How do we learn?Being immersed in a discipline consists of learning skills including: imitation, recognizing and addressing errors, and practicing these skills over time so that they become automatic. This applies to physical skills as in dance as well as those involved in science, e.g. forming a hypothesis, or interpreting results. On Dec 10th at Aaron Davis Hall at City College, I look forward to sharing how our brains make these complex processes happen! The excerpt is from the Saraswati Jatiswaram.
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Writing about science and dance..In addition to doing science and dance, I also get to write about them! Words are my first love, and I remember being 2 or 3, sitting at the window sill, looking at river Sabarmati and admiring the shape of letters in my father's Business India magazine. Though I did not know what the words meant (I could not yet read), I knew the words had meaning!
My love for writing was nurtured by my father Appa, and Margie Didi - editor of Wee Wonder, Times of India. Appa showed me how the written word can be used to highlight deserving people. Didi taught me how to use words to transform the world around me into something extraordinarily interesting. Both took an enormous amount of time reading and providing feedback, to which I am indebted. My dear friend Carol Schachter spent many an hour reading and editing my works, pointing out how a phrase could be made clearer to the reader. My husband Michael does the same - he does not rest till there is logical consistency in what I write. He can make the most convoluted scientific argument comprehensible. The sheer gratitude I have for those who have taken (and continue to take) time to better my writing, (paradoxically), cannot be put into words. The journey of scientists and artists is lifelongThe journey of a practitioner of the arts and the sciences can be lifelong. The piece is a Padam that describes the Ananda Tandava of Lord Shiva, symbolizing his dance of bliss, utter joy and ecstasy. My teacher Guru Smt. Maheshwari Nagarajan along with my own mother learned this piece from Guru Sri Purushottaman Sir at Darpana Academy of Performing Arts. I first performed this for my Arengetram in 1995, and now have the pleasure of performing it again for Guru Vandana.
Save the Date for Guru Vandana Guru Vandana is a tribute to my teachers in the sciences and the arts. Through Bharatanatyam pieces and scientific evidence, I will share the neuroscience of learning and teaching and explore how engaging in these activities profoundly impacts individuals and society.
Date: Tuesday, Dec 10th, 2024, at 7 pm EST Location: Studio B at Aaron Davis Hall, City College of New York Guru Vandana is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement and UMEZ Arts Engagement, regrant programs supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the Howard Gilman Foundation and Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation (UMEZ) and administered by LMCC. |
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