The Neuronal Disco
This participatory dance workshop has been developed by artist Charlie Murphy and Professor Selina Wray as a novel engagement tool for learning about brain development and the impacts of dementia on a cellular level. Disco dancing your way to understanding how brain cells are being grown ‘in a dish’, the Neuronal Disco invites participants to animate the development of brain cells through a series of choreographed movements to well-known pop songs.
Patterns and formations of neuronal growth, connection, communication and degeneration are celebrated through different dance groupings and wearable technologies – bringing disco dancing into the heart of molecular neurochemistry.
Inspired by the principles of neurochemistry, this participatory event invites audiences of all ages to learn about and explore a variety of intracellular transport processes and cell colony models. It is an accessible dance workshop which offers unique insights into the workings of the brain and the impacts of different kinds of dementias on a cellular level.
The Neuronal Disco has been enthusiastically received by audiences at Southbank’s B(old) Festival 2018 and Folkestone’s Normal? Festival of the Brain 2017.
Large scale projections of research imagery around each of the surrounding walls of the dance space:
Finger lights in same colours as the protein dyes used in the lab are worn by participants-along with ‘sound to light’ bracelets that respond to bass and percussive sounds.
