Ilya Vidrin: Proxies

Ilya Vidrin will make his Pillow debut with Proxies, a rigorously imagined work at the interaction of dance and technology that explores what happens to human relationships when our bodies are translated into data.

Developed during a Pillow Lab residency in 2023, the piece begins as an intimate duet that centers the relationship between human and digital systems. Wearable technology tracks pressure in the dancers’ hands and feet, transforming physical touch into live data that generates a shifting visual score. That data, in turn, shapes the music in real time, altering tone and mood as the numbers change. The dancers then react—to the music, to each other, and to the technology—creating a continuous loop of responsiveness that is both precise and deeply human.

Ilya Vidrin is a choreographer, researcher, and educator working at the intersection of dance, computer science, and ethics. An Assistant Professor at Northeastern University, Vidrin is the director of the Partnering Lab and an affiliate with research centers focused on robotics and artificial intelligence. Named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch,” he has created and presented work internationally at leading dance institutions, universities, museums, and research labs.