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Google will show live orchestra, opera, and theater performances in 360 degrees

Use your mouse to manipulate a 360-degree video that allows you to see them from many angles as they perform Benjamin Millepied’s “Clear, Loud, Bright, Forward”.

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You can sit back and watch the performers around you while moving the camera around its axis, or switch between cameras for different perspectives.

In a sign that 360-degree video and virtual reality might be taking off, Google’s Cultural Institute added 360-degree videos of ballet, opera and orchestral performances to its collection of more than 6 million culturally significant artifacts on Tuesday. Plus, those with Google Cardboard headsets can enjoy the arts as though it were a VR experience.

Those who love seeing an opera or ballet know how expensive it can be to get a seat with a ideal view. The platform, accessible at g.co/performingarts, has collaborated with theatres including London’s Carnegie Hall and the Berliner Philharmonie. “With 360-degree performance recordings, you can choose a dancer’s-eye view of the crowd, or look down from the stage into the orchestra pit”. Whether your interest is theatre, music, opera, dance, or performance art Google has you covered, and you go head to The Cultural Institute page to see more of the performances you can see.

Google Cultural Institute Director Amit Sood stated: “What I’m hoping is that [cultural institutions] will realize that there’s much more to being on the Internet than just capturing a video and uploading it to YouTube”.

“For the first time we have reunited them all in one unique virtual space”.

The project, titled “Step on Stage with the Performing Arts”, exhibits a series of trial implementations of the new technology.

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Thanks to a Google Cultural Institute partnership with 60 performing arts organizations from around the world, you can now watch performances such as Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9” performed by the Berlin Philharmonic in 360-degree high-definition video for free, right in the comfort of your living room (or even at your desk).

Google Cultural Institute Puts Us All Onstage