Dancers L to R – Esta Perrone, Chelsea Pianto, Georgia Walker & Olivia Jason Front L to R – Law Collins, Sasha Currie& Willow Armitstead ALL YEAR 10’s Where: Fremantle What: As part of National Science Week 2018, nine John Curtin College Photographer: Jon Hewson
Camera IconDancers L to R – Esta Perrone, Chelsea Pianto, Georgia Walker & Olivia Jason Front L to R – Law Collins, Sasha Currie& Willow Armitstead ALL YEAR 10’s Where: Fremantle What: As part of National Science Week 2018, nine John Curtin College Photographer: Jon Hewson Credit: Supplied/Supplied

John Curtin College students to combine dance with STEM at Curtin University

Leah RobertsFremantle Gazette

COMBINING dance with Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is just a normal day for Year 10 students at John Curtin College of the Arts.

The students will participate in a guided workshop on coding and how to program lights that respond to either sound or movement at Curtin University.

Science Teacher and Science STEM Outreach Officer Peta Scorer said both Arts and STEM subjects use higher order thinking skills.

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“Many people think you can only be good at one or the other, In fact many scientist and mathematicians have been great artists and vice versa,” she said.

“Dance and it’s chorography uses pure geometry and is driven by physical laws.”

Ms Scorer said the students programmed lights to reflect the colours and the speeds that they would prefer to have compliment their movements.

“The students then created a short dance that was presented with and performed with their lights,” she said.

Dance coordinator Judy Hendrickse said she hoped students feel more comfortable engaging in STEM concepts.

“Both STEM and dance is about finding new solutions, new possibilities and creating something that has not existed prior. As well as building confidence to find their own motivation to pursue knowledge,” she said.

“At the moment dance students are working on a dance production titled Cosmos which explores the theories relating to the universe our connection to this infinite concept as human beings.”

Year 10 students said it has really made them think about the different ways you can use coding.

Esta Perrone said both areas have different things to offer. They always been associated with been opposites but they fit together well.

“I learnt that coding isn’t just numbers and it is more accessible than we think. Combining this with dance is new, modern and moving with the times,” she said.