Draft of My EDCP 552 Assignment on Arts and Embodied Learning

Topic: Uncovering the Hidden Geometry in Atilogwu dance: Heritage Algorithms and Emplaced Learning.

Name: Clementina Uti

Collaborators: Working individually

Due Date:18^th of February,2026

Description of Project

I am excited to begin a project that creatively merges mathematics with the vibrant cultural heritage of dance. In our Grade 7 math curriculum, we study transformations in geometry, such as translations, rotations, and reflections. I believe that integrating the Atilogwu dance from Nigeria into our lessons will make these concepts more engaging and relatable. I often describe dance as a “heritage algorithm” because much like math, it operates under a set of structured rules and patterns. The Atilogwu dance provides an excellent framework for visualizing and grasping geometric transformations, allowing us to explore mathematical principles in a dynamic way that transcends conventional textbook methods.

My primary aim is to demonstrate that dance consists of intentional movements, enabling students to identify various angles formed by the joints—such as acute, obtuse, and right angles. These are essential for comprehending translations (utilizing vector shifts or congruent images), reflections (synchronized movements between partners), and rotations (turns and jumps measured in degrees, like 90, 180, or 360 degrees). This innovative strategy seeks to connect mathematics with cultural expression, enhancing our understanding of geometry while highlighting its significance in daily life and heritage. Ultimately, I envision this project to refine our math skills while deepening our appreciation for how cultural elements, like dance, can seamlessly integrate with academic concepts. It offers a unique chance to investigate geometry in a lively and relevant context.

Research Plan: Exploring the Interplay Between Dance and Geometry

For my research, I intend to explore the connection between dance and geometry through collaboration with a community dance group called African Friendship Society in Vancouver, British Columbia. This approach is particularly appealing because the Atilogwu dance is known for its energetic acrobatics and complex movements. By partnering with experts in this field, I will be able to document authentic performances related to angle identification and transformation mapping, allowing seventh-grade students to discover the hidden geometry before engaging in semiotic enactment.

Additionally, students will have the opportunity to explore a human-scale coordinate grid outside by using chalk to draw angles on the ground, tangibly reinforcing their learning during our classes. To aid my study, I will record their live dance performances, enabling me to trace the invisible lines created by acrobatic jumps and movements, which I will treat as crucial cultural artifacts. My objective is to meticulously observe and analyze the dancers' performances to uncover the geometric patterns that emerge, focusing on aspects like jumps, rotations, and intentional placements of hands and bodies.

Through detailed observation and analysis, I aspire to reveal how these movements not only convey significant cultural narratives but also expose underlying geometric structures in the air. This research aims to provide a deeper understanding of the intricate relationship between movement, form, and cultural expression.

Bibliography and Annotations

1. Eglash, R., & Bennett, A. G. (2025). African Interlace as Dynamic Grids: New Heritage Algorithms for Diaspora Design Ecologies. Design and Culture, 1-22.

This article establishes a foundational theoretical framework for my project by framing African cultural practices as "Heritage Algorithms," characterized as logically structured and rule-based systems. It draws on Eglash and Bennett's exploration of "Dynamic Grids" and "3D movement paths" in performances such as Capoeira, providing academic support for viewing the Atilogwu dance as a mathematical artifact, transcending its artistic expression. The authors’ concept of "repetition with revision" is particularly relevant as it explains how synchronized dance steps can be seen as geometric transformations, including translations and reflections.

2. Abrahamson, D., Nathan, M. J., Williams-Pierce, C., Walkington, C., Ottmar, E. R., Soto, H., & Alibali, M. W. (2020, August). The future of embodied design for mathematics teaching and learning. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 5, p. 147). Frontiers Media SA.

Their article emphasizes the significance of the learner’s body in developing mathematical intuition, suggesting that physical movement is foundational before formal symbols are introduced. It employs the concept of "semiotic enactment" to bridge students’ visual analysis of the Atilogwu dance with their own creative outputs. By moving students from a "pre-symbolic" state, where they appreciate the dance's cultural and geometric intricacies, to a "symbolic" state, where they translate those movements into coordinates on a grid, the lesson fosters deeper engagement.

Utilizing Abrahamson’s idea of "multimodal synthesis," this pedagogical approach integrates digital video analysis, collaborative discussion, and hands-on chalk activities to create an embodied understanding of geometry. This methodology highlights the use of energetic cultural artifacts to initiate attentional anchors necessary for understanding abstract transformations, which ultimately aims for a holistic learning experience that connects physical movement with mathematical concepts.

3. Gerofsky, S. (2025). Embodied Outdoors Arts-Based Approaches to Mathematical Understanding. Encounters in Theory and History of Education, 26, 56-87.                                           

The author advocates for "emplaced" and "outdoor" learning that utilizes materials available in the immediate environment to break away from the static, industrial nature of traditional classrooms. I apply this by having students transition from the digital analysis of expert video artifacts to a physical, material-based representation on an outdoor floor. Using chalk as an environmental tool, students will collaboratively map the "heritage algorithms" and geometric transformations they observed in the Atilogwu dance. This approach supports Gerzofsky’s argument that mathematical understanding is deepened when it is arts-based and situated in an open-air, embodied space.

4. Radford, L. (2014). Towards an embodied, cultural, and material conception of mathematics cognition. ZDM, 46(3), 349-361.

The article discusses the concept of "sensuous cognition. “A concept that argues that mathematical thinking is influenced by cultural and historical contexts, while drawing on sensory experiences and the material world as a crucial foundation. This idea is applied to illuminate the significance of the Atilogwu dance, a vibrant cultural expression, as an essential tool for understanding mathematics. By having students observe professional dancers and then translate those movements onto the pavement using chalk, the approach fosters a "multimodal sentient form" of learning. It reframes the act of drawing as a complex process that engages the senses and material tools, enabling students to creatively interpret and reshape abstract geometric ideas.

5. Fors, V., Bäckström, Å., & Pink, S. (2013). Multisensory Emplaced Learning: Resituating Situated Learning in a Moving World. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 20(2), 170–183. https://doi.org/10.1080/10749039.2012.719991

This article establishes a critical framework of "emplaced learning" that backs up my project's environmental context. The authors advance beyond conventional "situated learning" by positing that knowledge emerges from a multisensory interaction between the dynamic body and its surrounding environment. I apply this innovative theory as evidence of the transition of my Grade 7 students from a traditional classroom to a large-scale outdoor coordinate grid. By engaging in what Fors et al. term a "sensory ensemble," my students transcend mere observation of geometry. They actively embody it by aligning their visual interpretation of the Atilogwu dance with the tactile experience of drawing and moving in an expansive outdoor space.