Wayne McGregor’s New Somerset House Exhibition Explores Dance, Technology, and the Human Body
Summarizing British choreographer Sir Wayne McGregor’s artistic interests is no easy feat. For more than 30 years, he’s created works exploring everything from the literature of Virginia Woolf to cognitive neuroscience—even sequencing his own genetic code to inform his choreography—frequently collaborating with experts across disciplines and embracing cutting-edge technology.
From October 30 to February 22, a new exhibition titled “Infinite Bodies” at London’s Somerset House will attempt to capture the breadth and complexity of McGregor’s practice. Rather than presenting a conventional display of set designs, costumes, or playbills, the exhibition will showcase environmental installations, kinetic works, and never-before-seen experiments. These, according to a press release, aim to “reveal the extraordinary potential of the human body in an age of rapidly advancing technology”—a central theme throughout McGregor’s oeuvre.
Highlights will include a choreographic light installation, created with acclaimed art collective and longtime McGregor collaborators Random International, that will feature 10,000 LEDs that respond to audience movement, forming a living sculpture. Visitors will also have the chance to try AISOMA, an AI tool developed with Google Arts & Culture Lab, trained on McGregor’s movement vocabulary and used by his company to generate original choreography.
On The Other Earth, McGregor’s brand-new 360-degree immersive and cinematic experience, will also make its UK debut as part of the exhibition, presented offsite at Stone Nest, in London’s West End. Recently premiered at the Venice Dance Biennale—where McGregor has served as director since 2021—the piece invites audiences to don VR glasses and watch dancers from Studio Wayne McGregor and Hong Kong Ballet perform his signature languid, limb-contorting choreography atop helipads and within black voids. Hands and particles burst from the screen toward the viewer, creating the feeling of being propelled through space, even while standing still.
Conversations around “Infinite Bodies,” a key event in Somerset House’s 25th birthday celebrations, began in 2023. “As a cross-disciplinary cultural center, we’re interested in celebrating and working with the best creative practitioners of our times,” says director of exhibitions Dr. Cliff Lauson.
Company Wayne McGregor will be in residence at the gallery for the duration of the exhibition, with dancers activating the installations through live performances. Lauson also promises “vibrant public programming,” including music, workshops, and talks. Audiences themselves should also expect to take to the figurative stage too. “It will be a very sensory experience,” Lauson adds, noting that the exhibition will reverse the traditional performer–spectator dynamic and “choreograph the movements of the visitor through the galleries.”
Dance-focused exhibitions—such as last season’s “Edges of Ailey” retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art—have gained visibility in recent years, yet remain relatively uncommon. “It is a rare and thrilling opportunity for a choreographic artist’s work to be experienced in an exhibition context, where time spent with each creative expression can be longer and less transient than on stage,” McGregor said in a press statement. “Infinite Bodies invites visitors to explore the power of movement through dance, design, and technology—and to experience choreography beyond the stage.”
