Le corps est l’élément qui s’impose pour aborder l'oeuvre de Valère Novarina. Certes, l’auteur traite d'autres thèmes (politique, télévision, etc.) mais le corps reste sa préoccupation centrale. L’approche du corps novarinien semble s’inscrire dans des traditions qu’on peut faire remonter à l’antiquité et qu’on peut aussi la rattacher à une certaine modernité (Jarry, Artaud, etc). Valère Novarina met en avant des notions originales. Une animalité présentée de façon positive, la pantinitude de l’acteur et la sainteté paradoxale de Louis de Funès. Le corps bizarre et étranger est très présent dans son oeuvre : un corps surhumain et très humain en même temps. Le côté mystique du corps novarinien nous renvoie à la Bible et aux Ecritures Saintes : il redessine les figures de l’histoire biblique (Adam, Job, Moïse) et la vie de Jésus depuis sa naissance jusqu’à sa résurrection d’une manière très originale. Nous sommes là devant un sujet délicat qui fait débat et qui concerne chacun de nous : la dualité entre le corps et l’âme. Les réflexions sur la finalité du corps novarinien nous ont conduits à découvrir une certaine spécificité du corps de l’acteur : importance du vide, corps-offrande et parenté entre la scène et le sacré. / Body appeared as a crucial element in any approach of Valère Novarina’s work. Certainly, the author is interessed by many other themes –politics, television,etc…– however body remains his central preoccupation. Novarian vision of the body,seems to belong to a traditional perception of it – coming from Antiquity– which could also be linked to a certain modernity –Jarry, Artaud, etc. Valère Novarina highlights creative/ original notions. An animality illustrated through a positive way,the « pantinitude » of the actor and the paradoxical saintliness of Louis de Funès.The strange and unfamiliar body is strongly present in his work : a super human body and at the same time a really human one. The mystical aspect of the Novarian body indicates references to Bible and Holly Scriptures : he draws again historical figures of the Bible (Adam, Job, Moses) and the life of Jesus, from his birth to his ressurrection, through a highly original style/ way. We are here in front of a delicate topic, subject to debate and which concernes each of us : the duality between body and soul. Reflexions on the finality of the Novarian body lead us to discover a certain specificity of the actor body : importance of a vacuum/emptiness, body offerring andkinship/ relationship between scene and sacred.

This thesis is an investigation of the complex processes and relationships between the physical human performer and the technologically manufactured cyber-human counterpart. I acted as both researcher and the physical human performer, deeply engaged in the moment-to-moment creation of events unfolding within a shared virtual reality environment. As the primary instigator and activator of the cyber-human partner, I maintained a balance between the live and technological performance elements, prioritizing the production of content and meaning. By way of using practice as research, this thesis argues that in considering interactions between cyber-human and human performers, it is crucial to move beyond discussions of technology when considering interactions between cyber-humans and human performers to an analysis of emotional content, the powers of poetic imagery, the trust that is developed through sensory perception and the evocation of complex relationships. A theoretical model is constructed to describe the relationship between a cyber-human and a human performer in the five works created specifically for this thesis, which is not substantially different from that between human performers. Technological exploration allows for the observation and analysis of various relationships, furthering an expanded understanding of ‘movement as content’ beyond the electronic connection. Each of the works created for this research used new and innovative technologies, including virtual reality, multiple interactive systems, six generations of wearable computers, motion capture technology, high-end digital lighting projectors, various projection screens, smart electronically charged fabrics, multiple sensory sensitive devices and intelligent sensory charged alternative performance spaces. They were most often collaboratively created in order to augment all aspects of the performance and create the sense of community found in digital live dance performances/events. These works are identified as one continuous line of energy and discovery, each representing a slight variation on the premise that a working, caring, visceral and poetic content occurs beyond the technological tools. Consequently, a shift in the physical human’s psyche overwhelms the act of performance. Scholarship and reflection on the works have been integral to my creative process throughout. The goals of this thesis, the works created and the resulting methodologies are to investigate performance to heighten the multiple ways we experience and interact with the world. This maximizes connection and results in a highly interactive, improvisational, dynamic, non-linear, immediate, accessible, agential, reciprocal, emotional, visceral and transformative experience without boundaries between the virtual and physical for physical humans, cyborgs and cyber-humans alike.