Encoded has been described as an immersive aerial dance performance that uses the latest interactive technologies to build a projected digital environment that responds to the movements of the performers. 

“For Encoded I started out asking what happens if we mask space and architecture?” David Clarkson, artistic director and director of Encoded, said.

“This led me to explore notions of the cultural perceptions of space – how our identity in the world around us has changed: from the renaissance, to the industrial revolution and forwards into the creation of virtual space.  

“What are we humans doing with space –  and what is space doing to us. And up until now I have worked for most of my career with a reasonably minimalistic approach to technology.

“I thought it was time to give that a shakeup.”  

And shake it up he has.

Visually stunning, Encoded creates a world of shimmering images that dissolve and reform as the performers sweep across the space.

The show explores how digitised space alters our perceptions of physical space, and how digital media change our relationship with the body.

“I think there will be a certain wow factor with the technology,” Clarkson said.

“But the thing I would hope to give the audience is the creation of a space where technology and the human – the spectacle and the intimate – can somehow marry to give perspective on our place in the world.”

Encoded was first performed at Carriageworks in Sydney in November 2012.

It has enjoyed subsequent  seasons in Korea, The Netherlands in 2013 and Hong Kong in 2015.

It will show at Newcastle Civic Theatre on Thursday, August 11 at 8pm.

Tickets, available from Ticketek, cost $48 for adults, $38 for a season subscribers, $40 for concessions and $35 for youths (15-21).

The Examiner has one double pass to give away to the show.

To win, send your name and daytime contact number in an email titled “Encoded” to ewatts@fairfaxmedia.com.au.

The winner will be notified by 5pm on Tuesday, August 9.