Humans view robots as everything from personal assistants to harbingers of doom, but choreographer Thomas Freundlich sees them as graceful dancers. His latest show — called Human Interface — kicked off this week in Helsinki, and involves a pair of humans dancing alongside two ABB industrial robots. The robots' moves are pre-programmed, and the performance uses new technology to ensure that the humans are safe interacting with their mechanical partners. Freundlich is attracted to the robots because their movement is "superhumanly precise yet also surprisingly lifelike" — in fact, in 2008 he danced alongside an industrial robot himself in a performance called Actuator. Human Interface made its debut yesterday and will be running on Helsinki's Pannuhalli stage until the end of the month.

Thanks Stefan!