Cultural Heritage Data & Preservation

Dancing is a living form of cultural heritage that transmits choreographic knowledge between bodies across time. Recent motion capture technology has enabled the digitization of traditional dance movements to preserve this intangible heritage. However, digitization can only capture the visual form, not the tacit knowledge and improvisation. This research introduces “Human-AI co-dancing,” which combines human dancers with AI-powered virtual dance partners derived from dance principles. The researchers developed a system based on the “No. 60” principles of Thai choreographer Pichet Klunchun, which deconstruct the traditional Thai dance “Mae Bot Yai.” They analyzed the six choreographic principles and created computational procedures to manipulate a virtual character’s movements. Rehearsals and performances highlighted synergies between human and machine, expanding from traditional roots into posthuman choreography. This research bridges computation with traditional movement vocabularies to unite past and future, human and machine.

Digital libraries are employed as online repositories that collect, curate, and preserve various digital objects, serving as critical tools for knowledge preservation and dissemination. This approach commonly operates under the premise that by preserving these intangible objects "as is," we can facilitate the transmission of knowledge across generations. However, this static view fails to account for the dynamic nature of knowledge in our evolving digital landscape, particularly in how digital libraries could capture and preserve cultural heritage in a way that reflects the dynamic nature of human culture. As our understanding of cultural preservation advances, so too must our approach to digital libraries. In this work, we explore the concept of "experimental preservation" in the context of digital libraries as a tool to democratize access to cultural knowledge, by making traditionally restricted cultural practices more accessible, allowing laypersons to engage with and contribute to cultural evolution. Using the alphabet of Thai traditional dance "Mae Bot Yai" as a case study, we developed a digital library approach to preserve traditional dance as a form of living cultural heritage. This approach seeks to expand the conventional notion of digital libraries in two ways: by challenging existing static "as is" paradigms and proposing new avenues for dynamic, interactive preservation.

Challenges in Digital Preservation of Traditional Dance

First, we examine the unique challenges posed by digitally preserving traditional choreography. Dance represents an essential form of living cultural heritage. Beyond the dichotomy of tangible and intangible heritage, dances exist as a complex and multidimensional network of ideas, practices, and social interactions rather than in a singular, concrete format. This nature directly challenges traditional notions of preservation, particularly in the digital realm. In addition, their non-linear and often fragmented nature embodies not just physical movements, but also cultural contexts and historical narratives. There is no universally adopted digital format to capture dance. While video recordings offer possible approaches to dance preservation, they fall short of conveying the art form's full essence. These methods fail to capture the interactivity and dynamic responsiveness of the subject in practice, as well as the cultural and social contexts that shape the dance experience. These characteristics necessitate a reconsideration of preservation methodologies to capture the dynamic, interactive nature of knowledge as a digital library subject, pushing us to explore innovative approaches for curating and presenting cultural artifacts.

From Cultural Preservation to Cultural Innovation in Digital Platform

Second, beyond reconsidering preservation methods, digital libraries for dance challenge the notion of preservation for its own sake. While maintaining cultural heritage is crucial, we argue that digital libraries could do more than just archive. We propose viewing digital technology not only as a means of preserving the past but also as a catalyst for reinventing and reinterpreting it. This approach transforms digital archives from passive repositories into active platforms for cultural innovation, where preserved knowledge becomes a springboard for new creative expressions. By democratizing access to cultural knowledge, digital technology challenges conventional conservative ideologies that centralize cultural evolution, allowing cultural traditions to become sources of innovation, where new knowledge and practices are being experimented.

