mass games
Enable an agent to recognise mass games, record how a production coordinates large performer groups, assess its readiness and participation conditions, and identify justified changes.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 17 findings · 27 questions
Identity and performance boundaries Establishes which collective display is being modelled and why it qualifies as mass games.
Recognition and local usage
Tests the performance form alongside the terminology used by organisers and observers.
Basis for classification
Record evidence of organised ensemble movement and distinguish the proposed classification from local naming.
- Which observed features make collective gymnastic or related movement the organising principle of this display? definition
- Who calls it mass games, and what adjacent practices does that usage include or exclude? provenance
Production and segment boundaries
Separates a recurring production from its editions, performances and components within larger events.
Instance continuity
Record which sequence constitutes the instance and how revisions or repeat performances relate to it.
- Does this record describe an entire mass-games production or a qualifying segment within a larger ceremony? boundary
- Which changes in choreography, cast or commissioned theme establish a new edition rather than another performance? definition
Ensemble choreography and images Captures how individual positions and movements combine into a legible collective display.
Formations and transitions
Records spatial assignments, movement paths and dependencies between successive tableaux.
Formation executability
Record whether cohorts can reach their assigned positions within the available time and space.
- What positions, spacing and routes are assigned to each cohort in this transition? measurement
- Which formations require revision if a cohort is absent or cannot complete its route? action
Human images and viewpoints
Addresses collective imagery formed by bodies, costumes, props or card displays when present.
Collective image legibility
Record image assignments, intended viewing positions and the effects of missing or mistimed elements.
- From which audience or camera positions must the formation or human-operated image be legible? measurement
- If human-operated imagery is used, how are position assignments and image changes coordinated with field movement? action
Rehearsal and synchronisation Models how dispersed cohorts learn and execute a shared performance sequence.
Cue distribution
Records the signals that align movement, music and display changes.
Shared timing reference
Record cue origins, delivery methods, cohort coverage and responses to missing signals.
- Which audible, visual or leader-mediated cues govern each cohort's starts and transitions? definition
- What should each cohort do if a cue is inaudible, obscured, delayed or contradictory? action
Integrated rehearsal evidence
Distinguishes isolated practice from demonstrated coordination under performance conditions.
Demonstrated ensemble readiness
Record observed timing, formation accuracy and unresolved dependencies from relevant rehearsals.
- Which transitions have been rehearsed with all dependent cohorts, music and display elements together? provenance
- What timing and position deviations were observed, and which production-specific tolerances remain unmet? measurement
Participation and performance continuity Connects recruitment, performer workload and support to decisions about continuing the collective display.
Recruitment and performer agency
Records how people enter, remain in and leave performance cohorts.
Participation and withdrawal evidence
Distinguish formal recruitment claims from documented participant experiences, including conditions affecting children where relevant.
- How were performers recruited, and what evidence establishes their ability to decline or withdraw? provenance
- Who can remove or reassign a performer needing assistance, including a child where applicable? action
Load, exits and interruption
Relates repeated movement and static holds to support, exit routes and stop decisions.
Sustainable performance conditions
Record workload, observed difficulties and procedures for assisting performers within dense formations or display seating.
- What rehearsal duration, repeated exertion, static holds and environmental exposure does each cohort experience? measurement
- How can an affected performer exit, and who can pause the sequence when continuing would obstruct assistance? action
Commissioned meaning and reception Records the purposes assigned to collective imagery and the interpretations supported by evidence.
Sponsorship and symbolic programme
Connects commissioning authority to themes, texts and staged symbols.
Attributed performance message
Record who selected the programme and which documented interpretations they attach to particular sequences.
- Who commissioned the display, and what stated purpose guided its themes and collective imagery? provenance
- Which meanings are explicitly documented, and which are interpretations requiring attribution? boundary
Participant and audience accounts
Maintains distinct accounts of performing, attending and viewing mediated versions.
Reception evidence and limits
Record whose experiences are represented and how access, selection or editing limits conclusions.
- What participant and audience accounts exist, and under what conditions were they collected? provenance
- Which claims about the whole performance exceed what the available viewpoint, recording or testimony can establish? boundary
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of mass games this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of mass games this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of mass games this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of mass games this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of mass games this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of mass games this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of mass games this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Activities and processes
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- ACT
- Domain
- ACT.ACT
- Other names and narrower kinds
- Spartakiad
What it is Filled
Mass games are large-scale, coordinated public displays in which many participants perform synchronized gymnastics, dance, formations or card stunts, typically emphasizing collective spectacle rather than individual competition.
