Planning and instinct: this is how the immersive experience was created during the Circle of Live set

During MUTEK MX 21, we experienced one of the highlights in Nocturne's history: the immersive experience that enveloped both the music and the audience during the 4-hour Circle of Live session. Stage design, lighting, video, real-time visuals, and even the human element of dance converged to transform the still life of Hall A into a space of connection.

To achieve this synergy between sound, ambiance, and energy, MUTEK MX brought together multimedia artists and lighting designers Pavel Zmuchila (RU) and Jaco Schilp (NL), and choreographer and multidisciplinary artist Alejandra Metz (MX).

This is the story of the creative trio that transformed Hall A: learn about the process, challenges, and creativity behind this profound experience.

Tell us a bit about the initial idea, that first insight that emerged when you received the invitation to design the stage for Hall A at Nocturne, and how much the final result reflected that initial creative spark:

Pavel: “We started with an initial idea for a 360° stage connected to Circle of Live: expanding the context and moving away from the standard design with classic means (lights, screens). We wanted to transform the show from a purely musical format to a performative, theatrical, and, above all, physical one.”

Jaco: “That idea immediately aligned with what MUTEK MX was looking for: something that balanced the digital with the physical. It also opened the door to the possibility of bringing dancers into the space, which helped us translate that mix of technology and physical presence into something the audience could truly feel.”

Pavel: “That’s how the concept of a kinetic installation controlled by live performers was born. The idea was to connect the dancers, positioned around the perimeter of the room, to the stage using long lines, forming a cylinder around them. Due to technical and time constraints, we weren’t able to implement the kinetic part of the design, but we had everything else: an interesting lighting installation, screens, Jaco’s real-time video content based on Kinect, beautiful renders by Jean-Sébastien Baillat, and, most importantly, the dancers, who were incredible.”

How much did Circle of Live's principles of improvisation and collaboration influence this project? Can you share a bit about the process of translating these principles into the language of image, lighting, and dance?

Metz: “The premise of Circle of Live is: listen–create / listen–act, a constant flow of improvisation. From this main idea, the stage design focused on combining textures of organic movement with digital media. The theatricality of the piece was fueled by the creation of an interdisciplinary stage, surrounded by eight individual platforms for dancers, lighting, and screens, with Circle of Live at the center. I would describe this spiral circularity as a design where energy flows in an interactive and intuitive way. Now that I analyze it, I recognize that we intuitively based it on the Fibonacci spiral.”

Jaco: “This helped us respond intuitively to what was happening on stage. Everyone—lighting, visuals, and dancers—reacted live, always checking if there was room to add something or if it was better to hold back.”

Pavel: “Just like in musical improvisation, you never know what you’ll face next, but the elegance with which you handle it depends on your own experience and that of the team around you. We improvised with the set design, we improvised when we had to abandon the kinetic element, we improvised during construction, and we even got the technical team to improvise with us, haha. Metz had to improvise to completely rethink the choreography for the performance part once we realized that the dancers’ task was changing a lot because the kinetic system wasn’t working, and to make it something contained but very solid and self-sufficient as part of the show. And improvising with the programming and the lighting and video controls is, in any case, sacred.”

What energy or sensations did they seek to trigger with this circular design, both in the artists on stage and in the people around them?

Pavel: “I wanted us to return to a state of ‘connection’ and make the live show feel physical, analog, organic, and human, as a counterpoint to the overwhelming digital environment we live in.”

Jaco: “It was important to think about four elements: the physical sensation of the space, the lighting, the visuals, and the choreography. I wanted the audience to literally see how the artists’ movements transformed live, so that their physical presence became the source of information for the digital world. Meanwhile, Metz created a choreography that connected the body’s energy with the entire atmosphere of the night.”