By examining these two aspects: the preservation of traditional dance and the potential for cultural innovation, this work presents Open Dance Lab, a web-based interactive platform designed to preserve and innovate Thai traditional dance through digital technology. The platform features a comprehensive digital archive of 59 traditional Mae Bot Yai poses, presented as 3D models with expert annotations. It also incorporates Pichet Klunchun's deconstruction of Thai dance into six core elements, providing users with a framework to analyze and understand the art form. Finally, the platform includes a generative algorithm system that allows users to generate new dance sequences based on traditional principles, allowing the user to experiment and actively engage in the process of co-creating new cultural artifacts. The system consists of three main components that mirror a three-stage process of cultural evolution: examining, experimenting, and evolving. Our work contributes to the ongoing discussion on the nature and purpose of digital libraries and has made the following key contributions:

1. Identifying and addressing the unique challenges that the preservation of living cultural heritage, such as dance, poses to conventional digital library models.
2. Applying the "Experimental Preservation" framework for capturing and presenting the multidimensional aspects of dance in digital libraries.
3. Developing a web-based platform in which digital libraries can serve as catalysts for cultural innovation rather than merely as archives of the past.

Cultural Context

To fully appreciate the significance of Open Dance Lab, it's crucial to understand the cultural context of Thai traditional dance. Contemporary dance in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, has gained increasing recognition in recent years. Many pioneering choreographers in this field began their journeys within local traditions or folk dance practices, skillfully expanding upon long-standing movement traditions unique to the region. Thai traditional dance, as we know it today, is largely a product of cultural "re-invention" that occurred in the 20th century, particularly following the 1932 Siamese Revolution. This period saw significant curation and standardization of dance practices. However, this standardization also led to a certain rigidity and gradual loss of underlying knowledge due to historical social contexts.

In response to this rigidity, a countermovement has emerged, seeking to reconsider and reinvent the inner paradigm of traditional dance. This movement aims to foster a deeper understanding of the dance system to encourage innovation within the traditional framework and advocate for growth, development, and evolution. A key figure in this movement is Pichet Klunchun, a celebrated Thai dancer and choreographer known for his reinterpretation of traditional Thai dance into contemporary performances. Among his notable works are “I Am a Demon” (2005), “Pichet Klunchun and Myself” with Jérôme Bel (2006), “Nijinsky Siam” (2010), “Black and White” (2011), and “Dancing with Death” (2015).

In 2017, Klunchun and his company launched Project No. 60, which focused on deconstructing the 59 fundamental poses and movements of Mae Bot Yai to speculate on an imaginary 60th pose. Klunchun created diagrams that explore the relationship between the forms of movement and the body in an attempt to deeply understand the knowledge embedded in Mae Bot Yai.

Thai traditional dance is rooted in the “Mae Bot Yai” (the “Greater Fundamentals”), a set of 59 interconnected poses that serve as the foundation for classical Thai dance and enable dancers to execute the complex choreography of “Khon”, a centuries-old Thai classical court masked dance. Khon features distinctive footwork, circular stepping patterns, fluid knee movements, and rhythmic stamping actions, along with elaborate hand and finger movements, such as intricate finger curls and stylized poses. Dancers employ techniques like body weight shifts, controlled torso movements, and the integration of arm and leg actions to create flowing, lyrical motions while maintaining firm stances. Smooth transitions between poses and an unbroken continuity of movement are essential to executing the Mae Bot Yai with grace and elegance, allowing dancers to express the beauty and aesthetic of Thai classical dance. In 1924, the introduction of camera technology allowed the knowledge of “Mae Bot Yai” to be recorded and formalized, preserving Thai dance techniques that are still used today.

In the process of deconstructing the 59 fundamental poses and movements of Mae Bot Yai, the foundation of traditional Thai dance, Pichet Klunchun synthesizes six choreographic principles through meticulous analysis: Energy, Circles & Curves, Axis Points, Synchronous Limbs, External Body Spaces, and Shifting Relations. His goal is to revitalize the the traditional art form by creating innovative combinations from the deconstructed traditional vocabulary.

Building upon Klunchun's deconstruction of Thai dance system into six core elements in No. 60, Cyber Subin: Cybernetics + Subin (dream in Thai language)  is a dance production extending these principles by encoding them into a rule-based system applied to 3D virtual characters. This project is a collaboration between Klunchun and Pat Pataranutaporn from MIT Media Lab, along with an interdisciplinary team. The system can manipulate and transform the movements of motion-captured characters in real-time. A co-dance with human performers creates a dynamic interplay between human dancers and AI-generated choreography, formulating "Human-AI co-dancing". In turn, analyzing and translating choreographic principles into computer algorithms opens up possibilities for exploring these elements through a computational lens using digital technologies.

