A collision between choreography and robotics, FIRST KISS conjures unimaginable realities to express our ever-evolving existence within an accelerating, technological world. Two robotic arms skinned in black fabric and human faces perform a looped dance sequence culminating in a gentle kiss. This uncanny fiction offers audiences a space to reflect on their relationship with technology, in an era where human encounters are increasingly mediated by digital platforms and tools that complicate experiences of intimacy.

This work was developed as part of an interdisciplinary research project between renowned choreographer Melanie Lane and the University of Canberra robotics lab under the auspices of Dr Damith Herath. ‘FIRST KISS’ emerged through a pilot artist residency program facilitated by Dr Denise Thwaites (UC Faculty of Arts and Design) and Dr Vahri McKenzie (WAAPA, Edith Cowan University), supported by the ACT Government’s Creative Recovery and Resilience Program (2021-22). This collaboration generates new understandings for both arts and robotics, investigating the dynamics of non-verbal communication and the post-human body.

Melanie Lane is an Australian/Javanese choreographer and performer. She has collaborated with artists from film, visual art, theatre and music, creating works that tread between performative forms and contexts. Her independent work has been presented at international festivals and theatres in Europe. USA, Indonesia and Australia.

University of Canberra (UC) Associate Professor, Dr Damith Herath, leads multidisciplinary robotic research projects and is the co-and founding chair of the International Workshop on Robotics & Art.
University of Canberra (UC) Assistant Professor in Digital Arts, Dr Denise Thwaites, is a writer, curator and core member of the Centre for Creative and Cultural Research in the Faculty of Arts and Design.
Vahri McKenzie s an educator, artist and scholar whose work frames creative engagement as a model of, and practice for, ways of being together in a complex world. Over 2021-22, Vahri was Research Fellow in Arts and Health within the Centre for Creative and Cultural Research at University of Canberra.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body, as well as the ACT Government’s Creative Recovery and Resilience Program.