Marion Cossin is a research engineer at HUPR, the Research Center for Human Potential in Montreal. She holds a PhD in biomedical engineering from Université de Montréal and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Polytechnique Montréal. Her research focuses on the design of new circus equipment, the integration of digital technologies and performance enhancement in the performing arts.

The performing arts have existed through and for connections: between artists and audiences, bodies and spaces, movement and meaning. Performing arts are an intricate dialogue between artifact, actor, and spectator. This essential connection is not a matter of choice but the very condition of artistic existence.
In a context where digital technologies are increasingly present, they are not opposed to performing arts but rather one of its many possibilities. Performance incorporates sound, gestures, objects, space, and text, and it can now integrate digital tools to expand its means of expression. Rather than replacing artists, technology adds layers to creative possibilities—whether in terms of materials, imagination, or storytelling. The challenge is not whether technology threatens the performing arts but how it can enhance embodiment, emotions, and collective experiences. Where do humans stand today in an increasingly digital world? How do spectators, artists, and techno-creatives navigate this expanded field of connection, in which the digital forms new artistic possibilities?