http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsNBNTdO794
Ant Ballet Machine Demonstrated at Pestival 2011 [Source: olliepalmerdotcom]
Though it seems like a bit of a stretch to call the above production an Ant Ballet, it can arguably be considered dance if we go with a definition of “bodies moving in spatial patterns.” Given that John Cage and Merce Cunningham helped establish the option to disconnect dance from music, it’s hard to exclude the possiblity that this is dance. Ballet? That’s another thing entirely!
From YouTube:
“This video was filmed in Barcelona in August 2011. It shows the first public testing of the Ant Ballet Machine.”
“Using synthesised pheromones (Z9:16Ald Hexadecanol) and highly invasive Linepthinema humile Argentine ants, a robotic arm lays pheromone powder trails that cause the ants to behave in a different way to their usual foraging.”
“The machine is part of a larger study of paranoia, control systems, insects and architecture.”
The first live performance with ants will take place in December when Pestival goes to Sao Paolo.