Embodying the Artificial : Dance and Human–AI Co-creativity

Embodying the artificial explores dance creation with generative AI and other technologies. Drawing on ethnographic research, it examines the kinesthetic, ontological, and ethical dimensions of human–AI co-creation, offering frameworks for choreographers to engage critically and creatively with intelligent machines.

Embodying the Artificial examines how dance creation unfolds in dialogue with generative AI and related technologies. Grounded in ethnographic research, the book focuses on the kinesthetic dimensions of human–AI interaction to explore how generative systems reshape the creation and performance of dance. Through analyses of choreographic practices involving AI avatars and other intelligent technologies, the author interrogates the ontological, epistemological, and ethical questions that arise when machines become creative partners—challenging established notions of dance, embodiment, and creativity. Bridging theory and practice, this research offers conceptual and methodological foundations for understanding human–AI interaction in dance. It introduces a clear framework for categorizing interdisciplinary creative processes with various kinds of machines and provides choreographers and movement artists with tools to navigate, design, and reflect on co-creative processes with artificial agents. Thoughtfully conceived and comprehensive in scope, this book is poised to make a significant and enduring contribution across multiple fields, including dance and performance studies, media and digital studies, and interdisciplinary research. Comparable work in this area is limited – Embodying the Artificial is a thorough and authoritative survey of the topic, presented in a manner that is both engaging and accessible.