Ã…sa Unander-scharin

Biography

Åsa Unander-Scharin (PhD) choreographer and artistic researcher collaborating with dancers, musicians, programmers and robotic researchers. She holds a position as professor and scientific leader of Innovative Art and Technology (Gränsöverskridande konst och teknik) at Luleå university of technology. Years 2013-15 she was member of The Committee for Artistic Research at The Swedish Research Council. Her choreographic works have been presented at festivals, art galleries and conferences in Europe, Japan, Vietnam, Canada and USA. In1998 her first robot choreography (ABB irb 1400) was awarded an honorary mention from VIDA 2.0. The Lamentations of Orpheus will be performed live at Våning3 as part of the International Science Festival Gothenburg in May 2014. Year 2003 she choreographed Elevation for the Swedish Television and the year after she started to work on a series of robotic dance works and interactive installations. In 2006 Petrushkas´ Cry received a special prize in VIDA 9.0 Madrid, and in 2008 she choreographed The Crystal Cabinet at Piteå Chamber Opera and Desire, Chaos and Geometry for The Vietnam National Opera Ballet. In the same year her doctoral thesis: “Human mechanics and soulful machines” was published. Her robotic swan Robocygne and the computer directed marionette Olimpia was premiered in the context of Opera Mecatronica 2010 and year 2011 she created the exhibition Swanlake Revisited at the Dance Museum. Recently works are Artificial Body Voices for the Swedish television, Opera Mecatronica at Swedish Royal Opera House and Rotterdam Opera Days, Robocygne inaugurating the International Tanzmesse at Deutche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf 2012, Sing the Body Electric at Swedish Theatre Biennale and Cape Town Opera, and two dance film Black and White Swan for Musica Vitae 2013-14

Research Interest

Choreography