An April 10, 2026 article by Mark Lobel and Liv McMahon for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) highlights a remarkable dance performance,
A ballerina with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) says she was able to dance again after her brainwaves were used to power an avatar live on-stage in Amsterdam.
Breanna Olson, a mother of three, found out two and a half years ago she had ALS, the most common form of motor neurone disease (MND) and which, with no known cure, weakens muscles and over time affects speech, swallowing and breathing.
However, using sensors to measure the electrical activity transmitted from her brain, her motor signals could be converted into an digital avatar.
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Breanna lives in Tacoma, Washington state, in the US and has trained in ballet, contemporary, and jazz dance since childhood.
MND affects nerves in the brain and spinal cord, controlling muscle movement. As these weaken and stiffen over time it can affect walking, talking, eating and breathing.
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The performance, held at the OBA Theatre in Amsterdam in December [2025], was described at the time as the “first of its kind”.
It saw Breanna use an electroencephalogram (or EEG) headset, developed by Japanese tech firm Dentsu Lab in collaboration with data company NTT, to capture her brain activity and specific motor signals associated with imagining certain dance movements.
A brainwave interface translating these signals into computer instructions then allowed her to convey which of these movements she wanted her mixed-reality avatar to dance in real-time.
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Breanna told the BBC she got to know the “unique” but “quite challenging” technology during the project.
“You have to isolate your muscles and the noise around you… and really focus inward,” she said.
But despite its challenges, Breanna said the experience had helped re-establish a sense of expression and connection eroded by her condition.
“This is a new way of expression,” she said. “To be able to move in a new way and a different way is just freeing.”
The project, called Waves of Will, is part of a wider initiative which aims to explore how innovation and technology can help restore personal expression, identity and participation for those living with motor-degenerative diseases such as ALS.
“There are many brainwave technologies and research all over the world, but most of them are very expensive and not accessible to everyone,” Dentsu Lab chief creative officer Naoki Tanaka told the BBC.
“This is exactly why we started Waves of Will – to make a new brainwave interface.”
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The BBC’s April 10, 2026 article includes an embedded video and more images. For the curious, here’s more about the company and research that made the performance possible.
NTT, Dentsu Lab Tokyo, ALS, and Waves of Will
NTT was originally known as Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation. These days its a “leading global technology company providing services to consumers and business as a mobile operator, infrastructure, networks, applications, and consulting provider” according to a June 14th, 2023 NTT press release (PDF). Here’s more from the press release,
Initiatives to Enrich Communication for ALS Symbionts
To create a world where people with ALS can freely move, express themselves and
interact with othersNTT Corporation (NTT), in cooperation with WITH ALS and Dentsu Lab
Tokyo, through research and development, aims to realize a world where people living with
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)[1] can be freed from physical limitations caused by ALS
progression, and communicate with others freely.
- Background and Purpose
“Communication is the most important thing.” These are the words of people living with ALS. As
ALS progresses, cognition remains normal, and muscle strength throughout the body gradually
loses function. It is said that by putting on a respirator, you can live your life to the full term, but on
the other hand, by tracheostomy surgery to put on a respirator, you lose your voice. The choices
made to keep living can also lead to loss of speech.
Because of the loss of the means of communication through spoken language and physical
expression, many people fear disconnection from society and lose hope of living. Globally, more
than 90% of ALS patients refuse to wear a ventilator.
NTT is promoting Project Humanity, which aims to solve problems by focusing on people, not only
those with diseases and disabilities, but also those who support them. This initiative, as part of
Project Humanity, aims to change the current situation surrounding ALS for people living with ALS
through the implementation of our communication technology.- Past Initiatives
Advances in speech synthesis technology have made it possible to record the voice of a person
and realize synthetic speech with a voice that is unique to the person. However, as ALS symptoms develops, people often have difficulty speaking when they decide to record their voice. In addition, current speech synthesis technology requires the voices to be recorded in a proper recording environment, and it is a significant burden to obtain voice recordings. For this reason, there is currently a huge barrier for people living with ALS to use their own synthetic voice.
