week 1: beginnings

My TOO BIG mentored advanced project (MAP), as I have stated before, is centered on the theme of “Abundance and Scarcity”. In my case, this theme further extends to the issue of the incredible abundance of scientific information in our society, but the scarcity in the general public’s ability to understand it. The next part of my project consisted of narrowing this overarching theme to specific scientific concepts and ideas that would become the foundation for my subsequent workshops. This is where my mind began to spin. I had a billion and one topics I could work with. Water and food topics, global warming, GMO’s, anything in genetics, the current extinction of the honeybee crisis – any and all these topics would be fun for the dancers I would be working with at the college as well as the children at the afterschool program, right? The last example, especially, could allow for workshops that would cover animal physiology, ecology, and genetics! Soon I was becoming overwhelmed with the possibilities.

It was central in my mind, however, that the workshops I would design and present would need to be given in a way that wouldn’t allow one to need to precede another. I needed to be able to keep these experiences separate so that children who may not have participated in a former workshop could just as easily participate in another. With all this in mind, I thought back to where my ideas for this research project had originated. Last fall, I used DNA as inspiration for movement in a piece I choreographed for the production of “Small Elephant Stories” with members of the Grinnell College Dance Ensemble.

DNA. It’s one of the most fascinating entities that exists on earth and that possesses such significance in our world. It connects our histories with our futures, it connects yet separates all human beings on earth, and allows for momentous yet notorious advancements in technology, medicine and education. As long as humans continue to exist, DNA will exist with us and play a prominent role in scientific learning. And while it exists so simply, so quietly within our bodies, the scientific and cultural media have created an image of DNA that is extraordinary, powerful, and frightening. DNA might be fundamental to life, but many find resistance to it, which inevitably leads to resistance in other scientific matters. And, perhaps, if one finds that their understanding and fascination for DNA increases, perhaps this could lead to similar outlooks for other scientific concepts.

DNA. This seemed like a worthy place to start and become the foundation for my subsequent movement and educational research.