Dr Lisa May Thomas is a dance artist and researcher working at the intersection of performance and technology whose immersive film and performance work has been experienced by audiences around the world. Lisa is a resident at the Pervasive Media Studio in Bristol, Studio Wayne McGregor QuestLab Network Artist, and a member of the Institute of Somatic Communication with Nita Little. Her practice-as-research PhD at the University of Bristol investigated the role of digital technologies in performance, combining dance-somatic and improvisation practices with multi-person VR technology. She directed VR participatory performance work Soma, alongside which she curated In-Body, an online resource of body-technology practices. She is developing new work on body image and avatar development, and has just launched immersive participatory binaural sound experience Unlocking Touch in collaboration with UCL’s Digital InTouch Lab. She has presented her work at numerous academic events, most recently a Panel on children, VR & embodiment for ‘Bodies, Movement and AI in VR’ at Goldsmiths University (2021), Dare’s ‘Somatic Practices and Chronic Pain’ research network at Coventry University (2020) and the Sentient Performativities Symposium at Dartington Hall (2022).
