A body dances, playfully crosses the boundaries of identity. In a sound space comprising music, noise and voices, a man is transformed into a woman, body parts of which one would never have thought it start to speak. They tell of the desire for self-extension and the fear of self-dissolution, as well as of the nearly real utopia of a human body manipulated and redesigned by biological, genetic and computer technology.

The radiophonic video dance performance D.A.V.E. (Digital Amplified Video Engine) presents a virtual metamorphosis. With the help of digitally edited videos projected directly onto the dancer's body, his form dissolves into streaming image worlds. With complicated computer editing – moving masks or layers – and the choreography of reproducible sequences of movements it is possible to position the projections accurately on the moving body or body parts.

D.A.V.E. shows how fantasy can become reality. The use of conventional spatial and screen projections has been avoided. An acoustic environment composed specifically for intermedium 2 reinforces the illusion of virtual being.
In collaboration with the director Christiane Ohaus and the producer Anette Kührmeyer a stage version specially created for radio was written for this project, a project that has been around for some time and has been performed successfully in several countries.

Klaus Obermaier
media artist and composer, studied guitar and painting in Vienna and Linz. Work on interactive and intermedia art projects, installations at international festivals in Europe and the USA, including Ars Electronica, Diagonale, Musikfest Bremen, collaboration with the Kronos Quartett, Ensemble Modern, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie; lives in Vienna

Chris Haring
choreographer and dancer, studied music and movement education in Vienna and New York, various dance projects and performances in Europe, the USA, South America, Japan, collaboration with Klaus Obermaier since 1998 as part of the Leonardo project Vienna/Berlin; lives in Vienna

SR and RB/DLR/intermedium 2 2002