Who we are:
The dance company, founded in 1987, is co-directed by Karl Schaffer and Erik Stern, and tours internationally. Our long-time collaborators have included Gregg Lizenbery, Scott Kim, and Chris Jones.
Dr. Schaffer and Mr. Stern has received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County, and the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County.
Latest video:
See the October, 2012 TEDx presentation by Karl Schaffer and Erik Stern on our educational approach to combining dance and mathematics.
Other Recent Links:
(1) Video excerpts of Dr. Schaffer and Mr. Stern Dance Ensemble works.
(2) Madison Science Festival, review of performance by Karl Schaffer and Erik Stern, Sep., 2012.
(3) Article on Schaffer/Stern workshop at Univ. of Wisconsin Dance Dept., Sep. 28, 2012.
(4) Article on Karl Schaffer's Tri-College Mellon Creative Residency: Math and Dance, Sep. 2012.
(5) Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics Keynote performance, Oct. 18, 2012, Columbus, Ohio.
(6) Madison Area Technical College Talk Sep. 28, 2012, by Karl Schaffer.
Recent News:
"The Daughters of Hypatia: Circles of Mathematical Women," a premiere dance performance by Karl Schaffer and friends. "The Daughters of Hypatia" celebrates great female mathematicians and their struggles to create groundbreaking
mathematics. The historical sections of the show are drawn together by dances exploring circular motifs, and the concert includes live projection of video mosaics. Dancers: Kaylie Caires, Jenna Purcell, Jane Real, and Saki. Friday, Feb. 24 and Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012, 8PM at the new Motion at the Mill Ronn Reinberg Theater in Santa Cruz. Tickets on sale at Brown Paper Tickets or Motion at the Mill.
Read more...
Mosaic by Karl Schaffer: New dance work by Karl Schaffer performed Friday, June 24, 2011 and Saturday, June 25, 2011, both at 8 PM, at the International Academy of Dance, in Santa Cruz. Read more...
Europe, Summer 2010. The reconceived arrangement of our concert “The Secret Life of Squares,” featuring Saki, Karl, and Erik, at the Bobita Puppet Theatre, July 25, was one of the main theatrical events at the Bridges 2010 conference in Pecs, Hungary, and was part of the European Capital Cities of Culture Festival. Our performance mirrored this conference’s focus on the connections between mathematics and the arts, and conference participants and general public packed the theater, standing room only. Hungarian television and press covered the concert and, judging by the audience response, it was an overwhelming success.
From a Hungarian review of the Pecs performance:
“Their well-coordinated and harmonizing movements . . . were very simple and everyday, but once you paid attention, they were filled with meaning. It was this simplicity that created tension and held the performance together.”
- Laszlo Galantai, kikotoonline
Karl and Erik also performed a duet show at Constructionism 2010, in Paris I mid-August. This show was also very well received.
Karl and Erik led workshops on math and dance at both conferences.
Enthusiastic conference participants from Asia and Europe have inquired about possible performances, and negotiations are beginning for the 2011-12 season. We’ll keep you posted.
To our many donors and supporters, Thank You!
Following our successful performances in Europe this past summer we are planning to reschedule the concert originally planned for Sat. June 12, 2010 at West End Studio Theatre in Santa Cruz. That performance with Erik Stern, Karl Schaffer, and Saki, was cancelled due to injury. We hope to soon have a date and venue for this performance.
Recently published article: Karl and Erik's pioneering and ongoing math dance is featured in an article in Dance Teacher Magazine in the March, 2010 issue.
Video excerpts of Dr. Schaffer and Mr. Stern Dance Ensemble works are now at YouTube.
Karl and Erik performed and preseneted at two European interdisciplinary conferences in summer 2010:
July 24-28, Bridges 2010, in Pecs, Hungary.
Aug. 16-20, Constructionism 2010, in Paris, France.
Donations are always welcome. Please send to MoveSpeakSpin, PO Box 8055, Santa Cruz, CA 95061; donations are tax deductible.
Photos of Ronn Reinberg, long-time tech director, advisor, and friend to Dr. Schaffer and Mr. Stern.
Kennedy Center Partners in Education program. Karl and Erik continue as Teaching Artists presenting math dance workshops for educators and students through this national arts integration program. In December, 2009, Erik gave workshops through the University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Karl taught in Queens, New York through the Great Neck Arts Center in March, 2010.
Puerto Rico. Both Erik and Karl taught many workshops for teachers, students and artists in Puerto Rico in April and August, 2009, as part of a National Endowment for the Arts grant. They found the children, teachers, and artists they worked with extremely excited by the math dance work in this follow-up trip to their 2005 residency. The residency was sponsored by the Instituto de Cultura Puertoriquenna.
Choreography for Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company. Erik choreographed a new work that premiered in RW's September 2009 concert "Equilibrium." "Unlikely Ritual" is a short fractured look at the strange self-designations men and women are asked to give themselves when filling out dating and compatibility forms.
Recent Bay Area work. Deanna Ross and Karl Schaffer performed the duet "The Atom Bomb Game," at Counterpulse in San Francisco on Sunday, Dec. 13, in Monterey Peninsula College's Fall Concert, Dec. 4th and 5th, and
at SJDancCo's ChoreoProject Awards, Feb. 19 and 20.
Karl is featured in "Cool Careers in Math," a new booklet designed to interest teenagers in mathematics, just published by Sally Ride Science. He and Saki, Fabricio Olsson, and Deanna Ross are performing for the San Jose Children's Discovery Museum's Legacy for Children Award 2010, honoring Physicist/Astronaut Sally Ride on Friday, May 14.
Karl Schaffer produced a concert of mathematically playful new dance works, “Imaginary Numbers,” at the 418 Project in Santa Cruz, May 2009. The concert featured “Harmonious Equations,” a new work directed and narrated by National Public Radio’s “Math Guy” Keith Devlin, and based on music composed and performed by Santa Cruz choral group Zambra.
More on the Company
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MathDance.orgMath Dance with Dr. Schaffer and Mr. Stern, published in October, 2001, was written by Karl Schaffer, Erik Stern, and Scott Kim, of the The Dr. Schaffer & Mr. Stern Dance Ensemble. |
Sternworks.orgDemolition Derby: Just as current medical research represents the cutting edge of conception and treatment of dementia, the creators of Demolition Derby view the project as a means to engage, entertain and create awareness through artistic expression. |
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 Photo by John Bakalis |
The Dr. Schaffer and Mr. Stern Dance Ensemble performs under the auspices of MoveSpeakSpin, a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. |
| Please make your tax deductible contribution using the form below. |