The Open Dance Lab Platform

Building upon Cyber Subin research, the Open Dance Lab platform translates this process of deconstruction and reinterpretation into an interactive web environment. Open Dance Lab is a web-based platform designed to preserve and innovate Thai traditional dance by encouraging public engagement and participation with the heritage, fostering their creativity and sense of ownership. The platform features a digital archive of 59 Mae Bot Yai poses as interactive 3D models with expert annotations, incorporates Pichet Klunchun's deconstruction of Thai dance into six core elements, and includes an AI-powered system for generating new dance sequences based on traditional principles. This research demonstrates how digital technologies can safeguard and transmit intangible cultural heritage while facilitating its evolution in the digital age.

The platform consists of three main sections designed to mirror a three-stage process of understanding, deconstruction, and reconstruction of Thai dance movements. This structure is intentionally aligned with our overarching goal of transforming digital libraries from passive repositories into active platforms for cultural innovation and engagement. Each component of the platform plays a crucial role in this process, offering users a comprehensive and interactive experience with Thai dance. The platform is built using SvelteKit, Tailwind CSS, and Three.js for rendering 3D models of dance movements. The following subsections provide an in-depth exploration of each component of the platform:

Examining

The Mae Bot Yai Library is a curated digital archive of the 59 traditional Mae Bot Yai poses. This component directly addresses the aspect of preserving cultural heritage through modern technology while also serving as a fundamental basis for a further investigation into Thai dance system through its building block. The creation process of this library began with a series of motion capture sessions with experienced Thai dancers. Each of the 59 traditional poses was performed and recorded multiple times, then is curated for the most representative of the regarded "standard" form of the dance. This approach ensured that the final archive would contain the most representative execution of each pose. Following the recording sessions, the raw motion capture data underwent additional processing, including data cleaning and the noise removal.

The processed motion capture data was then applied to 3D character models. Utilizing Three.js, an interactive interface was developed that allows users to rotate and examine the poses from multiple angles. This three-dimensional visualization is crucial in understanding dance systems, where perspective and spatial relationships play a significant role. Each 3D model is accompanied by a static image of the pose. These images are overlaid with annotations by Klunchun. These annotations provide valuable insight into the choreographer's interpretation of each pose, offering a unique blend of traditional knowledge and contemporary analysis. This multifaceted presentation allows for a more comprehensive digital preservation of dance movements, capturing not just the physical poses but also their cultural and artistic context. This combination of dynamic 3D models with expert annotations creates a rich, layered resource that serves both as an archive and an educational tool.

Experimenting

The Mae Bot Yai repository serves as a foundational building block for the Thai traditional dance system, yet it arguably remains a static representation of the past. To foster deeper understanding and pave the way for cultural innovation, further deconstruction and analysis are essential. This section provides a detailed deconstruction of Thai traditional dance based on Klunchun's derivation of the system into six core principles. This analytical approach serves as a critical bridge between traditional preservation and innovative reinterpretation, offering a new perspective on the library's subject matter. The aim is not to present Klunchun's derivation as the definitive principle of the system, but rather to use it as a thoughtful starting point to encourage users to develop their own deconstructions. This approach invites a reconsideration of the dances not as isolated entities, but as products of an interconnected system of ideas and implementations. By doing so, we hope to stimulate a more profound engagement with the art form and its underlying structures.

We provide comprehensive analysis of each element, relating it back to the dance itself. Three components illustrate each principle: static visual examples, textual explanations demonstrating how the principle manifests in various dance positions, and a 3D character showing how abstract principles translate into physical form and movement. This approach encourages users to investigate the principles in action independently.

