Technology as a Dance Partner
Led by the creative minds of award-winning directors Colette Krogol and Matt Reeves alongside lighting designer Peter Leibold VI, Orange Grove Dance is transforming the world of dance by integrating cutting-edge technology into their performances.
Here we explore how ENTTEC gear and technology play a pivotal role in their projects, particularly in A&I and the Summer Intensive Multi-Space Improv Jam.
VIDEO: ORANGE GRAVE DANCE X ENTTEC TRAILER
Founded in 2007 and based in Baltimore, Maryland, Orange Grove Dance has consistently pushed the boundaries of traditional dance by incorporating advanced technology, creating immersive experiences that redefine the audience’s perception of movement and space.
Their latest project, A&I, is a dance and multimedia live performance between five performers and a solitary AI interface, named Luna, that uses smart home technology on a theatrical scale. The work questions how we see and care for the technologies we have created, which hold up the fragile ecosystems of modern society.
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Matt Reeves 
Colette Krogol 
Peter Leibold VI
“We’re always intrigued and interested in bringing technology into the space as soon as possible when we start a process. We think of technology as another dancer— and see how it breathes, shifts, and manipulates the performance.”
Colette Krogol, Orange Grove Dance
A&I – integrating visuals and performance
Peter: “In the first rendition of A&I, we were at the Voxel in Baltimore. We brought five of the OCTOs and one ODE Mk3. There are four screens onstage upstage.
There are cameras back there that we can see through and interact with the video output of those TVs, so you’re seeing the dancer behind but manipulated on the front side. We put pixel strip on the back of those TVs to light the performers, running Ethernet and power lines already in place for the TVs. This setup allowed us to play with effects of movement on the back of the TV and shape-shifting on the performers’ faces.
The pixel strip created a softbox effect, providing smooth, even lighting. The OCTOs were for this setup, and the ODE was used when we ran out of DMX ports. Throwing an ODE into the system quickly provided network control for everything, making the entire show fully networked.”
IMAGE CREDITS: KIIRSTN PAGAN + JONATHAN HSU
Check out the schematic diagram below, which we created for this project. It illustrates the Orange Grove Dance’s TV screen lighting setup, using ENTTEC OCTOs and an ODE MK3.
VIDEO: Orange Grove Dance’s A&I project, featuring a TV screen lighting setup using ENTTEC OCTOs and an ODE MK3
VIDEO: Filmed by Jonathan Hsu. OGD company performer is London Brison.
“It’s becoming more and more important for art, I think especially dance, to be working with technology in sort of a face-to-face way. I think that’s the relationship that we’re all facing and embracing right now.”
Matt Reeves, Orange Grove Dance
Summer Intensive Multi-Space Improv Jam – a collaborative space
IMAGE CREDITS: KIIRSTN PAGAN + JONATHAN HSU
The Summer Intensive Multi-Space Improv Jam at Sweet Briar College in Virginia was a transformative experience, using ENTTEC’s LED NEON FLEX and OCTOs to make light and sound integral elements of the dance. This allowed for an innovative space where technology and dancers move and respond to each other in real-time.
Colette: “As a team, we go around and see what spaces are calling to us this year versus other years. And then, is there a theme or not? And how do we transform this space? Sometimes it’s just sonically, sometimes it’s lighting and projection together – but each space just has its own essence in a way. How will it behave once we open up the space and all of the artists get to come in?”
Matt: “And in dance as a partnership, a duet, how do we move together? – two bodies moving as one to find the ideas that we’re looking for. I think we’re on the precipice of that with our technology now. How do we move together with technology in this modern world, in a way that takes care of each other, in a way that supports each other and knows how to move together?
I think this mission for us is something we’ve always been passionate about, it’s grown in importance, because I think that’s something we’re going to really need moving forward as a society—always establishing thoughtful relationships with our technologies.”
IMAGE CREDITS: KIIRSTN PAGAN + JONATHAN HSU
Colette: “I think something that enriches us with the multispace – when we were coming up with this idea – is the experimentation with technology and transforming spaces to see how it compels us to move inside of them.
We center on the human form and the technology and what happens inside of that relationship. Being at Sweet Briar allows us to experiment with almost the full range of this entire building. Each year, we see what spaces call to us and transform them sonically, with lighting, or projections. These spaces are a surprise for the artists; they walk in and discover how to move within these new environments. The improv jam deconstructs the traditional format and incorporates technology, making it a unique experience each time.”
Peter: “It’s a surprise for the artists when they walk in. We purposefully design these spaces to invite curiosity and creativity. They surprise us too, with how they use the space in ways we never expected. It’s like arriving in a room with another dancer already there.
We use four of our five OCTOs to control a bunch of pixels and things that are down in some of the rooms. And then the other ones are driving the NEON FLEX.
The downstairs spaces are run fully by the S-PLAY MINI and our upstairs run by my lighting console. I record a bunch of cues into the S-Play and am able to trigger those events as I see the dancers interacting with different aspects of what we’re doing tonight.”
VIDEO: Summer Intensive Multi-Space Improv Jam recap, including ENTTEC OCTOs and NEON FLEX at work
VIDEO: Filmed by Jonathan Hsu. OGD company performer is London Brison.
The role of technology in artistic expression
Orange Grove Dance’s innovative approach to integrating technology with dance opens up new avenues for artistic expression. By collaborating with ENTTEC, they continue to challenge and expand the possibilities of performance art, proving that technology can be as expressive and dynamic as any human dancer.
Colette: “Matt and I were starting to just make duets together, the two of us in space. And from that, our love of collaboration has really built out the pillars of Orange Grove dance, which revolves around the idea of partnering.
For us, it’s partnering with each other, partnering with technology, partnering with community, and partnering with space. Those are the pillars, and technology has become such an influential part of it – looking at the human form both with and against technology. We use a lot of performer operated design, or ‘how does design influence the work we make?’, so we are always intrigued and interested to bring technology into the space as soon as possible.
Right when we start a rehearsal process, we think of the technology that we’re bringing in as another dancer. How does it breathe? How does it shift? How does it affect us? Manipulate us? So, we start making duets with the technology.”
