Fractal Computation in Step with Real-Time Dance

This paper describes a collaboration among computer scientists, dancers, and musicians on a production entitled “Fibonacci and Phi.” Thematically, the production explored mathematical concepts that have aesthetic appeal, capturing the ways in which mathematical beauty gives shape to nature and art, and expressing the human response to these forms. Technically, the production tested the limits of parallel cluster computation in real-time multimedia and performance art. The result was a dance performance that wove together science and art in a way intended to draw new audience members into both realms.