‘Invisible Jazz Labs’ experiments by pairing dance and physics

When a distinguished physicist compares the makeup of the early universe to “a steaming hot dance floor,” you know you're in for an entertaining evening.

That was the case Friday inside The Space Upstairs in Point Breeze for the debut of The Ellipses Condition's “Invisible Jazz Labs” series, which put under a microscope, so to speak, the interplay of dance, music, chalk art, poetry and science. (The next installment will be 8 p.m. April 28, with more dates to be announced.)

Choreographer/Ellipses Condition co-founder Pearlann Porter reimagined her cozy space above Construction Junction as a laboratory. But instead of test tubes and stark white lab coats, it was a dance floor set against a backdrop of chalkboards and musicians, with the audience seated on a hodgepodge of sunken couches and armchairs.

The night was divided into two lessons led by Manfred Paulini, Ph.D., and Matthew Daniels of Carnegie Mellon University's physics department. There was a vision for the program — dancers would dance, speakers would speak, artists would draw, etc. — but how it would all come together was the experiment.

Mr. Manfred, who studies the nature of dark matter (including at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland), shared three stories about the creation of the universe. As he discussed the Big Bang theory, percussionist PJ Roduta (joined by David Pellow on bass) struck the drums, and dancers scurried across the floor. A talk on Albert Einstein's equation E = mc² inspired poet John Lambert to jot down “E = the prisoner x the cage” alongside Mr. Manfred's notes. Meanwhile, Jordan Bush turned atoms into colorful chalk art.

Next, Mr. Daniels delved into the world of magnetism. Dancers twirled like magnets in motion with their arms extended upward. Other times, they took a seat and became students like the rest of us. It was fun to see the speakers occasionally take a step back, too, and savor the moment.

By the last 20 minutes or so, all this talk of magnetic ribbons and spin waves had my head spinning. The beauty of this science class, though, was it didn't matter if we didn't know the answers. In fact, the questions raised about the exploration of matter, energy and ourselves were perhaps even more important.

Sara Bauknecht: sbauknecht@post-gazette. or on Twitter and Instagram @SaraB_PG.