A year ago, we succeeded in reproducing a person’s voice using speech synthesis technology from the audio of a few minutes of recorded video. This technology enables communication in multiple languages with the voice of the individual. Last year, we partnered with WITH ALS and Dentsu Lab Tokyo to use this technology on the Cannes Lions stage. A Japanese ALS symbiont who cannot speak has experienced dialogue and musical performance in English with his own tone of voice. And this year, we succeeded in creating synthetic voices of multiple ALS symbionts from even fewer recordings and recordings of a few seconds. Even if you are not able to speak now, you can still create a synthetic voice if you have the audio recording of your voice before you lost your voice. The synthesized audio created with this technology will be used in a live music performance at the ALS Awareness Music Festival “MOVE FES.” hosted by WITH ALS on June 18 [2023], in conjunction with World ALS Day on June 21 [2023].- Future Initiatives
In the future, we plan to expand nonverbal expressions so that people living with ALS can
communicate more freely. First, we will further develop the motor-skill-transfer technology based
on NTT’s biometric information and work on the following.
Free manipulation of avatars by ALS symbionts in metaverse space
Reproduce ALS symbiont’s motion in real space
In the operation of the avatar (Figure 1), the body is equipped with a myoelectric sensor that
acquires biological information, and the biological information obtained by the minute muscular
activity of the body is converted into operational input, thereby realizing to operate the avatar freely.
Dentsu Lab Tokyo is responsible for creating rich expressions. In the reproduction exercise (Figure 2), the muscles are controlled by presenting electrical muscle stimulation to the body to achieve the reproduction of intended motion.
Regarding avatar representation, we will use body motion generation technology to realize the nonverbal representation of the ALS symbiont as well as the speech of synthetic speech. Body motion generation technology automatically generates the corresponding motion of a person’s speech by using a motion generation model constructed from the characteristics of speech and motion data collected at that time.
…About WITH ALS
Founded in 2016 by Masatane Muto, who is facing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The mission of WITH ALS General Incorporated Association is to raise awareness of the disease and promote advocacy in search of new treatments and support systems.It also develops action plans and provides information to build hope and enhance the quality of life
of those with the disease and their families. https://withals.com/About Dentsu Lab Tokyo
Dentsu Lab Tokyo is a creative R&D organization that combines research, planning, and
development. Under the philosophy of “PLAYFUL SOLUTION” and “Be Irregular”, we use digital
technology and ideas to develop expressions that move people’s minds and solve social issues
that the world demands today. https://dentsulab.tokyo/…
In 2024 Dentsu Lab had two projects voted as finalists for the South by Southwest (SXWS)’s innovation awards. (You can read more about the projects here.)
Getting back to Waves of Will, a December 17, 2025 news item on the Little Black Book provides a little more information about the performance and the company’s hopes and dreams, Note: A link has been removed,
Dentsu Lab, in collaboration with long-term client partner NTT, Inc., has unveiled ‘Waves of Will’, a live dance performance that demonstrates how meaningful application of technology and advanced R&D can translate into emotional storytelling and an intimately human experience.
In this unique performance, professional dancer Breanna Olson, who lives with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), performs through a mixed reality avatar using a brainwave interface that allows her to express her will. Using an EEG-based system, Breanna’s brain activity is captured and analysed to detect specific learned motor signals that allows her to select from predefined movement options. Rather than responding to passive stimuli, the interface enables Breanna to actively convey her will.
Breanna used this system in pre-production to help shape the artistic direction of the piece, and during the performance itself, to select the movements that the virtual dancer would execute.
The performance unfolds in three acts: in the first act, Olson performs through her will, using the brainwave interface to trigger predefined movements of the avatar.
In the second act, she is joined by her brother Casey Herd, a former principal dancer and Breanna’s dance partner since childhood. And finally, in the third act, other dancers will join the duo, creating a graceful and emotionally resonant performance together.
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‘Waves of Will’ is the latest chapter in Project Humanity and All Players Welcome, the long-term collaboration between Dentsu Lab and NTT, Inc. exploring the use of technology to create a more inclusive world. In the previous chapter, Japanese EYE VDJ “MASA” Muto, who lives with ALS, transformed bio-signals into live music and “dance.” This project garnered international recognition at Cannes Lions, SXSW and the Japan Media Arts Festival, redefining the relationship between creativity and technology. Now, with ‘Waves of Will’, the partnership reaches its most ambitious expression yet, demonstrating how Dentsu Lab partners with clients like NTT to translate technological capability into cultural and societal impact.
