Flock You!

By sizemore Last edited 206 months ago
Flock You!
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The ICA are teaming up with the Royal Opera House to transform Trafalgar Square from a pigeon inhabited tourist trap into something a little classier next month:

Inspired by Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, FLOCK is a new interactive installation specially commissioned by the ICA (with the support of ROH2 at the Royal Opera House) taking place on Trafalgar Square. FLOCK is a free event, creating a “virtual Swan Lake” where members of the public will become “pedestrian performers” and taken on a journey where fantasy and reality merge.

The last time that Londonist's fantasy and reality merged we ended up with a slap across the face. But even if ballet isn't normally your thing this sounds like an interesting mix of the classical with the technological:

As the general public step into the space (in this first incarnation in Trafalgar Square) they will immediately realise that the seemingly innocent space is actually enchanted. The pavement will be primed so that the moment a person steps into the space it will react. The technology will pick up a person’s presence and allocate each participant their own personal spotlight. Following the light they cast, each participant will reveal a series of ghostly projections. These take participants on a journey through both the real space and also the story happening in the ghostly swan world.

We'll nip along to see how it pans out - jet lagged tourists being approached by a flock of dancing swans to create a coordinated corps de ballet of pedestrian performers has got to be worth a look. And of course it's FREE.

See (and take part in) Flock: Thursday 1st – Saturday 3rd February 2007, 5pm-10pm daily in Trafalgar Square.

Last Updated 16 January 2007