NTT, Inc. Pushes Boundaries of Human Potential with ‘Waves of Will'

​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.

“We have taken something as highly complex as neuroscience and expressed it in a way that is intuitive and universally understood through dance,” described Dentsu Lab’s global executive creative director Pascal Rotteveel. The result is a powerful demonstration of how a global technology brand like NTT can channel innovation to create cultural and human impact, transforming data, design and empathy into one seamless experience.

‘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.

“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.”

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.