Disciplines
Dance
Abstract (300 words maximum)
The human body can be an exceptional vessel to interpret and express historical ideas through the art of dance. Rosalind Franklin is the scientist who captured the famous Photograph 51- the first photo taken that revealed DNA’s three-dimensional structure - and made groundbreaking discoveries in the area of molecular biology. This piece will be a study of her life as she fought anti-Semitism during World War II, sexism in her field of study, and ovarian cancer that eventually led to her untimely passing; as well as a celebration of her discoveries on DNA, disease control, and her love for travel. The composure of this work was inspired by Franklin's lack of recognition; the three men she worked closely with won a Nobel Peace Prize for her work so that now she sits as a 'hidden figure' in history. Choreographic research was developed by studying time, space, and energy within the work and using these elements of dance to represent this subject. Time is discovered through the connectivity or disjointedness of the movement, the duration of a step or moment, and the literal abstraction of the era in which Franklin lived. Space is analyzed by the body's formation of the double helix shape, as well as stretching and contracting to show the fluxes in Franklin’s life. The element of space also explores The scientist’s love for nature and the spiraling or circular patterns of her research topics. Finally, energy is studied by the force of the movement, the intention or emotional expression of the work, and the contrast of freedom and boundedness just as Franklin experienced in her life. By combining the use of academic journals and embodied improvisational activities using the elements of dance, the final output will display the research as it is meaningful to the body.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
COTA - Dance
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Caroline Clark
Additional Faculty
Andrea Knowlton, Dance, agisekno@kennesaw.edu
Included in
Double Helix
The human body can be an exceptional vessel to interpret and express historical ideas through the art of dance. Rosalind Franklin is the scientist who captured the famous Photograph 51- the first photo taken that revealed DNA’s three-dimensional structure - and made groundbreaking discoveries in the area of molecular biology. This piece will be a study of her life as she fought anti-Semitism during World War II, sexism in her field of study, and ovarian cancer that eventually led to her untimely passing; as well as a celebration of her discoveries on DNA, disease control, and her love for travel. The composure of this work was inspired by Franklin's lack of recognition; the three men she worked closely with won a Nobel Peace Prize for her work so that now she sits as a 'hidden figure' in history. Choreographic research was developed by studying time, space, and energy within the work and using these elements of dance to represent this subject. Time is discovered through the connectivity or disjointedness of the movement, the duration of a step or moment, and the literal abstraction of the era in which Franklin lived. Space is analyzed by the body's formation of the double helix shape, as well as stretching and contracting to show the fluxes in Franklin’s life. The element of space also explores The scientist’s love for nature and the spiraling or circular patterns of her research topics. Finally, energy is studied by the force of the movement, the intention or emotional expression of the work, and the contrast of freedom and boundedness just as Franklin experienced in her life. By combining the use of academic journals and embodied improvisational activities using the elements of dance, the final output will display the research as it is meaningful to the body.