PLAY SHIFT – Royal Ballet and Opera, London, UK

Sunday 07 June, 2026
2:00 to 5:00 pm GMT
Royal Ballet and Opera
Bow St, London WC2E 9DD (map)

Meet the AI creators and see what they have been working on during CCL at Royal Ballet and Opera co-facilitated by Motion Bank and AΦE/A+E Lab!

The Choreographic Coding Lab (CCL) at Royal Ballet and Opera is an open, interdisciplinary research laboratory integrating the elements of 'opera' and its diverse creative practices. CCL gathers to discuss and develop projects, ideas, and questions in a peer-to-peer setting, while being embedded within various departments of the Royal Ballet and Opera.

The CCL format brings together people working creatively at the intersection of performing arts and emergent technologies by creating a space where computational and choreographic thinking can connect and interact. It fosters broad interdisciplinary collaboration and allows participants to develop an expanded understanding of choreography as a powerful relational and embodied framework that facilitates alternative modes of engaging with technology beyond the usual space of common digital 'best practice.' Participants have unique access to one of the world's leading cultural institutions, engaging with everything from costumes and archives to technical production.

This CCL will be facilitated by Anton Koch (Motion Bank), Marlon Barrios Solano (University of Florida), Daniel Bisig (Zurich University of the Arts), and AΦE/A+E Lab.

CCL result will be shared at PLAY SHIFT. There will be guided tour of CCL participants' results of the week, inspiring talks, and lecture performance.

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About SHIFT Festival

The Royal Opera’s Associate Director Netia Jones curates a four-day festival exploring the shifting boundary between opera and technology. The focus for the first festival is the ever-growing world of artificial intelligence. What can AI offer creatives? And what can creatives offer the world in the age of AI?

Events for this inaugural festival include four EARLY SHIFT/LATE SHIFT sessions featuring performances and presentations from a diverse range of practitioners, the SHIFT EXCHANGE, a day of conversation with leading AI thinkers, and PLAY SHIFT, a relaxed day for all that encourages immersion and interaction. Alongside the four festival days, the Linbury Foyer will be open daily and free to the public and will feature exciting exhibitions and displays offering further interactive exploration.

Featured artists include legendary American experimental composer and improvisor George E. Lewis with soprano Juliet Fraser, Alexander Whitley Dance Company, vocal artist and AI innovator Harry Yeff (Reeps100) with soprano Patricia Auchterlonie, experimental composer Jennifer Walshe with vocal ensemble EXAUDI and AI sound artists Dadabots, composer Paola Prestini, AI sound artist and research scientist Yaboi Hanoi and transdisciplinary artist Stephanie Dinkins and many more.