ICAT Playdate — Misregistration

Inspired by artwork in the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection, Misregistration is a multimedia dance performance by artist Janet Biggs, dancer/choreographer Davian Robinson, spatial audio engineer Tanner Upthegrove, and mathematicians Agnieszka Międlar and Paul Cazeaux that reimagines choreography through an inclusive lens. Featuring dancers Davian Robinson, Vinson Fraley, Joanna Kotze (Bechtler performance), Julia Basso (ICAT performances), composer/violinist Charles Nichols, and composer William Carter Roberts III. Exploring alternative modes of communication—including touch, sound, and echolocation—the work highlights the unique strengths and abilities of the performers. Layering spatial sound with choreographic movement and improvisations, this sensorium-driven performance amplifies personal stories, transforms visual artworks into sound, and advocates for future inclusion of the disabled in promoting innovative research and understanding. Moiré Fringe, composed and performed by Charles Nichols, premiered as part of the May 2025 performances in Blacksburg. Misregistration also manifests as art installation with three works from the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection in a new sensory perspective. The Acrobat by Pablo Picasso, White by Maja Godlewska, and The Garden by Barbara Hepworth are represented aurally and visually.  As a part of the installation, Misregistration premieres a multi-sensory artists’ book featuring augmented reality (AR) experiences created in collaboration with Ethan Candelario and 3D printed pages in collaboration with Atlas Vernier exploring parallels between vision impairment and mathematical encoding with Singular Value Decomposition. Finally, Misregistration hosted several Sensory Beyond Sight workshops led by Davian Robinson, which fosters a deeper understanding of body awareness through the elimination of sight.