Fractals

The Invisible World of Fractals Made Visible Through Theater and Dance

By Kimberley Cetron

Fractals are patterns, infinitely reiterating, self-similar in shape. Benoit Mandelbrot coined the term in the 1970s, but scientists and mathematicians had been exploring the concept for centuries. Mandelbrot developed a geometry to express things found in the natural rather than the man-made world —coastlines, galaxies, anatomy, clouds, trees, snowflakes, and the like. Fractals are intrinsic to Chaos Theory—the science of surprises, of the non-linear and unpredictable. They reveal the order governing the seemingly chaotic in our world. As we learn to recognize them, we gain insight into our world, ourselves, and one another. Especially at this cultural moment, when the whole word has changed and we must reimagine the ways in which we make art and the ways we educate, Fractals provides resources and approaches for collaborative art and for locating the intersection of arts and academics in ways that illuminate both.

Genre/category: Arts in Education/

BISAC Codes: EDU057000 PER003000 PER011000

Meet The Author

Kimberley Cetron

Review Quotes:

“Fractals is an eye-opening awakening to the patterns that surround us everywhere and a must read for artists and arts enthusiasts of any discipline seeking insight into the creative process.” —Shu-Chen Cuff, Founder/Artistic Director, Gin Dance Company and Faculty Member at The Washington Ballet, Metropolitan School of the Arts, and BalletNova Center for Dance

“Kimberley Cetron’s deep dive into the connective relationships between dramatic impulsive movement text and choreography is a gold mine. It offers endless possibilities for artistic educational conversation.”—Tomé Cousin, Dancer, Choreographer, Director, and Associate Professor of Dance, Carnegie Mellon University

“The ideas, concepts, and principles explored in Fractals deliver fresh insight for practitioners of diverse forms of art. It offers truth in the matter – that education truly involves collaboration. Our histories lead us to new pathways and new ways of thinking: and within that, it is our nature to share and build new knowledge together.”—Autumn Eckman, Dancer, Choreographer, and Assistant Professor of Dance, University of Arizona