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 Sensual. Spiritual. Beautiful.  These are three words that could easily be used to describe modern dance today.  But what about chaos, warping, and…string theory?

The upcoming performance of Three Theories by Armitage Gone! Dance at the Lied Center combines all of these ideas and more .  Inspired by Brian Greene’s outline of theoretical physics in The Elegant Universe (2000), Three Theories interprets Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, quantum mechanics and string theory in an intellectual, creative way, says Karole Armitage, director, choreographer and founder of Armitage Gone! Dance. 

The Elegant Universe first inspired Armitage, who launched Armitage Gone! in New York in 2005, while she was hiking in the Patagonia Mountains in Argentina.  “[Greene] wrote in a clear, imagistic way,” she says.  “He was very clear about complicated concepts.”  This clarity helped Armitage to begin crafting a new production that presents difficult and often misread concepts in understandable and sensual ways.

Three Theories follows suit with other recent Lied Center events by combining genres—in this case, dance and science—that might not usually be associated.  Last year’s presentation of Ferocious Beauty: Human Genome by Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, for instance, interpreted ideas of genetics and evolution, as well as other elements of science. 

However, whereas Ferocious Beauty could be too literal at times in its presentation, Armitage tried not to be too exact in her interpretations. “I wanted a poetic translation of the ideas,” she says. 

To keep choreography clear and imaginative, then, she focused on one concept from each theory she used.  Albert Einstein, for example, saw the world as a great, harmonious place.  Using the idea that gravity is the warping of space and time from his theory of relativity, Armitage crafted movements with a lot of twisting and turning in an orderly fashion.  Quantum mechanics, in contrast, examines the off-balance, volatility of the world, so the dancers’ movements became chaotic onstage, Armitage says.

Finally, though string theory is considered a somewhat inaccurate theory of physics, Armitage liked the way it meshed ideas from the other two theories.  “It’s about order emerging from disorder,” she says.  “That’s a very comforting picture of the universe.” 

Onstage, Armitage interpreted the “complicated vibrations of the string” by showing how the group influences the movements of a single dancer.  Ultimately, “the two are necessary to each other,” she says.   

But why even tackle complicated concepts like relativity and string theory?  “My father’s a biologist, and he even thought I was crazy,” Armitage says.  “But people like to think about these things. People are afraid of science, but science gives us the information to let us see how beautiful the world is. If you know more, you can see how brilliant the composition of the world is.”

Looking at the world for what it is is something Armitage, a Lawrence, Kan., native, says Midwesterners have a knack for.  “I’m incredibly excited about coming back [to the Midwest]. People in the Midwest look for themselves.”   

Lied Center of Kansas
Armitage Gone! Dance, Three Theories
Friday, November 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Pre-performance talk with Karole Armitage at 6:30 p.m.
Lied Center at University of Kansas
1600 Stewart Drive, Lawrence, Kansas
For tickets call 785-864-2787 or online at www.lied.ku.edu

Cover photo: William Isaac and Emily Wagner

By Sarah Bluvas

Dance Features Contributor (Past writer)
Sarah Bluvas is a Kansas transplant.  After growing up in the metro-Atlanta area, she moved to Lawrence, KS, to attend the University of Kansas and instantly felt at home in the Sunflower State.  Throughout her studies of journalism, English and art history, Sarah looks for connections to help her view her surroundings in new ways.  In particular, she is interested in the ways in which we can use the arts in our everyday lives.  As a volunteer at the Spencer Museum of Art and an intern at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Sarah has made these connections between the visual arts and real-world experience, and is now looking to experience the performing arts with a similar, more inquisitive eye.  When she’s not busy taking in all that the Kansas City arts scene has to offer, Sarah enjoys road-tripping across Kansas, looking for adventures.