Physics and Dance

by Emily Coates, Sarah Demers

Overview

A fascinating exploration of our reality through the eyes of a physicist and a dancer—and an engaging introduction to both disciplines

From stepping out of our beds each morning to admiring the stars at night, we live in a world of motion, energy, space, and time. How do we understand the phenomena that shape our experience? How do we make sense of our physical realities? Two guides—a former member of New York City Ballet, Emily Coates, and a CERN particle physicist, Sarah Demers—show us how their respective disciplines can help us to understand both the quotidian and the deepest questions about the universe. Requiring no previous knowledge of dance or physics, this introduction covers the fundamentals while revealing how a dialogue between art and science can enrich our appreciation of both. Readers will come away with a broad cultural knowledge of Newtonian to quantum mechanics and classical to contemporary dance. Including problem sets and choreographic exercises to solidify understanding, this book will be of interest to anyone curious about physics or dance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300248371
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	09/10/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Emily Coates is associate professor in the theater studies program at Yale University, where she created the dance studies curriculum. Sarah Demers is Horace D. Taft Associate Professor of Physics at Yale University. Their work has been featured in the World Science Festival and covered in the New York Times and the New Yorker.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I Principles of Movement

1 Gravity 7

Tuning in to Gravity 7

The Universal Law of Gravitation 9

Balancing 12

Center of Mass 14

Balancing Together 16

Area of Support 17

The Dance of the Future 18

Interdisciplinary Thinking 19

2 Force 21

Newton's 1st Law of Motion 21

Newton's 2nd Law of Motion 23

The Plié 24

Down and Up 25

Free Body Diagrams 27

A Cultural Force Diagram 28

Force Plates and the Plié 29

Newton's 3rd Law of Motion 31

How Do We Move? 34

Everyday Action 34

When Is Walking More Than Walking? 35

3 Motion 38

Dancing Feet 38

Taking Off and Landing 39

Projectile Motion 40

Equations of Constant Acceleration 43

Jumping Up and Out 44

Calculating a Jump 46

Zero Velocity 51

4 Friction 53

Improvising with Friction 53

Kinetic Friction 54

Surfing 56

Static Friction 58

Calculating Frictional Forces 60

If People Were Boxes 63

Composing with Friction 64

Tango in the World 66

5 Momentum 67

Catching a Wave 68

Calculating Momentum 69

Conservation of Momentum 71

A Momentum Movement Phrase 72

Conservation of Momentum in a System 73

The Momentum of Two (or Three) 77

6 Turning 80

The Pirouette 81

Rotational Motion 82

The Lunge 83

Torque 84

The Arms 87

Moment of Inertia 87

The Turn 92

Angular Momentum 93

Kinesthetic Intelligence 94

Part II Energy, Space, Time

7 Energy 99

Kinetic Energy 100

Energy as Form 101

Gravitational Potential Energy 102

Falling 103

Spring Potential Energy 106

Mixing Energies 107

The Energy of Light and the Electromagnetic Spectrum 108

From Marking to Attack 109

Quantized Energy and Bohr's Atom 110

Energy Images 112

Dark Energy 113

Real Versus Apparent Energy 114

E = mc² 115

8 Space 116

Dancing Cells 117

A Glimpse into the Microscopic World 118

The Geography of the Body 119

Dancers in the Universe 120

Room Writing 124

Postulates of Special Relativity 126

Special Relativity: Length Contraction 129

Absolute to Relative Choreographic Space 133

Stage Space 135

Perspective 136

9 Time 138

Special Relativity: Time Dilation 139

Spacetime 141

Cunningham's "Space, Time and Dance" 142

General Relativity 144

Extended Duration 146

The Lifetime of Muons 148

Rates of Change 151

Gravitational Waves 154

Ghostcatching 155

The Story of the Universe 156

Perception 157

Afterword 159

Acknowledgments 161

Workbook

Physics Problems 167

Choreographic Studies 177

Notes 181

Index 183

Editorial Reviews

"In their intriguing book Physics and Dance, [the authors] look at how both disciplines approach phenomena like friction, momentum, space, time, and gravity. . . . Mathematically inclined dance lovers will welcome a chance to see the plié and tour jeté through new eyes. A chapter of physics problems could provide inspiration to professors looking for new homework challenges."—Physics Today

"For too long, dance has existed as an isolated pursuit. . . . The content of this book will definitely provide readers with a peek at possible future directions for the art of dance, and its move away from its customary orientation."—Sandra Minton, Journal of Dance Education

“After reading this book, you will never again think of dance without the physics that enables it, and you will never again think of physics without the art that can express it.”—Neil deGrasse Tyson

“Physics and Dance will be of interest to dancers, scientists, and a general public who wish to understand an ongoing relationship between the two.”—Twyla Tharp

"This fascinating book blends physics depth and dance details with a seemingly impossible grace.”—Daniel Whiteson, author of We Have No Idea: A Guide to the Unknown Universe

“Each [uses] her discipline to shed light on the other’s. . . . While science tends to be viewed as more serious than dance, their approach revolves around collapsing hierarchies, giving equal weight to both.”—Siobhan Burke, New York Times review of Emily Coates's 2017 performance Incarnations, based in part on their collaboration

“Dancer and choreographer Coates and physicist Demers have created a brilliant exercise that is both challenging and rewarding. As a dancer I had never thought of myself as a small mass in relation to a larger one, namely, planet Earth, at least not in those terms. Part of the fun for the reader lies in figuring out, from page to page, which voice is speaking; both are erudite, meticulous, and convincing.”—Yvonne Rainer

From the Publisher