First of all, let us get it over with. You know. “Dancer”. What came to your mind? Shame on you for having the visions of shiny poles and dirty men. With an honorable university education in dance and several years spent as a professor at another, my wife dances far from any pole. Jazz, ballet, tap, and hip-hop, to name a few, are disciplines of dance she has refined over many years. She has founded a dance company and recently assisted with the startup of another. She is a brilliant choreographer with the ability to take anyone, amateur or otherwise, and cause them to move in a way that is far beyond their natural abilities. She is inspired and inspires.
Me, I’m just a simple architect with one simple task - translate a set of abstract requirements into a succinct physical piece of work called a building. Unfortunately, the building must work. The building must breathe. The building must offer moments of rest, moments of motion - moments of neither. Just moments. I often observe the built world with intention and think about the spatial relationships that make up its varied forms. I cannot help but critically consider if these relationships are useful, deleterious or inconsequential to our physical and emotional well being, especially the ones we regularly interface with. Evidently, I have a relationship with the world around me. You have a relationship with the world around you. It either inspires or evokes frustration. I prefer the former. So too does my wife. This is where her and I meet.
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| Partial elevation of Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario designed by Saucier + Perrotte architects |
Architecture and dance have a relationship. Not mathematical, as my title might suggest, but social, emotional, psychological, ephemeral, and, yes, even physical. They both engage each other as well as the world impacting her in unique but equally potent ways - with art at its core. It is here I wish to explore and give evidence of the inspiring aspects we each have found in the other’s vocation as well as reveal the interesting congruencies that lie beneath the surface. I further wish to share that which captivates and motivates the architect living inside of me. My hope is that as you read through these posts you will learn something interesting about architecture or dance, you will be moved to think outside of your own proverbial box and you will engage the world around you in a way you never have before. Enjoy.
