In 2018 a Welsh team of digital artists travelled to Montréal, Canada to produce and present a unique immersive live performance fusing contemporary dance, 360º visuals and live music.
Developed by 4Pi Productions in partnership with the Society of Arts and Technology, SAT, Liminality had its world premiere in Montréal in 2018 to a sold out audience and was presented as part of the official selection of FIFA (International Festival of Films on Art) between the 13th and the 31st of March 2018.
This April, Liminality will receive its European Premiere presented within the CULTVR Dome, a specially built 12m performance dome created purposely to bring this innovative work to the UK and in particular to Welsh audiences for the first time time. The CULTVR Dome provides audiences with over 225 square meters of immersive screen, ambisonic surround sound and immersive lighting. The piece will join the newly commissioned Juniper performance featuring Slowly Rolling Camera, both being presented as part of 2019’s Diffusion Festival. The CULTVR dome will be located within RR3 at the Wales Millennium Centre, becoming the largest projection environment ever to come to Wales.
Captivating and unique in its kind, Liminality offers a multisensory experience pushing the boundaries of storytelling within immersive spaces. For Wales’ based multimedia studio 4Pi Productions this is the fourth 360º dance piece for the dome and the first time that creative directors Matt Wright and Janire Najera have turned one of their immersive films into a live performance piece.
“It has long been an aim of our creative partnership to develop the Dance Dome platform into the live arena and we are incredibly proud of what we have achieved. Presenting our two most successful works, Liminality & Liminality Live, alongside the new piece Juniper, fulfils our aims of bringing the best of immersive arts home to Wales; doing it within our own purpose built immersive environment is the icing on the cake and hopefully will become a prominent future venue here in Cardiff.” Matt Wright, director of 4Pi Productions.
Liminality , began as part of the UK India Year of Culture with support from British Council Wales and Wales Arts International. 4Pi Productions and Wales’ choreographers Kim Noble and Hugh Stanier have been working together for over a year capturing dance sequences in Wales and India alongside three Indian dancers to reflect upon the influences of both cultures on each other. The dancers move from industrial landscapes to remote coastal areas in both countries and explore what unites and separates them in this collaboration of cultures and technologies.
The resulting fulldome film has been awarded as Best Short Immersive Film at 4 international festivals and the live show was shortlisted for The Lumen Prize in 2018.
“After a long period of R&D to create the infrastructure needed for the presentation of immersive arts here in Wales, we are really excited to be able to perform Liminality Live where we have our base. This will offer us an invaluable opportunity to gather feedback from our home audiences before we undertake a final development period where we will be shaping the piece to tour internationally.“ Janire Najera, director of 4Pi Productions.
4Pi are incredibly excited to finally introduce Welsh audiences to both the artwork and the uniqueimmersive environment that makes it possible, the CULTVR Dome.
Liminality was incredibly well received by the audiences of Montreal, being seen by over 700 people.
“Liminality seems simple in its complexity, but without a doubt, a work of master was accomplished for the creation and the realization of this hybrid work. ” Emilie Plante, Pieuvre.ca.
“The spectator is invited to dive into a parallel universe as soon as they enter the dome. Everything is done so that the audience feel cut off from the outside world. They are then able to engage fully in an experience that will remain etched in their memories”. Lauryane Arzel, Choq.ca