Open Interval: The Intersection of Science and Dance
Scientists and dancers seemingly inhabit separate worlds, but both professions promote creativity and value experimentation. Now in its third year, the Open Interval program explores the exciting intersection between science and dance by pairing scientists from the Simons Foundation’s Flatiron Institute with emerging New York City choreographers. The program, a partnership between the Simons Foundation and New York City-based dance company Gibney, provides the pairs with time and space to pause, reflect and experiment together.
The Simons Foundation forged its partnership with Gibney as part of its commitment to fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. The Open Interval program recognizes the importance of the collaborative process in and of itself, says Ivvet Modinou, senior vice president of the Simons Foundation’s Science, Society & Culture division (SSC).
“We weren’t looking for a polished performance or end result,” she says. “We were excited to support an opportunity that lent itself to the types of discoveries that only happen when you give people the time and space to think deeply together.”
The program provides a valuable creative opportunity for emerging choreographers, says Gibney founder Gina Gibney. Choreographers operate in an industry where resources are often tied to expectations that prioritize final results over creative exploration, she says.
Open Interval is part of SSC’s Researcher Engagement Program, which partners Simons Foundation scientists with tools and partnerships to help them meaningfully engage with the public.
The journey between interested scientists and choreographers begins at an informal Creative Collisions gathering, where the researchers and dancers spend an evening together, chatting over drinks and taking note of the natural connections between science and dance and points of curiosity that might arise. From there, the program selects two scientist-choreographer pairs based on their mutual interest in continued conversation and eagerness to explore how their distinct practices might inspire and inform one another.
The inaugural cohort of Open Interval consisted of a partnership between quantum physicist LaToya Anderson and choreographer and director of dance-theater-media company the feath3r theory Raja Feather Kelly, and a collaboration between astrophysicist Blakesley Burkhart and choreographer Marla Phelan.
Last year’s cohort featured dynamic collaborations between neuroscientist Amin Nejatbakhsh and choreographer, director and filmmaker Yara Travieso, and biophysicist Tatyana Gavrilchenk and Paloma McGregor, co-founder of the art organization Angela’s Pulse.
The 2024–2025 cohort will feature quantum physicist Kyle Eskridge, who will partner with choreographer Sophia Noel, known for her eclectic style that blends hip-hop, salsa, swing and ballet. Astronomer and astrophysicist Joseph Long will collaborate with choreographer, dancer and teacher Colin Heininger.
In a special addition to this year’s cohort, the Simons Foundation and Gibney will also facilitate a collaboration between renowned postmodern choreographer Lucinda Childs and applied mathematician Michael Shelley, director of the Center for Computational Biology at the Flatiron Institute. Their work together will culminate in a new piece by Childs, set to premiere at The Joyce Theater in May 2025 as part of Gibney’s upcoming season.
As the next eight months unfold, the current cohort will shape their own experience by engaging in interdisciplinary conversations and experiments that have the potential to unlock new ways of thinking and approaching their work. In a city where possibilities are as boundless as they are fleeting, Open Interval invites us all to consider what can happen when we hold space for process over product, leaving room for discovery, growth and transformation.
For more information about the program and this year’s cohort, check out Gibney’s website.