Evolving

The Cyber Subin component represents reconstruction component in our library. The work is mainly an adaptation of the generative system used in the original Cyber Subin performance. This component embodies our vision of digital libraries as not just archives, but as platforms for active creation and innovation. We ported and modified its open-source \textit{Open Dance}~\cite{ocd} code. Due to its original focused on the practicality of performance, the revision for the interface, information, and several algorithms is needed to make it more appropriate and approachable for general public engagement on web environment. The resulting interface allows users to select principles, apply them to specific body parts, and adjust intensity levels to generate new dance movements. Users can, for instance, increase the energy in the upper body while maintaining fluid, circular movements in the lower body. They can experiment with different axis points or explore how changing the relationship between limbs affects the overall composition of a dance sequence. This feature directly addresses our goal of transforming digital libraries into platforms for cultural innovation. By allowing users to create their own interpretations based on traditional principles, we open up new possibilities for the evolution of Thai dance. This approach challenges the notion of cultural preservation as a static endeavor, instead positioning it as a dynamic, participatory process where tradition serves as a springboard for creativity and innovation.

Design Rationales and User Interaction

The Open Dance Lab platform's design rationale is rooted in principles of constructionism, self-exploration, and participatory learning. The user interaction design encourages active engagement with Thai dance through a layered approach, allowing users to progress from observing traditional poses to manipulating dance elements and creating new sequences. This self-paced exploration fosters a sense of ownership over the learning process, catering to diverse learning styles and prior knowledge levels. The platform's structure, from the Mae Bot Yai Library to the Cyber Subin component, facilitates a gradual deepening of understanding, aligning with the concept of progressive disclosure.

Central to the platform's design is the emphasis on interactive and experiential learning. Users are not passive recipients of information but active participants in the learning process, engaging with the material through hands-on manipulation and creative experimentation. This approach is particularly effective for learning complex physical skills like dance, where embodied knowledge is crucial. The Open Dance component exemplifies this philosophy by allowing users to create their own interpretations of Thai dance, transforming the learning experience from passive absorption to active creation. This participatory approach not only enhances understanding of Thai dance principles but also promotes creative engagement with cultural heritage, challenging the notion of traditional art forms as static and encouraging innovation within the framework of tradition.

Implications

The Open Dance Lab platform is not just a preservation tool but also an educational resource. The work outlines several educational exercises designed to integrate the platform into classroom settings. These educational components demonstrate how digital platforms can bridge the gap between traditional cultural practices and contemporary forms of expression. By encouraging students to engage with Thai dance through familiar mediums like social media, the platform makes cultural heritage more accessible and relevant to younger generations.

The Open Dance Lab project represents a significant step forward in the field of digital cultural preservation. By combining traditional knowledge with interactive technologies, it creates a space where cultural heritage can be not only preserved but also actively engaged with and evolved. This approach challenges conventional notions of digital preservation, transforming static archives into dynamic platforms for cultural innovation.

Digital Library and Cultural Cycle

The Open Dance Lab web platform creates an interactive environment that follows a process of examining, experimenting, and evolving traditional knowledge, mirroring the natural evolution of cultural practices in a digital context. The Mae Bot Yai Library component allows users to explore and study the 59 traditional poses in detail, with 3D models and expert annotations providing a comprehensive view of each pose, encouraging deep examination and understanding. This examining phase is crucial for establishing a foundation of knowledge. Building upon this foundation, the Six Elements section, based on Klunchun's deconstruction of Thai dance, enables users to experiment with the fundamental principles. This interactive exploration allows for a deeper understanding of the dance system's underlying structure, facilitating a more nuanced engagement with the tradition. Finally, the Cyber Subin component empowers users to create new dance sequences based on traditional principles, facilitating the evolution of the dance form while maintaining connections to its roots.

This approach contributes to knowledge decentralization by democratizing access to specialized dance knowledge. It challenges the traditional hierarchical transmission of cultural practices by allowing a broader audience to engage with, interpret, and potentially contribute to the evolution of the dance form. The methodology employed in this platform could be adapted to other dance traditions or cultural contexts. By breaking down complex cultural practices into their fundamental elements and providing tools for exploration and creation, this model could serve as a template for preserving and evolving various forms of intangible cultural heritage.

