Math is in the Air

In a duet between academia and arts and cultural programming by Peak Performances, geometry and patterns have been tossed around in a creative equation connecting mathematics, physics, the arts, and this semester, juggling – the collaboration highlighted in December by the avant-garde performance of Smashed by Gandini Juggling.

If the intersection of art and science on the Alexander Kasser Theater stage was unexpected, an exhibit by general mathematics students made clear many of the ways they overlap. Pre-performance exhibits featured student work on the connections discovered between math and history, psychology, exercise science, poetry and music. A discussion with juggler and artistic director Sean Gandini and University professors showcased the play and creativity in the sciences.

The research on mathematics and juggling actually goes deep. Of course, juggling becomes really complicated very fast, but there are researchers who study number patterns, geometric patterns, different notations for juggling. Just the fact that juggling could be represented through mathematical notation, that was enough to get us thinking about what we could do with the students.

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