Interdisciplinary Workshop 2:

With our STEAM theme, we wanted to move beyond our previous exploration of art to include STEM and the performing arts. How do some dancers appear to violate the “laws of physics”? (See three sites with such claims of the impossible: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-magic-of-pilobolus/; http://www.alisonchase.org/ and <https://www.alltop.com/viral/world-of-dance-competitor-defies-the-laws-of-physics-video>). Thus, we are delighted to invite you to explore such physics concepts as: Centripetal Force, Kinetic and Potential Energy, Newton's Second Law, Newton's Third Law, Projectile Motion, Velocity, Center of Balance, and Biomechanics in the context of dancing. For example, visit: https://sites.google.com/site/thephysicsofdancing/dancing-with-the-physics/newton-s-second-law; http://slideplayer.com/slide/9796803/; and Professor Ken Laws’, Dickinson College, books on Physics and Dance. The famous dance group Pilobolus actually runs workshops on Physics and Dance (check this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y38bUumNak). Also, how might you engage your students in understanding complex relationships in ecology through dance?

Jam`e McCray is a Social Science/Coastal Economist Specialist with the Marine Advisory Service of the Delaware Sea Grant Program at the University of Delaware and a professional dancer. She received her Ph.D candidate in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida and completed a residency in their SciArt Center Bridge Residency program. During her collaboration she created a dance piece based on the behavior of birds - learn about her project through the video below, and read her residency blog at https://www.sciartcenter.org/group-1. She is a resident Artist in the LandLab Dance Exchange, a non-profit dance organization based in Takoma Park, Maryland, that is known for innovative performance projects and creative practices that engage communities and partners across wide ranging disciplines. Dance Exchange creates performance engagements that speak to the issues of a place and the people that steward that place, collaborating to advance how individuals and communities come together to create change in the world. She and her colleagues recently performed at UD’s Coast Day held annually in Lewes.

Professor Kimberly Schroeder is director of the Dance Minor at the University of Delaware. The Dance Minor is a joint program between the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Health Sciences. Professor Schroeder holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Vocal Music Performance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She also serves as the production manager for the annual dance minor concert, as well as master teacher, choreographer and performer in a variety of venues. She teaches classes in ballet, modern, jazz, tap, musical theatre, Pilates, improvisation, composition, pedagogy and has had the privilege of studying with numerous guest artists in several dance techniques including African, Fosse, Graham, Humphrey-Weidman, Limon, and Horton. Kimberly has been the choreographer of over 40 musical theatre, non-musical theatre productions and concert works. She has worked in regional and national theatre, including national tours with the Missoula Children’s Theatre and international performances in Jamaica, Ireland, and Canada. She is a member of the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals, American Fitness Professionals & Associates.

​Christina M. Wesolek is a Preceptor in the Interdisciplinary Science Learning Laboratories at the University of Delaware. Her primary roles are to serve as an educator, a mentor, and a curriculum developer for SCEN 101: Physical Science and Astronomy (an interdisciplinary science, problem-based learning, STEM course primarily for preservice teachers). She also has experience in ballet. This past summer she led a research project on protecting marine turtles on a Greek Island in the Ionian Sea. Her prior international work was as a Project Coordinator at the Antioch University New England and the National University of Rwanda and doing field work in Costa Rica. She has been a Research Associate at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom and at the University of Central Florida. At the College of Mount Saint Vincent, she was an Adjunct Professor who taught Anatomy & Physiology, Animal Behavior, and Urban Environmental Education as well as being a Director of Alumni Relations. She is a member of the Regional Network for Conservation Educators in the Albertine Rift www.rncear.org.