“The Shadow,” by Blanca Li, at IRCAM: between real and virtual, a bewitching tale

“Brilliant, bluffing!” repeats a spectator, poking his head out of the immersive production entitled L'Ombre , directed by choreographer Blanca Li. On view until June 13, opening the ManiFeste festival at the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM), this augmented show, which combines virtual reality and performance, designed with composer Edith Canat de Chizy , shakes up the senses. Under the visual direction of Vincent Chazal, it demonstrates a successful symbiosis between dance, contemporary music and IRCAM's computer sound expertise.

For her new high-tech adventure, following the success of her virtual reality Bal de Paris (2021) , Blanca Li drew on a tale by Andersen (1805-1875). She chose the one that gives the play its title and which evokes a scholar whose shadow ends up dominating him. While the story of this possession gets lost in the captivating flow of images generated by Blanca Li and her team, it benefits from a quadrifrontal device perfect for its development: that of the IRCAM projection space.

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