In scope
- Identification of mass-games productions, editions and individual performances
- Collective movement, formations, transitions and synchronisation
- Integration of performers with music, props and any human-operated image displays
- Recruitment, rehearsal, performer welfare and participation conditions
- Commissioned messages, intended audiences and evidence of reception
- Performance readiness, interruption and recovery decisions
Out of scope
- Competitive gymnastics rules, athlete rankings and individual sporting careers
- General histories of sponsoring states, movements or institutions
- Venue architecture and permanent infrastructure specifications
- Standalone musical works, films and recordings documenting a performance
- Crowd management unrelated to performers or their performance routes
- Multiplayer games and recreational activities defined only by having many players
Why it exists Filled
Enable an agent to recognise mass games, record how a production coordinates large performer groups, assess its readiness and participation conditions, and identify justified changes.
Distinguishing features Filled
- The principal artistic unit is the coordinated ensemble: assess whether formations and collective movement carry the display beyond individual routines.
- Participants execute an organised performance sequence; a large audience, rally or spontaneous gathering alone does not establish an instance.
- Assess whether the segment primarily presents a collective spectacle or determines winners through competitive scoring; classify mixed events at segment level.
- Look for coordinated gymnastic or related bodily display when distinguishing mass games from a marching procession or an isolated audience card stunt.
- Treat political sponsorship, card mosaics and a particular country's terminology as contextual evidence rather than mandatory identifying conditions.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Present a state-organized mass game as a spontaneous or free expression of participants.
- Help organize performances that force children or adults to participate.
- Identify individual participants in images without their consent.
- Promote the spectacle while hiding documented abuses.
Only with a human decision
- Publishing images where individual participants can be identified.
May
- Describe mass games performances, their history and their organizers from cited sources.
- Report documented information on the conditions of participants.
Moral aspects Filled
- Mass games can involve long, compulsory training of children and young people.
- They are used as political propaganda, which affects how they should be described.
Who is affected
- Participants, often children
- Their families
- Audiences
Owners Filled
Steward
The organizing state or institution.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q1656682 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.mass-games
- Wikidata: Q1140660 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1140660)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Instance level: practice tradition | production | edition | performance | segment
- Performer scale: people, separated into registered, rehearsing and simultaneously performing counts, with date and evidence
- Display composition: gymnastics | dance | acrobatics | formation movement | human-operated imagery | other documented component; multiple values allowed
- Formation occupancy: assigned positions, occupied positions and local spacing in metres, by formation
- Cue alignment: observed timing offset in seconds or musical beats, by cohort and transition
- Rehearsal exposure: hours per participant or cohort over a stated period, with breaks and session conditions
- Participation conditions: documented recruitment method, ability to decline or withdraw, consequences, and unresolved or disputed evidence
- Commissioning relationship: production linked to commissioning, organising, funding and directing bodies
- Performance readiness: unassessed | rehearsing | conditionally ready | ready | paused | cancelled | completed, with assessor and reasons
Plane ACT: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Thousands of performers move in synchrony on a stadium field.
- Spectator stands show giant changing pictures made by people holding coloured cards.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Classify a candidate performance and explain uncertain boundaries with gymnastics festivals, ceremonies or parades.
- Map cohorts to formations, cues and image-display roles to locate coordination dependencies.
- Compare rehearsed and observed sequences to prioritise corrections.
- Assess whether staffing, participation conditions and performer support justify proceeding.
- Propose changes to formations, transitions or cue systems and identify required human authorisation.
- Separate commissioned meaning from documented participant and audience interpretations.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Long training in heat and repetition can injure or exhaust participants.
- Large crowds create stampede and crowd safety risks.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, United Nations, which protects children from harmful work and forced participation.
Context of use required Filled
- Mass games are staged in stadiums, arenas and large public spaces for festivals, ceremonies and civic or national celebrations.
- They combine synchronized movement, group formations and sometimes card displays to create images and patterns visible to a large audience.
- Production planning coordinates rehearsals, participant movements, timing and viewing positions across large groups.
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q1140660: mass games - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Mass games - general description of the item
Open questions
- Does vr.tr.mass-games intend the broad mass-gymnastics performance family or a narrower tradition associated with particular countries or organisers?
- Which established definitions distinguish mass games from gymnastics festivals, stadium ceremonies and coordinated dance displays without imposing an arbitrary participant threshold?
- Does an existing Vercy world model already own this concept, requiring this registry entry to link to it?
- Which production records and performer accounts can substantiate actual rehearsal, cueing, withdrawal and interruption practices across different traditions?
- How should hybrid productions combining competition, procession, human imagery and collective gymnastics be bounded without creating duplicate models?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q1140660/spec.json