Metz: “I was inspired by natural elements: fog, rain, lightning, and the earth in all its manifestations. With this theory of circular movement in dialogue with these elements, I developed the stage composition using the Butoh dance technique. From the naturalness of the body emerged forms that evoked each element and, in turn, conversed with one another. Within the choreographic structure, moments were created where the human element emerges as an essential part of the piece. It was in these moments that the stage presence of eight dancers appeared. There was no text, no time, no verbal communication; only the openness to be guided, to feel, and to connect deeply among the performing artists, Circle of Live, the visuals, the lighting, and the audience.”

Once the project architecture was finalized, how did they prepare for live operation?

Jaco: “Once the project's architecture was finalized, the process was a mix of planning and instinct. The three of us—Pavel, Metz, and I—had long conversations with Damián Romero about how the night might unfold: how it might begin, build, and descend. Of course, we never knew exactly what Circle of Live would play, but since we all have experience with long improv performances, we were able to imagine the overall rhythm.

During the show, we let ourselves be guided by that imagined rhythm, but we also constantly adjusted according to the actual energy of the music. We had one clear rule: never overload the senses. If the dancers took the lead, the visuals softened; if the music exploded, perhaps the lights took the lead; if the room needed space, we held back. It was a continuous dialogue between all the elements, expressed through gestures, intuition, and the moment itself.”

What role did the location, Maravilla Studios' largest ship, play in the creative and technical process?

Jaco: “Its scale allowed the circular design and 360-degree experience to truly feel at home. The space dictated how we positioned the dancers, how we placed the screens, and how the audience would move around the performers.”

Metz: “I saw it as a blank canvas where the creative possibilities were ambitious. Crossing the physical and digital worlds at different scales fostered a new stage format, one I had long explored, and now all my backgrounds came together to make possible a journey between my past and present selves.”

What were the biggest challenges of this experience? And what were the most exciting surprises?

Pavel: “The main challenge, as always, was time. And the most pleasant surprise was how unexpectedly amazing this team turned out to be and how well everything clicked.”

Jaco: “One of the biggest challenges was making sure we didn’t overwhelm people. With so many layers of dancers, lights, visuals, and music, it would have been easy to push it too far. We always tried to maintain a balance. And honestly, one of the most beautiful surprises of the whole process was how naturally the collaboration developed. That same energy of stepping onto the stage with someone you don’t yet know and suddenly realizing you’re completely connected is precisely the spirit of Circle of Live. And, in a way, it happened to us too, backstage.”

Metz: “I would describe this collaboration as magical, as we hadn’t had any prior conversations with Circle of Live, but the level of magnetism we experienced was organic, harmonious, and fluid.”

Finally, and as a small bonus for other lighting, visual, and dance artists who read us: what programs and technical processes did each of you use within the project?

Pavel: “I handled the lighting and used a hybrid control setup. I ran some parameters from GandMA and others from TouchDesigner, where I primarily generated bitmaps for the pixel luminaires. The TouchDesigner signal was merged with GrandMA along with its own output, so the final DMX stream was a combination of both.”

Jaco: “I worked with TouchDesigner to create real-time images. For this, I used data from my own LiDAR scans of Mexico. For the past two years, I've been collecting images of places and plants in Mexico. For MUTEK MX, I spent a whole day with a good friend cycling around Mexico City to collect 3D scans of the city. We attached a camera to an Ecobici bike-sharing system. With this setup, we rode along Reforma Avenue to scan the Angel of Independence roundabout. And one Sunday, we circled the Roma and Chapultepec neighborhoods to get shots of large crowds. These scans worked really well within the circular LED screen, as it provided 360-degree 3D data, and everything that moved, like cars and people, generated very nice time-gap images, time fragments, and transformed point clouds.

In addition to my pre-designed scans, I also used a 3D scanning streaming setup based on four small LiDAR scanners in various locations.” With this, I was able to transform the pre-scanned data into the real-time moment of the show on stage. And it created camera perspectives of the artist that wouldn't have been possible with traditional cameras. Furthermore, it helped the audience connect with the musicians' movements and actions on stage. In this way, the digital content was always enriched by what was physically happening on stage.”