Mathematics in the World of Dance The （数学在舞蹈的世界）.pdfVIP

Mathematics in the World of Dance Katarzyna Wasilewska Mathematics Department • University of Southern California 3620 South Vermont Ave, KAP 108 • LA, CA 90089 • USA E-mail: kwasilew@ Abstract Over the years our society has considered dance and mathematics to be near polar opposites. Dance is a fun activity - both to perform and observe; it involves other people and can be source of great satisfaction. On the other hand, the general populace considers mathematics to be a dull and overly complicated source of constant frustration. The two seem to have nothing in common. And yet upon close investigation the many connections and similarities reveal themselves. Introduction Mathematics is present in dance. It is not the mathematics of simple number manipulation; we do not attempt to add or integrate through movement, instead we would like to employ abstract mathematics and various methods of analysis to understand dance at a deeper level. In this paper we would like to highlight a few basic examples of interplay between mathematics and dance. Why we should care Dance can be used to teach the fundamentals of mathematics and provide the students with basic intuition about the abstract concepts involved. Actually getting to experience math at work might be more exciting to students than “Two trains leave cities A and B going at 60mph…” Applying mathematics to more familiar ‘real life’ situations would certainly remove the stigma of the field being dry