative Australia Inspire Award and Music Victoria Best Experimental Artist Award. She is co-founder of Project Eleven, a philanthropic initiative supporting the contemporary arts, and serves on the boards of the Melbourne Recital Centre and Liquid Architecture.

Elise De Wit:
Elise is a 3D animator with experience in VR, AR, Unreal Engine, and Maya. Her goal as an animator is learning and utilising software to its most creative potential. In 2024, she joined Victoria Chiu in Portrait of a Paddock. Together they blended motion capture technology and live performance. Simultaneously, she worked at NANT Studios as an assistant mocap operator for the short film City of Echoes. Elise was then brought on as a 3D animator for the short film Fleshed Networks which utilised LED volume technology. In 2025, she received a fully funded scholarship from VicScreen where she continued her studies at CGSpectrum. She and her research partner launched an ongoing project, eventually sponsored by Toon Boom, to study the new 3D backend rendering aspects between Harmony and Maya. Currently, she is working as a 3D animator for a high profile sports club, creating a VR training simulator.

14.10 – 15.00: Live Demonstration: From Movement to Digital Performance

A live demonstration of Cie Gilles Jobin’s motion capture workflow, featuring examples from projects by Cie Gilles Jobin and the collaboration with Pichet Klunchun Dance Company.

Participants will discover:

  • Motion capture technologies used in performance
  • Real-time movement capture and digital avatars
  • Collaboration between dancers, choreographers and creative technologists

15.00 – 15.30: Discussion & Q&A

An open discussion with the artists exploring the future of choreography, motion capture, immersive performance, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Presented by

Supported by Cie Gilles Jobin / Studio 44 MocapLab, Chang Theater, the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture Ministry of Culture and Creative Australia.

Registration

Masterclass: Choreography with Motion Capture - AUgust 8th, 2026

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