Art and science collide as dance troupe gets ready for Ackland performance

The art of dance will intersect with neuroscience in a new performance at the Ackland Art Museum. On Feb. 17, choreographer and directer Killian Manning and her performance company No Forwarding Address will host a dance performance, inspired by Santiago Ramón y Cajal’s famous drawings of the human brain, that will be shown three times throughout the day. 

“Santiago Ramón y Cajal's drawings of the brain are both aesthetically astonishing and scientifically significant," a press release from the Ackland said. "'The Beautiful Brain' is the first museum exhibition to present these extraordinary works in their historical context.” 

The Ackland is displaying 80 of Cajal's 3,000-plus intricate drawings in its new 'The Beautiful Brain' exhibit until April 7.

Killian Manning, a choreographer for the Ballet School of Chapel Hill, has been involved with dance for many years, teaching dance at UNC from 1989-95. She has choreographed numerous dance pieces throughout her career that emphasize creative expression and improvisation. 

Manning said she was inspired to arrange a 25-minute dance piece after seeing and researching Cajal’s work in neuroscience. She said she took most of her inspiration from his dream journals when creating the routine. 

The performance will feature five dancers and will be performed in the gallery while museum guests tour the exhibit. Manning said No Forwarding Address has been rehearsing since October in hopes that the dance piece will help inform those visiting the gallery to reconfigure the drawings in another visual way. 

“I think it’s going to enhance the museum experience,” Manning said. “I’m always a big fan of the arts speaking to each other, having a conversation and letting the audiences in on that.”  

The routine will have different sections that represent different aspects of neuroscience, from pathology to cell structure. Manning said the movements of the dancers will express the operation of the brain. 

Lindsey Hale, the public programs coordinator at the Ackland, said the performance began as a collaboration with Manning as a way to incorporate different types of art into the museum’s program schedule.

“The Ackland really enjoys bringing different types of art together whether it is visual, dance (or) music,” Hale said. “I think that’s one aspect of our public programming that we really pride ourselves on is really working with the community and embracing different kinds of expressive art forms that people might not necessarily expect to see in a museum setting.” 

This is part of an effort for the Ackland to cross intersect with other departments across the UNC campus, such as neuroscience and performing arts. 

“Ackland Museum and the UNC greater academic community seem to really be taking advantage of each other as resources in terms of cross promotion and increasing the capacity for knowledge building," Hale said. 

Manning’s dance piece will also be performed twice on March 24 in addition to the February date. The March performance will be in conjunction with an interactive portion where museum visitors can join in on recreating Cajal’s drawings with their own bodies. 

“I think it’s really interesting how the public programming that correlates to 'The Beautiful Brain' relates so heavily on the idea of collaboration and creativity," Hale said. "Our brains are kind of the main instrument for that.” 

arts@dailytarheel.com