Dance and Mathematics Relationship Research Paper

Introduction

Dance does not always leave behind obviously recognizable evidence that last more than one millennium, unlike ancient tools and paintings. It is impossible to state accurately when man learnt the art of dance. However, one obvious aspect of dance is that it has been part of man’s culture since the advent of the first human civilizations. The earliest evidences of dance date back to more than 9,000 year ago. Early uses or dance include performance (entertainment) and in telling of fables, it was also used to show emotions for the opposite sex. The word ‘dance’ is linked to the origin of the word ‘love making’. Dance had been used to pass down tales from one generation to another until writing was invented.

Dance and Mathematics

Studies have suggested that mathematics and dance can be integrated to increase one’s understanding of either. In line with the current theories that advocate for teaching different students according to their favorite learning approaches, this could just be the beginning of an integration between the two (Watson, pp. 1). From the basic definition, dance is defined as the rhythmical movement of the body in response to music. This can be compared to mathematical curves derived from trigonometry, for example, the sine and the cosine functions describe a smooth repetitive rhythm similar to body movements in response to music.

Several dances around the world are typically mathematical dance forms. The dancers follow set patterns; dancers have a body shape that defines a rotational symmetry; the music itself is rhythmic; and it is essentially possible to use algebraic formulas to calculate the supposed positions of dancers in a group (Brunvad, para. 2).

Conceptual forms of structure, for example, permutations, combinations, and groups, are apparent in many dances (Watson, pp. 3). For instance, English country dances incorporate movements of combination and their inverses; give patterns of interrelation that make sure that every possible connection in a diagraph is used; and return to the initial position after every dancer has played his role. Thus, they demonstrate the features of a group and offer a clear way in which a structure can be articulated using symbols.

Many people act in response to musical rhythms, this can be in the form of toe-tapping or doing the actual dancing. The dancing act normally follows the rhythm of the music and this can be linked directly to mathematics. Rhythms are normally in the form o fractions, such as ½, ¼, 1/8, and so on (Watson, pp. 3). These fractions can be expressed through body movements! The relation between mathematics and movement is quite plain here; dance is just a projection of mathematics.

Mathematics and dance can be linked on the field of spatial exploration. A person’s first encounter of space is three-dimensional and this can be observed through motion, both internally and externally. Therefore, a person can study shapes by physically interrelating with it, for example, an educational type of dance can be modeled using a flexible icosahedra to symbolize directions and qualities of motion that could be utilized for a variety of physical and emotional uses, knowing that 3D mathematical shapes can present a way of arranging and recognizing space. Trisha Brown, a choreographer, applied this idea by making her dancers to picture themselves inside a cube and have contact with its different features such as the vertices, with their limbs (Watson, pp. 2).

Dance choreographers have successfully made use of mathematical methods to their advantage. They argue that since mathematics involves studying shapes, dance choreography should be illustrated using mathematics. Choreography frequently exhibits pattern symmetry forms, for example, reflection, rotation, and translation (McGinnis, pp. 1). A choreographer used Pascal’s triangle in conjunction with algebra and geometry as choreographic aids. She used the 1, 1, 1, 121, 1331 series to obtain the number of dancers on the arena. She also used the rule ‘length of segment’ = p + 1.5, where p is the span of the initial dance arena. This led to the formation of a triangular pattern on the stage and both the dancers and the audience enjoyed themselves (McGinnis, pp. 1). Several dance types make use of mathematical methods, these include contra dancing, tap dance, and math dance.

It might appear from the above discussion that mathematics does not depend on dance, this is not true. Vision, spatial (space), and kinesthetic (movement) senses are all vital tools that let people take in large chunks of unimportant information. The information pool whirls in the mind until patterns that can be encoded and compressed such as a mathematical proof appear. All this happens intuitively, and can be accelerated by dance.

Conclusion

Dance and mathematics go together on many platforms as mathematics is the study of numbers and dance is a representation of the numbers through body movements. Choreographers, in teaching dance techniques, can use knowledge of mathematics, the knowledge is also used to arrange dancers on the stage and control their movements.

References

Brunvad, Amy. Dance: Dance and Mathematics. (No date). Web.

McGinnis, Cynthia. Dance Choreography and Dance. 2009. Web.

Watson, Anne. Dance and Mathematics: power and novelty in the teaching of mathematics. (No date). Web.