Wright Lab Artist-in-Residence Emily Coates led a movement workshop for about 30 members of the Wright Lab community on Friday, December 7, 2018 in the Wright Laboratory Vault.
Coates led the participants through movement exercises, discussions that illuminated the connections between dance and physics, and a final writing exercise at the end.
The event invitation, included below, summarizes the objectives of the workshop.
The Choreographic Imagination: Movement Paradigms in Dance and Physics
at the Wright Laboratory Vault
Led by Wright Lab artist-in-residence Emily Coates, this workshop is an open laboratory in which we will explore the concept of choreographic imagination from the perspective of both dance and physics. The most basic definition of “choreography” is the organization of bodies in time and space. Dance and physics share in common this work of imagining moving bodies—whether human, cosmic, or subatomic.
Using simple movement exercises, we will first consider basic principles of choreographic organization, interaction, and complexity drawn from the art of dance. From there, we will move into a conversation about the notable parallels and/or striking differences between the ways the imagining of movement plays out in the physics research undertaken by scientists affiliated with Wright Lab.
With the concept of movement as our point of connection, the goal is to create an active exchange of ideas between scientific and artistic disciplines, and a forum in which to consider physics knowledge and expertise from an alternative perspective.
The workshop is open to individuals of all physical abilities and backgrounds.