'Of Equal Place: Isotopes in Motion' comes to Wharton Center

“Of Equal Place: Isotopes in Motion” incorporates dance, video and physics to create an exhilarating and engaging performance at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 21 at Wharton Center.

This project is a major collaboration between Wharton Center, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, Dance Exchange, Women and Minorities in Physical Sciences and community organizations. After the performance, audience members will be invited to tour FRIB and enjoy a variety of activities that explore dance and science. 

The performance connects contemporary dance and science, which are often physically and intellectually separated from one another. Co-creators Keith Thompson and Elizabeth Johnson hope this work will engage audiences who might be new to watching dance and/or new to thinking about physics.

MSU is establishing FRIB as a new user facility for the Office of Nuclear Physics in the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. “Of Equal Place: Isotopes in Motion” is part of FRIB’s outreach endeavors to both share FRIB with the community and to inspire youth to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering and math.

Artemis Spyrou, a professor of physics at Michigan State University and FRIB, hopes that the program will spark audience members’ interest. “We want the audience to walk away realizing science is more than just being isolated in a lab in front of a computer doing an experiment. You must build on your history, work on your creativity — you have to have a vision for the future. You need a complex project like this to communicate it.”

Dance Exchange is a nonprofit dance organization creating groundbreaking dance works that expand who gets to dance, where dance happens, what dance is about and why dance matters. A source of inspiration for “Of Equal Place: Isotopes in Motion” is Artistic Director Liz Lerman’s 2010 piece, “The Matter of Origins,” which addresses physics and the inner workings of matter. 

“Of Equal Place: Isotopes in Motion” is centered on the contributions of and possibilities for youth, women and people of color in both science and dance. Dance Exchange will partner with local youth and artists from Happendance dance studio and school in Okemos, Michigan.

Clarence Brooks, one of the Dance Exchange performing artists, said diversity and collaboration are highlighted in the project. He is fascinated by "the fact that this is dance and science, that it is trying to reach out and grab the youth, women, people of color to see the deeper workings of what is actually going on in this incredible facility that is being built.”

Bert Goldstein, Director of Wharton Center Institute for Arts & Creativity, said the project will both celebrate dance, and educate the audience about physics.

“We thought that looking at physics and FRIB through the lens of the arts would be a great way to celebrate this wonderful thing that is happening to MSU," he said.

Tickets are available at whartoncenter.com, at the Auto-Owners Insurance Ticket Office or by calling 1-800-WHARTON.