Exploring Braids through Dance: The ``Waves of Tory'' Problem
Andrea Hawksley

Proceedings of Bridges 2012: Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Culture
Pages 613–618
Workshop papers

Abstract

Despite obvious links between many forms of dance and mathematics, the relations between them are rarely discussed. In this paper, we explore one connection between dancing and mathematics — braids. The bijection between dance and braiding enables us to kinesthetically teach various concepts in group theory. We describe an interactive workshop wherein the participants gain a stronger understanding of group theory by collaboratively dancing braids.

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