StarQuest: a Performance-Lecture by Maya Man

StarQuest is a generative, software-based body of work 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.

The program will be introduced with a screening of the artist’s generative work StarQuest. The performance-lecture integrates Man’s 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. The performance will be followed by a conversation between the artist and curators Laura Herman and Micol Ap.

Doors open from 11.00 with a screening. The performance-lecture will start at 12.00.

Part of the V&A’s Digital Art Season: On Agency which runs until 3 December 2026, exploring the fluid boundaries between human and machine agency.

Written and performed by Maya Man

Directed by Mackenzie Davenport