What if you could dance with an AI that’s learned from 25 years of professional choreography? That’s exactly what Google Arts & Culture created with AISOMA and honestly it’s one of the most interesting uses of artificial intelligence I’ve seen lately.
Unlike the usual AI tools that write emails or create images. AISOMA does something totally different. It watches you dance and then teaches you new moves based on a famous choreographer’s entire career archive. Yeah you read that right the AI actually responds to how you move.
What Is AISOMA?
AISOMA came from a partnership between Google Arts & Culture Lab and Wayne McGregor. Who’s basically a legend in contemporary dance. The name mixes “AI” with “soma” (Greek for body), which makes perfect sense once you try it.
The whole thing works like this: you dance for a few seconds in front of your webcam. The AI studies what you just did and throws back a suggestion for your next move, all inspired by McGregor’s choreographic style. Then you try that move and the AI responds with another one. It’s like having a back-and-forth conversation. Except you’re using your body instead of words.
How They Built It
McGregor’s been choreographing for 25 years and his team archived everything over 4 million different poses and movements. Google’s AI learned from all of that. So when you move in front of your camera, the system isn’t just randomly generating choreography. It’s drawing from decades of real creative work.
The pose detection happens through your webcam. The AI figures out what your body’s doing matches it against patterns it learned from McGregor’s archive and creates something new. It’s not copying old dances it’s making fresh combinations that still feel true to McGregor’s distinctive style.
From Private Tool to Public Experiment
Here’s what I find really cool about AISOMA’s history. Google built this back in 2019, but only McGregor and his professional dancers could use it. For six years it stayed inside his studio as a creative tool that helped professional dancers explore new movement ideas.
Dancers would perform something, check what AISOMA suggested, then reinterpret that suggestion in their own way. McGregor found it super valuable for breaking creative blocks and pushing his company in unexpected directions.
Then in 2025, Google updated everything for McGregor’s Infinite Bodies exhibition in London and opened it up to everyone. Now anybody can mess around with the same tool that professional dancers have been using for years. That’s a pretty big deal.
Actually Using the Thing
You don’t need any fancy equipment or dance training. Just go to the AISOMA website and let it access your camera.
Move however you want. Dance, jump, wave your arms, whatever feels right. The AI watches and analyzes your movement in real-time.
Within seconds, you’ll see a visual representation of new choreography on your screen. It shows you the movements the AI is suggesting based on what you just did. Try performing what it showed you don’t worry about getting it perfect. Your interpretation becomes the next input.
That’s where it gets interesting. Your version of the AI’s suggestion generates another suggestion. Which you interpret again and the cycle continues. You’re basically co-creating with a machine that’s learned from one of the world’s best choreographers.
Why This Actually Matters
Most AI discussions focus on whether machines will replace creative jobs. AISOMA flips that script entirely. It’s designed to enhance human creativity, not substitute for it.
Think about the typical AI tools people use daily. They complete tasks for you—write your emails, summarize documents and generate marketing copy. AISOMA doesn’t work for you; it works with you. There’s a massive difference there.
Plus, it makes professional-level choreographic knowledge accessible to regular people. Before AISOMA, learning from Wayne McGregor meant expensive workshops or getting into elite dance programs. Now? Anyone with internet access can engage with his creative approach from their bedroom.
There’s something else worth mentioning. McGregor’s archive isn’t just sitting in storage somewhere. It’s active and interactive, constantly participating in new creative work with people all over the world. That’s a fascinating way to think about preserving artistic legacy.
Who Can Actually Use This?
Don’t assume this is only for trained dancers. I’ve seen all kinds of people get value from AISOMA.
Fitness people use it to discover new movement patterns for their routines. Dance students explore concepts they’d never encounter in regular classes. Teachers demonstrate how technology and art can intersect in unexpected ways. Some folks who’ve never danced a day in their lives try it just for fun and end up hooked.
There’s zero barrier to entry. No subscription fee, no software download, no prerequisites. You just need a webcam and enough curiosity to give it a shot.
Where Creative AI Is Headed
AISOMA shows us something important about AI’s future in creative fields. These tools work best when they collaborate with humans rather than trying to replace them.
The most exciting applications aren’t about automation. They’re about expansion helping us break our usual patterns, suggesting directions we wouldn’t think of ourselves and making specialized knowledge more accessible.
Google proved that AI’s creative potential goes way beyond text and image generation. Physical movement and dance are now part of the equation. Which opens up tons of possibilities we’re only starting to explore.
If you’re curious, head over to Google Arts & Culture and search for AISOMA. Give it a try. Worst case scenario, you’ll spend five minutes dancing awkwardly in front of your laptop. Best case? You might discover a whole new way to think about creativity and movement.
