What do dance and science have in common? Can the abstract expression of modern dance reveal truths discovered through scientific inquiry?
Windfall Dancers investigate these and other questions through choreographic processes. Their findings will be made public in a program of all-new choreography inspired by science, including explorations of gravity (with flying apples), action/reaction, the life of famed scientist Marie Curie, evolution, and more.
Curiosity Is The Catalyst
So, to get back to that pesky question, what do dance and science have in common?
"Curiosity, for starters," says show director C. Neil Parsons. He is premiering a piece in DancE=mc2. "Scientists and choreographers alike begin their process by asking questions. I'll wonder, 'What quality of movement best fits this moment in the music?' for example, or 'How can I fit 30 dancers on a small stage and prevent personal injury?'"
AMOS Extended Dance Mix
DancE=mc2 culminates with Parsons' work "The Dance of the Neurotransmitters," which was inspired by WFIU's A Moment of Science. With narration provided by A Moment of Science co-hosts Don Glass and Yaël Ksander, Parsons' work also features an extended remix of the program's familiar theme, specially adapted for the setting by the music's original composer, Lewis Ricci.
Parsons likens the empirical process at the core of scientific experimentation to dance rehearsals. "We may begin with a fairly clear idea of how the finished piece may look," Parsons observes, "but we are likely to find ourselves in uncharted territory before creative possibility becomes certainty."
Value-Added Dance
The scientifically themed program may offer something for those who tend to be left wanting more from an evening of dance.
"We hope that what the audience sees in the moment is pleasing on an artistic level," Parsons emphasizes. "But by informing our creative process with layers of scientific concepts, we hope we've done more than just give ourselves a creative challenge. Maybe we're giving the audience something more to discuss after the show is done, engaging their intellectual curiosity."