{"id":578,"date":"2024-03-28T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/robiky.com\/?p=578"},"modified":"2024-04-06T23:28:44","modified_gmt":"2024-04-06T23:28:44","slug":"dancing-across-the-solar-system-as-the-grand-canyons-astronomer-in-residence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/robiky.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/28\/dancing-across-the-solar-system-as-the-grand-canyons-astronomer-in-residence\/","title":{"rendered":"Dancing Across the Solar System as the Grand Canyon\u2019s Astronomer in Residence"},"content":{"rendered":"
When I first imagined choreographing a dance about the connection between the Grand Canyon and how humans explore the solar system, I figured the idea was a little too \u201cout there\u201d to be taken seriously. And yet, last month, I stood at the rim of the Grand Canyon as the park\u2019s official Astronomer in Residence<\/a>. Perched on a ledge of Kaibab limestone, I began the first gesture phrase that would describe the canyon\u2019s geologic history\u2014and form the backbone for Chasing Canyons<\/a><\/em>, a modern dance solo I premiered at the Grand Canyon\u2019s South Rim on February 23, 2024.<\/p>\n I\u2019m a trained dancer and choreographer, but I\u2019m also a planetary scientist and impact physicist, which means I study the geologic features that get created when an object from space hits a planet. There are other canyons across the solar system, from Mars to Pluto, that are wider, longer, or deeper than the Grand Canyon, but none of them match its sheer power in the human consciousness. Over the month of February, I used my dual backgrounds as a dancer and planetary geologist to choreograph a piece about the emotional and geologic connections between our world and those beyond. My goal? To blend art and science into a singular experience for and about the Grand Canyon.<\/p>\n As someone who actively practices both art and science, I firmly reject the dichotomy we\u2019ve built to separate them. I became a scientist to try to understand my place in the history of the Earth, the solar system, and the universe. I became a dancer and choreographer for those same reasons. The planets are always in motion, and so are we; to me, physically embodying the planets\u2019 orbital dynamics, geologic histories, births, and deaths, is just as valid an approach for connecting with them as gazing through a telescope.<\/p>\n As we think about moving on to the moon and Mars, dancing can help us consider the kinds of futures we\u2019re building. When I dance the canyon, I center my wonder at the scale of what I\u2019ve seen, rather than the ways in which my knowledge of the canyon can be used and commodified. I will always be chasing canyons, but I should never, ever, try to own them.<\/p>\n