The Fundamental Shared Essence of Dance and Mathematics
Loading...
Links to Files
Permanent Link
Author/Creator
Author/Creator ORCID
Date
2017
Type of Work
Department
Dance
Program
Center for Dance, Music, & Theatre
Citation of Original Publication
Rights
Collection may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. To obtain information or permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Goucher Special Collections & Archives at 410-337-6347 or email archives@goucher.edu.
Subjects
Abstract
This paper seeks to investigate the intricate, inherent relationship between dance and mathematics. Although perhaps not initially obvious to all, mathematics is apparent in all forms of dance. It manifests in a plethora of ways, such as musicality, geometry of the individual body and of bodies in space, and the repetition and patterning that allow differentiation between styles and movements. This paper will utilize the mathematical area known as group theory to analyze the innate dependence of dance on mathematics, looking at classical ballet as evidence and analyzing the work of Marius Petipa and specifically the Lilac Fairy Variation from the Prologue of The Sleeping Beauty. The fact that dance has a mathematical character to it is what has allowed it to build upon itself, to expand within and beyond structure, and to become a successful, ever-interesting field and art form. Mathematics and dance inherently share parallels, and these parallels are telling of an innate human need for both. Upon examination, it becomes evident that dance and mathematics, at their truest cores, have a shared fundamental essence of human nature.