Dancing Euclidean Proofs

I will be perfectly candid here - dancing is not my thing nor interest. I was not especially captivated by the Dancing Euclidean Proofs Susan showed us. The article however, was interesting to read. I think my indifference towards the dance fueled the interest with which I read the article; I did not expect there to have been so much thought put into the routine. This is not one of the things that I will write about in regards to what stood out to me but I think it worth mentioning and that is when the authors describe using their second arm in the first proposition. I was a member of the audience watching the performance; I did not consider the work, attention to detail or thought that went into it. Jason Ellis taught our EDST 401 class about the apprenticeship of observation and it seems I did not fully ingest that lesson.

The two things that made me stop and think both came at the end of the article. The first was when the authors mention how there is as much math within our bodies as there is in nature and this made me stop for selfish reasons. Recently I have been paying close attention to the UBC fountain which was such a spectacular allocation of funds on my walks to and from different classes. There is something extremely captivating about the wave patterns; it is like they are moving yet still. I was thinking that if the water comes out of the spout in a consistent manner, will the waves always be the same? Consistent as in the amount of water, the angle at which it comes out, the height of the water, the way it drops back down to the basin, the weather (wind, etc.) and other things - basically if the fountain was always the exact same. I don't know, I think it would. It's like the little waves (they're almost like pyramids of water sitting atop the surface of the water) are just constantly replacing each other. One of these days I'm going to bump into somebody or something while looking at the fountain. That being said, the author's are right when they say there is as much math in/on our bodies as there is in nature. The patterns and symmetry in which my arm hair grows is a testament to that.

The second thing is when the authors were discussing the land and their dance within it. When describing the circumstances they faced with the environment, interestingly enough, they said "...our particular geographical setting became an active limiting agent in our representation." I think, their geographical setting liberated them. They used the term limiting agent to describe the consistency of the sand which "ruined" their initial plans however I argue that whatever the land dictates you do is truly liberating and what is supposed to occur on that land. If we want to pay homage to the land and embrace it, you do so by taking in stride what the land gives you - which the authors/dancers did. 

It could be helpful but I think you are more than likely to encounter students like me that don't want to take part in activities too outside their comfort zone. Although there may be potential benefits I believe in keeping students comfortable within reason. You can't cater to all their wants or else you might get to a point where students do no math at all but you also don't want to push them to a place where they aren't comfortable at all. Experiential learning itself is always going to be enlightening and each type will offer its own benefits. Experiential learning does not always have to be around body movement. Kids can learn about measurements through a baking activity and this might be way more impactful than some exercises on a worksheet. Food for thought, literally.