(re)con(figure)
Choreographed by Shaelyn Casey and dancers
Performed by Shaelyn Casey, Sasha Pinchuk, and Ruby Stigers
Original composition by Kat Carlsen
Costumes by Shaelyn Casey in consultation with Amy Page
The fields of dance and physics both utilize tools for communication that translate movement into two-dimensional formats to share and process information in new ways. This research highlights questions surrounding this process, including: what is gained and lost in translation in both fields; the role of objectivity and subjectivity in dance and science; and what interdisciplinary research can potentially mean for advancing communication tools and shifting biases about how knowledge is valued. Modern communication tools in science and dance can be broken down into their relationship to time: either predictive and descriptive (like scientific models and dance scores) or preservative (like apparatuses of instrumentation and notation systems). Through investigation in the studio and the creation of a performance that showcases translation of dimensionality, my theoretical and practical research demonstrate the value of multiple forms of communication and lenses through which to make and view dance. The video shown here was created as the new performance component of thesis research after the start of the COVID-19 crisis, and includes a combination of showing footage, rehearsal scores, digital animation, and newly-translated performance footage.