Aoi + Esteban: AΦE

AΦE is an XR dance company founded by accomplished dance artists Aoi Nakamura and Esteban Lecoq in 2016. As trailblazers in this area, they were the UK's first dance company to tour VR & AR productions internationally. Their works have successfully toured 15 countries, and over 60 venues, engaging with over 21,000 live audiences and participants worldwide. They explore & develop unique experiences while incorporating cutting-edge technology (VR, AR, AI, ML) into their productions. They continually strive to rethink the possibilities of live performances with a storytelling-centric practice that allows them to reach out to different audiences than traditional dance production with visionary approaches. They have partnered with high-end technology companies & research institutions incl. Scan Computers, NVIDIA, Epson, Framestore, Happy Finish, Arcade, SPECS-lab and The Scalable Display. They have garnered the support of some of the most prestigious venues and organisations globally including Sadler’s Wells Theatre London, Sydney Festival, Théâtre de Chaillot in Paris, Innovate UK & Arts Council England. Individually, Aoi and Esteban danced at major dance companies since 2006 in the UK and Europe including Jasmin Vardimon Company, Punchdrunk and State Theatre Wiesbaden, Saarbruecken and Kassel, and worked with numerous renowned choreographers. They began their choreographic practice in 2008 and started their collaboration in 2013. They also started curatorial practice in 2017 with the Devonshire Collective, Eastbourne, and then the Outdoor Digital Art Installation Programme, ALT*ASH in Ashford’s High Street in 2021. AΦE became associate artists of iCCi/University of Kent and launched A+E Lab, AΦE’s new home and charitable arm, a new digital and cultural hub located in Historic Dockyard Chatham in 2022 and engaged over 51000 live audiences and participants locally. AΦE: https://aoiesteban.com A+E Lab: https://aelab.uk IG: @aoiesteban @aelab.uk