Sponsors

�

Dancing Art of Nature’s Science

Dancing Art of Nature’s Science is an attempt to use Bharatanatyam, an ancient Indian Classical dance form that dates back to almost 200 BC as an educational tool to teach complex scientific concepts that came to light only a few decades ago.

It is a first of a kind experiment where students, ranging from ages 14 -19 who have knowledge of this dance form learned the concepts behind DNA, which forms the basis for life. They worked under the guidance of expert choreographers, and their science professor to create this DANS production. This is set to original music that was specially created for them by leading musicians. The students have worked very hard to understand the subject matter, choreograph, rehearse and put the presentation together.

The process has helped the students get an in-depth understanding of the concept of DNA. It has given them experience in team building and initiated them into to a new world where the boundaries between arts and science blur. We hope this experiment will open new avenues for interdisciplinary studies.

Special thanks to–

Dr. Jean F. MacCormack Chancellor, UMass Dartmouth

Dr. Jamshed BharuchaProvost, Tufts Dr. Molly Mead UCCPS, Tufts

Dr. Chris Rogers CEEO, Tufts

Joshua Jade Springstep

Anoop Kumar AT, Tufts

Dr. Anil Saigal ME, Tufts

Maria Conley IntlCtr, Tufts

Aarthi Muthukumaran Senior, Chennai, India

and the parents of the local children for their encouragement and support.

Program

Scene 1: Prayer, Origin of Life and the Dance of the Nucleotides

Scene 2: Evolution, Food Chain, Predators and Prey

Scene 3: Discovery of the Double Helix – Story of Rosalind Franklin, Maurice Wilkins, James Watson and Francis Crick

Scene 4: DNA Structure

Scene 5: Replication, Transcription and Translation

Scene 6: Mutation, Genetic Disorders – Night Blindness, Hemophilia and Down Syndrome

Scene 7: Cloning and Stem Cell Research

Scene 8: Inherited Traits & Concluding Prayer

Music

Scenes 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6 Lalgudi GJR Krishnan Scenes 5, 7, 8 Prasanna

Our Sponsors

University College of Citizenship and Public Servicehttp://uccps.tufts.edu/

The Center for Engineering Educational Outreachhttp://ceeo.tufts.edu/

The Center for Indic StudiesUniversity of Massachusetts Dartmouth http://www.umassd.edu/indic

Springstephttp://www.springstep.org/

Wyeth Research http://www.wyeth.com/

AmeriSuites http://www.amerisuites.com

Ranjani Saigal is the Director of the Eastern Rhythm School of Dance in Burlington, MA where she has been teaching Bharatanatyam

for over 11 years. She is also Project Manager at Academic Technology, Tufts University where she works on developing tools that can improve the teaching and learning process. She is the co-founder of Lokvani.com, an Indian American community portal

Kausalya Srinivasan is currently a Senior Fellow of Dance at the University College Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University.

She has over 20 years of experience in teaching Bharatanatyam. A former Fulbright scholar, she is also the recipient of the senior fellowship in Bharatanatyam from the Government of India.

Students/dancersAarthi AnanthanarayananSophomore, Tufts University

Abritee DhalSophomore, Westford, MA

Manaswini GarimellaSenior, Lexington, MA

NIshanthi KulenthirarajanSeventh Grader, Burlington, MA

Nivedita MuralidharSophomore, Lexington, MA

Komal PatelJunior, Burlington, MA

Vinisha PatelJunior, Burlington, MA

Amudha PazhanisamyFreshman, Lexington, MA

Amrita SaigalJunior, Burlington, MA

Vishnupriya SamudralaJunior, Westborough, MA

Prasanna is a pioneer, bringing the electric guitar to international acclaim as a concert instrument for the ancient

Indian art form of Carnatic music, as well as being a force in the cutting edge of Jazz, Classical and World music, Prasanna continues to stun music enthusiasts with an ever-evolving palette of vocabulary as a composer and improviser. Prasanna’s prolifi c body of work includes several Carnatic albums, Jazz Albums and creations for unique dance productions. His orchestration and arranging credits include the title score for the Oscar nominated Bollywood fi lm ‘Lagaan’.

Lalgudi G.J.R. Krishnan is a torchbearer of the legendary Lalgudi tradition, he is one of India’s leading Carnatic violinists and composers. He

has released several albums and has given performances all over the world.

Padmashri Vairamuthu, born in 1953 in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu, is a reputed

Tamil poet and star lyricist. While retaining the traditional elements of alliteration, rhythm, and a fl avor of classical language with deep nostalgia for the Tamil past, Vairamuthu’s poetry is quintessentially modern in its choice of themes and forms.

Dr. Bal Ram Singh is Professor and Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar in the Departments of Chemistry

and Biochemistry where he heads a large research group working on the molecular mode of action of botulinum and tetanus neurotoxins and molecular basis of enzymatic activity in organic solvents. He is also the Director of the Indic Center at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.

Dr. Geetha Muthukumaran is a faculty member at the Center for Biotechnology in Chennai, India where she heads a research group

working on in-vitro evolution of Lipase Genes and investigation of the pharmacologic effects of Stevioside.

Dr. Steve Cohen is a senior learning technologist at Academic Technology, Tufts University.

His research is focused on assessing the impact of technology enhanced education on learning.

The Team

Dance InstructorsRanjani Saigal & Kausalya Srinivasan

Science InstructorProfessor Bal Ram Singh

Dancing Art of Nature’s Science

ProductionKausalya Srinivasan & Ranjani Saigal

MusicLalgudi G.J.R. Krishnan & Prasanna

LyricsPadmashri Vairaamuthu

October 10, 2004The Center for Indic StudiesUniversity of Massachusetts DartmouthNorth Dartmouth, MA