Intro: "Fibonacci is nothing but a sequence of numbers." If anybody tells you that, they're wrong. Math isn't just a bunch of numbers. Every little piece of the concept falls into place perfectly, so perfect it seems fake. Every concept is destined to be in its own place to create the four letter concept. Math. Math can be incorporated into pretty much anything.
What is Fibonacci? Fibonacci is a sequence that follows a consistent pattern. In the Fibonacci sequence, you start with zero, then one. The sequence progresses by adding the previous number to the current number. It goes like this: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, etc. People use it for syllables in poetry, they use it in art, choreography, and many other concepts beyond math. It is named after Fibonacci, also known as Leonardo Pisano, the founder of the sequence.
Examples
Polly Motley begins her piece with simple pointing and circling arm gestures. As phrases grew longer, Mrs. Motley did things like stating contemplatively, crouching and hugging herself, rolling on the floor and raise herself from it using one arm as a hinge. She let Fibonacci help her determine the duration of each move. However, every time she switched sections, only a math wiz with a dangerously accurate stopwatch could tell when she started a new section. Numbers became irrelevant. She always gave the impression that she knew what she was doing and exactly where she was going. That was what made her so captivating. Fibonacci isn’t just numbers, and art isn’t drawing and painting.
Imagine a ballet dancers hell, the repetition of the same ten steps for an eternity, the speed of the counts growing increasingly faster as each phrase progresses. That seemed to be the idea behind Édouard Lock's piece. The speed of the dancer's repetitious moves grew insanely fast, not abiding by the accompanied music at all. It was an uncomfortable trance for the audience. The concept was, the dancers didn't want their help; they wanted the audience to see them suffer. The drug members of the audience to the stage, pulling and tugging on them, Interacting with them in the weirdest of ways.
There are so many ways to use Fibonacci in dance. Many have used the progression of counts. For example: one count of eight, one count of eight, two counts of eight, three counts of eight, five counts of eight, etc. Others have used it based on the speed the dancers move at or how many times a move is repeated.
So what's the point? As human beings, we latch onto the concept of pattern and repetition. No matter how scattered your life may be; I don't care if you're Sam and Dean, gallivanting all over the country hunting demons. They still check into a motel, find a bar near by, Sam does research while Dean attempts to hit on hot bartenders regardless of where they are. They still follow patterns. Fibonacci is nothing but another pattern that progresses in a way that just simply makes sense. Pattern is human, this sequence is human.
Credits:
Created with images by Nuno Duarte - "Dance" • adactio - "Fibonacci" • koroed85 - "ballet evening sunset" • val_girl - "Dance" • jimwhimpey - "Dance" • tazzanderson - "dancer dance field" • nikidinov - "ballet swan lake ballerina" • Takmeomeo - "ballet dance dancer" • Stephen Kelly Photography - "Tap Dancer, Union Square" • Pexels - "art concert dancer" • Clearly Ambiguous - "Dance!"