Starquest
By Maya ManStarquest is a performance lecture by artist Maya Man, exploring her work by the same name.
StarQuest is a generative, software-based body of work made in collaboration with generative AI that dives into the high-stakes world of youth competitive dance. Inspired by Man’s own childhood as a competitive dancer, AI-generated dancers glide and spin across the screen in an ever-shifting sequence, pausing to share their anxieties in confessionals akin to the reality TV show Dance Moms. What emerges is an uneasy mix of sincerity and simulation. The performance-lecture, written and performed by the artist, integrates her generative work, online content, and choreography to consider the parallels between competition dance culture in America and today’s algorithmic ecosystem that encourages a quantifiable performance of self.
Description from Bitforms gallery
Written & performed by Maya Man
Directed by Mackenzie Davenport
Performed in New York City, November 2025 and May 2026.
Performed in Los Angeles, February 2026.
Performances supported by Triple Canopy, Feral File, Bitforms, The Berggruen Institute and Harvestworks.