8pm Tuesday 9 September, Leeds University Theatre.

Team: James Brosnan, Bobby Byrne, Mick Donegan, Sandy Ana Fuentes, Katie Gilligan, Lizbeth Goodman, Colm O'Snodaigh, Scott Palmer, Robbie Perry, Sita Popat, Chrissie Poulter, Vanessa Wiegand, Hayley Willis, Aejaz Zahid.

SMARTlab's Inter-FACES project aims to give a human face to new technologies, and to empower creative
people of all levels of physical ability to express themselves freely. As part of this long term project, the team have engaged for the past 2 years in a series of workshops and performance showcases to demonstrate the power of specific tools to make a real difference to the lives of real people. Our work has been shown in London, Dublin, Prague, Singapore, Ohio and L.A., and is coming to Leeds for the first time with this performance.

Katie Gilligan and James Brosnan lead a 'Duet for Eyes' with Bobby Byrne and the company. The duet
demonstrates how creative spirits with very limited physical movement can lead and inspire movement in others, using an eye-gaze technology tool customised by the team.

The team includes SMARTlab core faculty and performers, and also a wider group of collaborating 'spirits' who regularly give of their time and energy to make live work together. This group, known as SPIRITlevel, was founded by Lizbeth Goodman in 2003, following on the first major collaboration that led to the Special Olympics pre-show performed live in Dublin. SPIRITlevel continues to grow, and now invites a first collaboration with 'the sprites'! In this showcase for ALT2008, we will combine the 'Duet for Eyes' with an improvised dance with the Sprites.

The Sprites:

Dr Sita Popat and Scott Palmer of Leeds University have completed an AHRC-funded Projecting Performance project in collaboration with KMA Creative Technologies. http://www.leeds.ac.uk/paci/projectingperformance/home.html

This work explores and articulates the emergent nature of the interface between technological object and human that is fundamental to the development of new design thinking and practices. The Sprites are the informal name for the dancing apparitions created by the interface of the tablet to the screen, combined for the first time in this performance with the live interaction of performers with Cerebral Palsy, moving these virtual dance partners with their hands and with their eyes. Liz Allen, Lynn Scarff and Lea O'Flannagain, Science Gallery

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