SLOKA IYENGAR
  • About me
    • Profile
    • Service
    • Invited talks and interviews
    • Continuing education
    • Upcoming Public Events
    • Publications
    • Contact me >
      • Ensuring effective collaborations
  • Science
    • Science consulting
    • Global health >
      • Capacity building in global health >
        • Capacity building through leadership
        • Disaster relief
      • Mental health
      • Aging and palliative care
      • Neurological disorders
    • Clinical science
    • Preclinical science
    • Science advocacy >
      • Advocacy activities
      • ABC newsletters
    • Patient communication and advocacy >
      • Patient communication and advocacy (articles)
    • Science education
    • Awards and professional recognition
  • Dance
    • Dance resume >
      • Pictures and videos
      • Community engagement
      • Arts Administration (Biblioteca Madre)
      • SamyuktaNYC
    • Vichaar >
      • Vichaar: Episode 1 transcript
      • Vichaar: Episode 2 transcript
      • Vichaar: testimonials
      • Saṃbhūya
      • The Artful Mind
      • Exploring Early Brain Development through Science and Dance
      • Guru Vandana
    • Bharatanatyam for creative aging >
      • Bharatanatyam for all
      • Bharatanatyam for all: testimonials
      • Bharatanatyam for all: instructional videos
      • For Seniors, By Seniors >
        • Seniors & Financial Decisions
        • Staying Fit As We Age
        • Signs Your Aging Parent Needs Help
        • Embrace the Empty Nest
        • Empty Nesters Seeking Proximity to Their Children
        • The Bumps of a Midlife Crisis
        • Healthy Living for Seniors
        • Forging a Resilient Future
        • Beyond Medicare and Social Security
        • Seniors Living Independently
        • A Harmonious Multigenerational Household
        • Mental Health Boosts
        • Start Your Home-Based Business After Retirement
        • Reclaiming Mental Wellness

How does my dance training make me a better scientist?

6/20/2022

1 Comment

 
How does my dance training make me a better scientist?
  • Communication of ideas: Both as a scientist and as a dancer, my job is to reach out to people. I feel that my dance training helps me a great deal when I am talking to non-specialists. Communication of ideas and emotions through words, performance, gestures, and facial expressions in dance translates to my scientific world as well. 
    • For example, when I was developing articles on epilepsy for a lay audience, my dance training helped me connect with people and imagine myself in the shoes of a mother of a child with epilepsy. What kinds of information would a parent of a child with epilepsy want to know? This is the kind of insight that I can pass along to my trainees as well, who have written several articles on several basic science aspects of epilepsy.
    • Similarly, when I perform to a Western audience, I need to give them some background of what they are about to see, given that the art form and its cultural context may not be familiar to all. But, what's a good balance to strike? How much do people need to know beforehand to appreciate what I am about to perform? 
  • Exploring the boundaries of "knowing": For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by what it is to know something. Does "knowing" in its true sense mean being able to recall information, add to information, or all of it? 
    • Specifically, my journey as a dancer and scientist combines this fascination for what it is to know, making peace with not knowing the complete picture, and allowing for space for additional information to complete the picture. 
  • Exploring the boundaries of "not knowing": Pushing the boundaries of not knowing is also extremely interesting to me. Does our study of the biology of electrical impulses tell us about our mind and why we feel wistful about something? Does the study of movement (as in episode 2 of Vichaar) tell us why we find joy in moving? 
  • Appreciating beauty: At the end of the day, I find both, neuroscience and Bharatanatyam beautiful in an intuitive way.  
    • I think there is something beautiful in acknowledging that we cannot know how the brain works by looking at electrical impulses, and we cannot know art by looking at its components. 
1 Comment
Carol A Schachter
6/20/2022 05:26:11 pm

My art teacher in college taught us that we don't have to understand an art piece to know it has significance. I found a painting that had the elements of earth, fire and water and that was enough for me to enjoy it. I didn't need to know the background or that blurred object in the left-hand corner. Your synopsis of knowledge/limited knowledge/no knowledge totally encompasses the enigma of mystery. This was so enjoyable to read and, yes, I am a lay person and a senior.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    About Sloka 

    My name is Sloka.  I am a neuroscientist and Bharatanatyam dancer; you can find more about me here. 

    Picture
    Geese babies

    Archives

    July 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    December 2024
    September 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022

Last updated: July 7, 2025
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • About me
    • Profile
    • Service
    • Invited talks and interviews
    • Continuing education
    • Upcoming Public Events
    • Publications
    • Contact me >
      • Ensuring effective collaborations
  • Science
    • Science consulting
    • Global health >
      • Capacity building in global health >
        • Capacity building through leadership
        • Disaster relief
      • Mental health
      • Aging and palliative care
      • Neurological disorders
    • Clinical science
    • Preclinical science
    • Science advocacy >
      • Advocacy activities
      • ABC newsletters
    • Patient communication and advocacy >
      • Patient communication and advocacy (articles)
    • Science education
    • Awards and professional recognition
  • Dance
    • Dance resume >
      • Pictures and videos
      • Community engagement
      • Arts Administration (Biblioteca Madre)
      • SamyuktaNYC
    • Vichaar >
      • Vichaar: Episode 1 transcript
      • Vichaar: Episode 2 transcript
      • Vichaar: testimonials
      • Saṃbhūya
      • The Artful Mind
      • Exploring Early Brain Development through Science and Dance
      • Guru Vandana
    • Bharatanatyam for creative aging >
      • Bharatanatyam for all
      • Bharatanatyam for all: testimonials
      • Bharatanatyam for all: instructional videos
      • For Seniors, By Seniors >
        • Seniors & Financial Decisions
        • Staying Fit As We Age
        • Signs Your Aging Parent Needs Help
        • Embrace the Empty Nest
        • Empty Nesters Seeking Proximity to Their Children
        • The Bumps of a Midlife Crisis
        • Healthy Living for Seniors
        • Forging a Resilient Future
        • Beyond Medicare and Social Security
        • Seniors Living Independently
        • A Harmonious Multigenerational Household
        • Mental Health Boosts
        • Start Your Home-Based Business After Retirement
        • Reclaiming Mental Wellness