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“This is what Innovating to Impact looks like in action,” said Naoki Tanaka, chief creative officer, Dentsu Lab. “Together with NTT, we’ve transformed cutting-edge R&D into an experience that moves people. It’s proof that when creativity and technology meet, innovation drives both cultural relevance and measurable client impact. For us, it’s not about ideas that stay in the lab, but about helping brands bring meaningful, world-first experiences to life.”
“Our partnership with Dentsu Lab has shown what’s possible when innovation meets purpose,” said Mariko Nakamura, senior research engineer at NTT, Inc. “Through Project Humanity and All Players Welcome, most recently with ‘Waves of Will’, we don’t just demonstrate our technology; we are changing how people see NTT and showing the impact we can make among global communities and cultures.”
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Founded in Tokyo over a decade ago as one of the first creative R&D labs of its kind, Dentsu Lab has evolved into a global innovation network exploring how technology, design, and human insight can create lasting impact. Today, the Lab operates across London, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Its work applies the rigour of research and development to creativity, rapidly prototyping and testing ideas that bridge culture and commerce. Open by design, Dentsu Lab collaborates with clients, creatives, technologists, artists, and academic partners to translate complex innovation into emotionally resonant experiences. The collaboration with NTT on ‘Waves of Will’ exemplifies this mission: proving that creativity and technology, when united, can move both people, industries, and society forward.
There are more images and videos embedded in the December 17, 2025 news item.
You can watch the Waves of Will dance performance on Vimeo or on YouTube.
To dance, to make music
The Breanna Olson and dancing avatar story along with my April 2, 2026 posting “Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) and music composition” about a quadriplegic musician can serve as a launching pad tor some thinking about the future. First, comments by actor Timothée Chalamet provide more fodder for thought.
From a March 13, 2026 article by Gwyneth Egan for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) news online website,
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While talking to actor Matthew McConaughey about keeping movie theatres alive at a recent CNN and Variety town hall event, Chalamet said he doesn’t “want to be working in ballet or opera,” which he said “no one cares about” anymore.
Although he earned laughs from the live audience at the time, and added that he gives “all respect to the ballet and opera people out there,” his comments have since gone viral — and they’ve been met with swift backlash.
Critics of Chalamet — who’s Oscar-nominated for best actor this year for his leading role in Marty Supreme — have proven one thing to be true: people do care about the centuries-old art forms that endure in theatres and performance halls around the world.
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On the one hand, O’Donnell [Hannah O’Donnell, a Prince Edward Island-based opera singer] said she doesn’t want to bring more attention to Chalamet’s comments — but on the other, it’s been “awesome to laugh in the face of your haters.”
Chalamet’s name has been used as a discount code by ballet and opera companies, including the Seattle opera, which offered a 14 per cent discount — a nod to the “14 cents in viewership” Chalamet predicted his comments would cause him to lose.
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Egan’s March 13, 2026 article includes an embedded video and images.
Chalamet’s comments continue to provoke discussion most recently with actor Charlize Theron, from an April 20, 2026 posting “Timmy in Miami” by Lainey on Lainey Gossip
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In a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times published this weekend, Charlize reflects on her experience as a dancer earlier in her career and says that, “Dance is probably one of the hardest things I ever did. Dancers are superheroes. What they put their bodies through in complete silence.” At which point Timmy’s name comes up – and her response:
“Oh, boy, I hope I run into him one day. That was a very reckless comment on an art form, two art forms, that we need to lift up constantly because, yes, they do have a hard time. But in 10 years, A.I. is going to be able to do Timothée’s job, but it will not be able to replace a person on a stage dancing live [emphasis mine]. And we shouldn’t [expletive] on other art forms. Dance taught me discipline. It taught structure. It taught hard work. It taught me to be tough. It’s borderline abusive. There were several times that I had blood infections from blisters that just never healed. And you don’t get a day off. I’m literally talking about bleeding through your shoes. And that’s something that you have to practice every single day, the mind-set of just, you don’t give up, there’s no other option, you keep going.”
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The dancer’s avatar, the musician’s brain wave music (alternative rock), an actor’s careless comments about ballet and opera, and another actor’s assertion that AI will never replace a live dancer on stage; all of It’s enough to make you wonder what dance and music will be like in the future.
