This thesis describes the investigation of selected concepts in chemistry as prompts for movement invention and new dance composition. The concepts are entropy, chemical kinetics, chirality, resonance, isomers, crystallization, and the chemical properties of water. In this study, these concepts serve as points of departure for choreographic invention and compositional elements. I use the discoveries to fuel and drive new and original choreography resulting in a concert presented to the public at The University of California, Irvine, April 2017.

As a dance maker and artist, I am interested in revealing chemistry culture through the body’s movements. For the research, I use science as a basis for movement discovery, investigating, challenging, and ultimately understanding the pairing of chemistry and dance to create a unique performing art. My study of dance artist and movement theorist Rudolf Laban and contemporary ballet choreographer William Forsythe further stimulated my thesis research.

Multiple modes of inspiration for contemporary dance making emerge from a multitude of investigatory concepts in chemistry. Each concept provides distinct parameters for choreographic invention. I further develop my research by subdividing the concepts into terms that connect to both science and the human body in motion. By delving deeper into a topic, I am able to focus on themes in chemistry by exploring movement with dancers. This study provides a method for choreographers and dance educators to find and form connections between science and art, in particular, concepts of motion and dynamic spatial and temporal relationships found in both chemistry and dance.