MFA Dance Thesis Concert: Merli V. Guerra

Merli V. Guerra presents dance thesis concert “The Time Traveler’s Lens” at The Colonnade at Princeton Battlefield State Park (click for directions) beginning Monday, April 19, 2021.

Combining history, technology, and dance, The Time Traveler’s Lens uses 360-degree videography and interdisciplinary choreography to present a site-specific augmented reality virtual dance performance, viewable across the battlefield grounds on visitors’ personal mobile devices. This immersive, yet Covid-safe, performance invites visitors to become active participants in the colonnade’s history. Shot in 360, no two viewings of this work will be alike! As the time traveler, you control the lens, while experiencing the layers of past identities held by this historic site, including ties to the American Revolution (1777); Thomas Ustick Walter, famed architect of the U.S. Capitol (1835); and the Delaware & Raritan Canal (1901); among other glimpses into the colonnade’s rich and storied past.

The Time Traveler’s Lens is accessible via a free website that can be unlocked using passwords found at the Princeton Battlefield State Park. Visitors are encouraged to view these augmented reality films using the free YouTube app on their mobile devices, for an immersive 360 experience. This website will become available to the public beginning Monday, April 19, 2021 in celebration of the 246th anniversary of “the shot heard round the world” (April 19, 1775).