Between Human Body and Cultural Body

The history of Mae Bot Yai highlights the multimodal nature of dance transmission. This process has involved transitions between various media: from paintings to embodied knowledge of dance masters, from dance masters to performers' bodies, from live performances to photographic captures, and from photographs back to codified movements for new performers. This chain of transmission represents a continuous dialogue between the human body (individual performers) and the cultural body (the collective embodiment of the dance tradition).

The Open Dance Lab platform adds a new layer to this exchange by introducing algorithmic interpretations and generations. The platform should emphasize this multimodality, using digital technology not as an end in itself, but as a facilitator of exchange between different modes of embodiment and representation. By incorporating algorithmic elements, we introduce a new form of "body" into this dialogue—one that can interpret, generate, and interact with traditional dance knowledge in novel ways. This system should encourage self-reflection among users, prompting questions such as: Why do we preserve this knowledge across different media? What is the significance of dance in human culture? What are the implications of humans and algorithms dancing together? These questions can lead to deeper engagement with the dance tradition and its cultural significance, as well as critical consideration of the role of technology in cultural preservation and evolution.

Balancing Preservation and Participation

The educational component of the Open Dance Lab, particularly elements like encouraging users to generate new choreography and share it on platforms like TikTok, challenges traditional centralized approaches to cultural knowledge. This democratization of cultural production raises important questions about the balance between accessibility and preservation of cultural essence. Can making culture more accessible and enjoyable compromise its sacredness or essence? How do we balance the need for preservation with the desire for wider participation?

Resolving this tension requires careful consideration. Potential strategies could include establishing clear guidelines for respectful engagement with traditional forms, providing contextual information to help users understand the cultural significance of the dance elements they're working with, creating spaces for dialogue between traditional practitioners and new participants, and developing mechanisms for community feedback and moderation of user-generated content. This prototype could serve as a basis for developing guidelines on when experimental preservation is appropriate and when it might cross ethical or cultural boundaries. Factors to consider could include the cultural sensitivity of the specific elements being digitized and manipulated, the level of community involvement and consent in the digitization process, the potential impact on traditional practitioners and their livelihoods, and the educational value and potential for cultural appreciation versus the risk of misappropriation.

By carefully navigating these considerations, we can work towards a model of digital cultural preservation that respects tradition while fostering innovation and broader engagement. This approach not only preserves cultural heritage but also ensures its relevance and vitality in the digital age, potentially creating new avenues for cultural expression and understanding.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Open Dance Lab platform demonstrates a novel approach to preserving and evolving intangible cultural heritage through digital means. By integrating traditional Thai dance knowledge with interactive technologies, the platform creates a dynamic space for examining, experimenting with, and evolving cultural practices. The three-stage model of examining, experimenting, and evolving, embodied in the Mae Bot Yai Library, Six Elements, and Cyber Subin components, offers a comprehensive framework for engaging with cultural heritage in the digital age.

This approach challenges conventional notions of digital preservation by transforming static archives into interactive spaces for cultural innovation. By democratizing access to specialized dance knowledge and providing tools for creative exploration, Open Dance Lab fosters a more inclusive and participatory approach to cultural heritage. The platform not only preserves traditional forms but also encourages their evolution, reflecting the dynamic nature of culture itself.
The project raises important questions about the balance between preservation and innovation, the role of technology in cultural transmission, and the potential for digital platforms to bridge past traditions with contemporary practices. While limitations exist, such as the need for real-world testing and mechanisms for preserving user-generated content, the Open Dance Lab provides a promising model for future digital heritage initiatives.

As we move forward, this research opens up new avenues for exploring how digital technologies can support the preservation, appreciation, and evolution of diverse cultural practices. By embracing both tradition and innovation, platforms like Open Dance Lab can play a crucial role in ensuring that cultural heritage remains vibrant, relevant, and accessible in our increasingly digital world.