Alexander Whitley Dance Company (AWDC) is a business transitioning from a traditional touring arts company to one bridging design thinking, dance entrepreneurship, and digital transformation. Diversifying their activities as a Digital Creative Studio, AWDC will leverage its industry-leading experience in dance innovation to develop long-lasting and sustainable growth strategies. The specific growth opportunity for AWDC lies in the blossoming of modes of engagement with digital performance; starting in 2010 with the hacking of the Microsoft Kinect motion tracking system, and accelerated during pandemic lockdowns when many practitioners experimented with alternate, virtual forms of dance practice. AWDC, with a track-record and USP of digital motion-capture dance innovation since 2014, and with strong cross-sector sustained research and development relationships, is uniquely poised to take advantage of the burgeoning new market. AWDC is aiming to address this growth opportunity through a tangible software innovation -- a unique, user-friendly and accessible tool for users to be creative with their own motion capture content, enabling non-specialists to input, position, modify, sequence, and then share recordings of their own captured movement in a 3D virtual environment. Unlike other game engines and 3D software, Otmo boasts user-friendly sequencing and timeline features, empowering both professional and amateur users to visualise and sequence their own complex movement patterns with ease. Otmo is a transformative software-as-service platform revolutionising the landscape of movement creativity. Otmo is a pioneering software platform for movement creation, serving as an entry point for individuals exploring the intersection of movement and digital creativity, increasing the productivity of time spent in the physical dance studio. Founded in real choreographic expertise, Otmo offers a multifaceted tool for choreographers and movement directors to pre-visualise expansive concepts, fostering better outcomes and greater efficiency in studio-based work. While we currently have a functional system for importing characters, our project goal is to refine this to accommodate the integration of various file types seamlessly, with a sophisticated in-built system for live and effortless use without the need for manual character-rigging or intermediary software. This will offer non-technical users a one-stop-shop for digital dance creation, with their own movement, and on their own terms. Rooted in its relationship with the dance sector, Otmo represents the interests of a wide community in its ambition to drive growth and development, and celebrate movement. AWDC's 5-year strategy is for the platform to evolve, expanding to enable a broader creative activities, and democratising access to digital innovation.

The Digital Dance Studio (DDS) is a cutting-edge digital platform that will empower stage and screen professionals to create, visualise, and share digital choreography. This innovative platform provides a comprehensive suite of tools for choreographers, dancers, and anyone interested in exploring movement in a digital or virtual context. Creative Catalyst funding will allow AWDC to develop and refine a production-ready tool that will support choreographic composition, planning and teaching, and deliver high-end digital performance assets. With an easy to use, collaborative interface, users of the DDS will be able to harness the power of digital technology to bring their creative vision to life, from the initial concept to the final performance, saving considerable time and money on studio and personnel hire.