In ‘Einstein’s Happiest Dance,” dancers to talk about physics

A scene from Amy Myers' performance of "Einstein's Happiest Dance."(Photo by Christopher Duggan)
Journal: 
Yale News
Tuesday, September 26, 2017

The intersectionality of dance and physics will be explored in the Yale Quantum Institute’s third nontechnical talk cosponsored by the Franke Program for Science and Humanities.

The event, called “Einstein’s Happiest Dance: From Dance to Physics and Physics to Dance,” features a discussion with dancers Adele Myers and Emily Coates, director of the Yale Dance Studies curriculum. They will show pictures and videos from their recent artistic performances related to physics. Florian Carle, manager of the Yale Quantum Institute, will moderate the discussion, which will take place on Thursday, Sept. 28, at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Whitney Humanities Center, 53 Wall St. It is free and open to all.

Myers’  latest project is “Einstein’s Happiest Thought,” which she created using her imagination, instincts, and knowledge about people and objects in relation to time, space, and gravity. Coates had an opposite creation process. Inspired by her ongoing collaboration with particle physicist Sarah Demers, in her latest piece “Incarnations,” she uses physics as both a source of movement and a “found object,” which she intertwines with dance history.

Emily Coates in "Incantations." (Photo by Paula Lobo.)

Emily Coates in “Incantations.” (Photo by Paula Lobo)

“During this evening, we will consider how the creative process influenced the final result, thanks to video excerpts of both performances and discussions with Adele and Emily,” says Carle.

The Franke Program for Science and the Humanities aims to foster communication, mutual understanding, collaborative research and teaching among diverse scientific and humanistic disciplines. 

Susan Gonzalez - Yale News