--- title: Robot Dances WIth Choreographer Huang Yi in TED Video description: Choreographer Huang Yi and the robot he conceptualized, Kuka, perform a surprisingly graceful man-machine pas de deux. canonical: https://time.com/5028132/man-and-robot-dance-duet/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-31T22:00:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:48:52.039Z og:title: Watch a Man and Robot Dance a Stirring Synchronized Duet og:description: It's a surprisingly graceful man-meets-machine pas de deux og:url: https://time.com/5028132/man-and-robot-dance-duet/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f64d75ffb63fbf7/6988e62b86f68e47986e7448/screen-shot-2017-11-16-at-2-45-50-pm.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: huang-yi-kuka og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch a Man and Robot Dance a Stirring Synchronized Duet twitter:description: It's a surprisingly graceful man-meets-machine pas de deux twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f64d75ffb63fbf7/6988e62b86f68e47986e7448/screen-shot-2017-11-16-at-2-45-50-pm.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Man Wanted a Robot to Dance With So He Built Himself a Partner  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jan 31, 2018 10:00 PM UTC  YouTube  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jan 31, 2018 10:00 PM UTC For years, Taiwanese choreographer Huang Yi has turned a robot into a graceful dance partner in his surprising, stirring performance duets. Highlighted by TED Talks for his work with the robot he conceptualized and programmed — named Kuka — Huang’s latest video suggests an alternate end game for artificial intelligence: as a friend, not an enemy. “As a child, Huang Yi longed for a robot companion,” [TED Talks notes](https://www.ted.com/talks/huang%5Fyi%5Fkuka%5Fa%5Fhuman%5Frobot%5Fdance%5Fduet) of his inspiration to pursue this path. “As an adult, he created a robot to dance with: Kuka.” Set to an evocative cello piece by Joshua Roman, the melancholic dance sees the two partners mirroring each other’s actions and playing off each other’s emotions. As Huang extends his arm skyward, Kuka’s mechanical appendage echoes him. As Huang leans toward the robot in an extension, Kuka offers a supportive metal arm to ground him. At one point, Kuka reaches out — tenderly, it seems — to clasp his hand, and later to lift his chin from its defeated downward tilt. With Huang wearing a simple dark suit and set in a blackened stage with only a spotlight to highlight the two, it’s a pas de deux of unexpected poetry, spare and intimate. This is just the latest in Huang’s [history of collaboration](https://www.purdue.edu/convocations/event/huang-yi-kuka/) with Kuka, for which he’s been [well-reviewed](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/13/arts/dance/review-huang-yi-amp-kuka-a-pas-de-deux-between-human-and-machine.html) [over the years](https://vimeo.com/huangyi). 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