Classic Indian Dance Explores DNA
I heard about this project from a friend who might be working on a documentary on it.
From a description on the piece.
“The original idea was to asses the value of using Indian Classical Dance as a tool to improve the understanding of complex scientific concepts. Students have learnt the material and transformed it into choreography. The choreography has used the tools of Bharatanatyam like Jathis, Hasta , Mudras and Abhinaya. Students have come up with creative ways of showing DNA replication, structure and mutation."
And this is quoted from a review.
Eleven students trained in the art of Bharatanatyam studied the science of DNA under the guidance of Dr. Balram Singh, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UMASS Dartmouth. They then translated the science into dance under the coaching of two masters of the dance art of Bharatanatyam, Ranjani Saigal, Director of the Eastern Rhythm School of Dance in Burlington, and Kausalya Srinivasan, Senior Fellow of Dance at the University College Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University. Under the careful guidance of these teachers, the students created their own story of the Origin of Life, the characteristics of the Double Helix, and the discovery of the structure of DNA. They even explored the processes of replication, transcription and translation and illustrated the concepts of mutation and genetic disorders. I have never seen such an effective explanation of night blindness and hemophilia, and I will remember the illustration of cloning and stem cell research better than the explanations of my college biology class because of this creative illustration.