After I first imagined choreographing a dance concerning the connection between the Grand Canyon and the way people discover the photo voltaic system, I figured the concept was a little bit too “on the market” to be taken critically. And but, final month, I stood on the rim of the Grand Canyon because the park’s official Astronomer in Residence. Perched on a ledge of Kaibab limestone, I started the primary gesture phrase that will describe the canyon’s geologic historical past—and kind the spine for Chasing Canyons, a contemporary dance solo I premiered on the Grand Canyon’s South Rim on February 23, 2024.
I’m a educated dancer and choreographer, however I’m additionally a planetary scientist and affect physicist, which suggests I examine the geologic options that get created when an object from house hits a planet. There are different canyons throughout the photo voltaic system, from Mars to Pluto, which are wider, longer, or deeper than the Grand Canyon, however none of them match its sheer energy within the human consciousness. Over the month of February, I used my twin backgrounds as a dancer and planetary geologist to choreograph a bit concerning the emotional and geologic connections between our world and people past. My objective? To mix artwork and science right into a singular expertise for and concerning the Grand Canyon.
As somebody who actively practices each artwork and science, I firmly reject the dichotomy we’ve constructed to separate them. I grew to become a scientist to attempt to perceive my place within the historical past of the Earth, the photo voltaic system, and the universe. I grew to become a dancer and choreographer for those self same causes. The planets are at all times in movement, and so are we; to me, bodily embodying the planets’ orbital dynamics, geologic histories, births, and deaths, is simply as legitimate an method for connecting with them as gazing by a telescope.
As we take into consideration transferring on to the moon and Mars, dancing might help us take into account the sorts of futures we’re constructing. After I dance the canyon, I heart my marvel on the scale of what I’ve seen, somewhat than the methods by which my data of the canyon can be utilized and commodified. I’ll at all times be chasing canyons, however I ought to by no means, ever, attempt to personal them.
In making Chasing Canyons, I got down to choreograph a site-specific dance for a web site so huge it’s not possible to see in its entirety. I started with my geologic data of the Grand Canyon, constructed from my years of scientific coaching and the weeks I spent climbing up and down its partitions. The ensuing gesture phrase follows the canyon’s life cycle: the preliminary crush of its basement rocks, the tilting of overlying strata, the large hole in time referred to as the Nice Unconformity, subsequent deposition of layers upon layers of sediments, and, lastly, the approaching of the Colorado River to uncover all of it. From there, I started to attract the elements of the canyon that I might see, tracing the terraces and aspect canyons, dragging toes and fingers from the tops of the cliffs to the shady hollows on the base. I labored within the positions of the celebs above the canyon, which mark its location in house and time. Then I merged all of it collectively to create a transferring map, not simply of the canyon, however of how people relate to it.
Connecting the canyon to the celebs raised extra questions: How can we work together with stunning areas, right here on Earth and elsewhere? After we land on Mars, will we be homeowners or caretakers? On the finish of the piece, I reply these questions: I erase the map. Very like artwork and science, I believe that “to boldly go” and “take solely photos, go away solely footprints” are two complementary, not conflicting, philosophies.
My time because the Astronomer (and dancer) in Residence on the canyon has ended, however I’ll carry it in my physique in addition to my thoughts. It’s my biggest hope that in making these sorts of dances, I can encourage audiences to increase their minds—to discover the alternative ways we are able to perceive, be taught, and recognize the universe by which we dwell.