Hear from the Directors of Of Equal Place: Isotopes in Motion

In just a few short weeks, Dance Exchange will celebrate the long-awaited premiere of Of Equal Place: Isotopes in Motion, a multimedia performance and engagement that—by centering youth, women, and people of color in its explorations of nuclear physics and dance—expands participation and leadership within the fields of dance and science.

The project premieres at the Wharton Center for the Performing Arts at Michigan State University in partnership with scientists from the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, members of Michigan State’s Women and Minorities in the Physical Sciences (WaMPS), dancers from local dance organization Happendance, and young movers from a local high school. On November 3 and 4, local school groups will attend the performance and participate in post-show workshops ahead of the public premiere on November 6. 

Project Creative Director Keith Thompson (photo by Steven Schreiber)

As we build toward the premiere, Dance Exchange Director of Communications Amanda Newman chatted with the Keith Thompson, the project’s Creative Director, and Ami Dowden-Fant, its Director of Creative Engagement, to hear more about Of Equal Place: Isotopes in Motion, the upcoming premiere, and how the project is expanding the ways dance and science matter. Read more below and, if you’re Michigan based, check out the premiere on November 6!

Amanda: Hi Keith and Ami! Thanks for taking some time out of this busy rehearsal period. Can you get us started by sharing, in your own words, what Of Equal Place: Isotopes in Motion is about? And what’s been the most meaningful part about your role in bringing this work finally to its premiere?

Keith: It’s about sharing the story of physics through movement, text, and imagery and learning what/why things are what they seem. The most meaningful thing for me in my role as the Creative Director has been bringing together all the teams to create an experience for others to witness.

Director of Creative Engagement Ami Dowden-Fant

Ami: That’s also been the most meaningful part for me as Director of Creative Engagement—watching with total amazement as all of the partnerships grow throughout the process. That’s what I’ve been waiting for as we approach the premiere. Looking forward to it all coming together!

Amanda: For those of us who can’t travel to Michigan for the premiere, can you give a sneak peek? What’s one moment in the performance or engagement that stands out to you every time you experience it?

Ami: This is hard to say at this time! Maybe it’s the moment in the performance when we get to use our voices and you get to hear young voices and old, men and women.

Keith: Very difficult to choose just one moment, but in the performance there is a section we call ‘Poetic Measurement’ that uses voice, movement, and metaphor around what we as humans know and don’t know. Gets me every time.

Amanda: I know there are many partners involved in this project. What have you discovered in collaborating with this range of artists, scientists, educators, and more?

Ami: So many discoveries. There isn’t just one nor enough space to list them all. The most important discoveries we’ve made you will actually see in the performance since some of our partners from Happendance and Women and Minorities in the Physical Sciences (WaMPS) will actually be onstage with us!

Keith: Agreed. There has been an overwhelming discovery from all partners but, our partners at Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) have been off the charts with their generosity of letting us into their world of theory and experimentation. This has taught me so much more about the world we live in.

Amanda: As we wrap up, I’m thinking about Dance Exchange’s mission. How does this performance, and the engagements that surround it, expand who dances, where dance happens, what dance is about, and why dance matters?

Keith: It expands who dances by who it includes and not who it excludes. It expands where dance happens by sharing the process of access to other spaces and engaging the audience as viewer then participant. It expands what dance is about by its subject matter and its celebration of youth, women and people of color in the fields of science and dance. And it expands why dance matters because of the breadth of the partnerships that have pulled together to make this experience happen.

Ami: When people see and experience Of Equal Place: Isotopes in Motion, we’re confident they’ll understand and feel in new ways why dance, science, and representation all matter!