Event 1: The Cardiac Dance: Spiral of Dance

On October 9^th, I was really pleased to attend the event “ The Cardiac Dance, The Spirals of Life”. Dr. Buckberg is a Professor of Surgery at the UCLA Medical Center. In this event, Dr. Buckberg perfectly combines the elements of art and science."The Cardiac Dance: Spiral of Dance" is based on the twisting and pulsing rhythm of the human heart in motion. He shows us the movements of the heart through different scenarios of dance. During the performance, the choreography shows a normal healthy heart, a heart attack and many other forms of the heart with different dances.

                        

This is very interesting and educational because these heart movements and changes are inside our bodies but Dr. Buckberg was able to portray these nearly unseen movements. I mistakenly thought that our hearts are continuously squeezing like a ball when they’re pumping, but one of the scenarios corrected my wrong thought. It showed that the heart will twist and untwist while it’s pumping rather than squeezing. The twist/untwist motion of dance showed the motion of heart vividly. The dance also showed how a normal and elliptical heart differs from a dilated and spherical heart and how they function or dysfunction. I really enjoyed seeing the  movement of the dancers in such a way to present the shape and movement of such an important organ and I’m impressed by this part of “The Cardiac Dance” because it visualized the heart movements and conditions with dance so it is much more acceptable and understandable for people like me who lack the specific knowledge of cardiac science.

During the event, Dr.Buckberg told us that Dr. Francisco (Paco) Torrent -Guasp inspired him about the concept of “The Cardiac Dance” and he hopes that scientists and surgeons would be more open-minded instead of treating two cultures as two completely separate fields.

During week 6 we learned the  interaction of art and medical technology and this event showed us how art may be used to teach others about scientific and medical knowledge. I think teachers should use more different mediums to present the knowledge and I believe students will learn better by seeing something in action outside of the classroom.

Citations:

"Enlarged Heart (Cardiomegaly)." . N.p., Online Posting toBaharath. E-mail. <http://www.heart-disease-treatments.com/Enlarged-Heart-(Cardiomegaly).php>.

 Merkowitz, Jennifer Bernard.  "The Cardiac Dance—The Spirals of Life."  University of Cincinnati, College Conservatory of Music : Composition.  2007.

Image by self at event. 2013.

Buckberg, Gerald. "LECTURE: Dr. GERALD BUCKBERG: Cardiac Dance." . N.p., E-mail. <http://cnsi.ctrl.ucla.edu/streaming/art-sci/live>.

Buckerg, Gerald D. “Gerald David Buckberg, M.D. Curriculum Vitae.” UCLA. UCLA Health. Sun. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.surgery.medsch.ucla.edu/CVs/gbuckberg.html>.