Igniting dance, igniting light
Project description
Danses de Llum XR is an artistic and technological project that fuses traditional Catalan dances with Extended Reality (XR) technologies, creating a collective and multi-user experience that activates cultural heritage through the body, participation, and community. The project is developed in collaboration with the cooperative ARRAN D’ARREL, contributing expert insight into traditional dance and its contemporary transmission processes.
The project proposes an innovative approach to cultural transmission that moves away from individual or isolated experiences, instead prioritising shared physical presence and simultaneous interaction among participants. Through hybrid environments that combine real space with digital layers, the audience is invited to experience collective choreographies and steps from traditional dances — such as the sardana or stick dances — integrating tradition, technology, and contemporary lived experience.
In Danses de Llum XR, dance is activated as a living and relational language, where individual movement gains meaning within a collective action, reinforcing the community-based, intergenerational, and participatory dimension of the project.
XR Technologies
The project integrates various XR technologies in the service of the artistic and cultural experience:
- Mixed Reality
Mixed Reality makes it possible to integrate virtual dancers into real spaces of heritage value, generating immersive experiences that connect digital movement with the physical environment. This layering of elements enhances spatial perception, collective action, and direct engagement with the cultural context. - Motion Capture
Motion capture technology is used to record authentic gestures from traditional Catalan dances. These movements are transformed into realistic digital performers that form the basis of the virtual and augmented reality experiences, ensuring that each step, turn, and rhythm retains the precision and fidelity of embodied heritage. - Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is used to generate narratives that contextualise the dances and guide participants throughout the experience. Translation systems facilitate the adaptation of the project to different languages and audiences, while AI tools contribute to optimising creative processes and technological development.
The process
The development of Danses de Llum XR is based on a process of artistic, choreographic, and technological research that combines rigorous study of traditional Catalan dances with experimentation in XR environments. The project has included fieldwork, collaboration with dance and popular culture professionals, and motion capture sessions to record gestures, rhythms, and collective dynamics.
These materials have been translated into animations, avatars, and interactive environments integrated into an XR platform, allowing participants to learn, reproduce, and experience dance in an intuitive and sensory way. The process also incorporates user experience design, heritage narrative, and the adaptation of content for diverse audiences, while consistently maintaining folkloric rigour and accessibility.
Artistic and cultural collaboration · ARRAN D’ARREL
The project has been carried out by ESPRONCEDA in collaboration with ARRAN D’ARREL, a fundamental pillar of Danses de Llum XR, contributing deep knowledge of traditional dance and its contemporary transmission processes. The cooperative works to reactivate traditional dance as a living, community-based, and current practice, moving away from folklorising approaches.
Founded by Marina Escoda Abella and Cesc Franquesa Oller, ARRAN D’ARREL brings a solid background in dance, pedagogy, and popular culture, ensuring the artistic and pedagogical rigour of the project and its connection to the Catalan cultural ecosystem, in collaboration with Fira Mediterrània de Manresa and the Direcció General de Cultura Popular.
First public preview
On December 4, 2025, a first preview of the project took place at ESPRONCEDA – Institute of Art & Culture, where Danses de Llum XR was activated for the first time in direct contact with the public. This session made it possible to test the prototype in a real context and observe participant interaction with the technology, the space, and the dance.
The event functioned as a key validation phase, gathering impressions and experiences that contribute to the future development of the project. This first approach confirmed the potential of Danses de Llum XR as a collective, inclusive, and constantly evolving experience, where technology acts as a bridge to strengthen human connection, cultural memory, and the shared enjoyment of movement.
Danses de Llum XR is part of the research line in performing arts, body, and immersive technologies developed by ESPRONCEDA – Institute of Art & Culture, focused on cultural innovation, artistic experimentation, and the creation of collective experiences through new technological languages.
Project continuity
Following this first preview, Danses de Llum XR will continue its development and presentation throughout 2026, with new activations in cultural, educational, and festival contexts. This phase will allow the project to expand its territorial reach and deepen research into traditional dance, immersive technologies, and collective experiences.
The continuity of the project is supported by a consolidated base of artistic and cultural collaboration. Building on insights derived from public presentations, the project will continue to evolve both artistically and technologically, maintaining its open, adaptable nature and constant dialogue with the community.
More information about the project and its upcoming activations at https://dansesdellumxr.org
Credits
Curated by:
Daniel González Franco
Innovation Director & Project Lead
Ailin Bars
Assistant Director & Choreographic Coach
Marina Escoda Abella
Dance Educator & Cultural Programme Coordinator
Co-founder of ARRAN D’ARREL
Cesc Franquesa Oller
Dance Educator & Pedagogical Director
Co-founder of ARRAN D’ARREL
