2015 - Dancers look for sequences of movements

Mathematics is the universal language crucial in formulating, expressing, and understanding the ideas and major technological achievements of our time. It is not only useful in considering the problems of science and engineering, but also in many other disciplines such as business and the social sciences.

Mathematical anxiety is a phenomenon that is often considered when examining problems in mathematics suggesting that highly anxious students will avoid situations in which they have to perform mathematical calculations. There has been research examining gender difference in performance on standardised tests across various countries. By parents placing a higher emphasis on effort rather than one's innate intellectual ability they  help their child develop a growth mindset as everyone has the ability to develop their intellectual ability, learn from their mistakes and become more resilient learners.

Dancing is an art form that produces stable patterns of interwoven segments for stability analysis. Surprisingly, with rich mathematical solutions that raise subtle difficulties for those attempting to analyse their stability. Dancers look for sequences of movements that will produce a desired configuration, an algorithmic question that is particularly challenging if the arms and sticks are required to maintain a simple closed loop during the dance.