Context

This was explored quite a few years ago. I was still working my factory job and interested in the intersection of dance and occupational biomechanics. Ways to describe, direct, and possibly even measure movement in a more empirical way then we usually have in dance.

Basically

I was trying to see how the golden ratio to relates to, or underlies fluid coordination. I just know that intuitively when you try to copy this movement, it just feels oddly right. Probably easier to find this feeling when you have training with stuff like gaga technique.

Using p5js, I made this simple sketch to see how this the golden ratio plays out with mathematical accuracy.

In the end

Don’t know if this really has any legs, I do know that the floating movement directive tends to lead to this sensation of wholistic coordination, like tai chi. I would be interesting to see if the golden ratio pops up more often when this sensation is achieved. It would just be pretty damn hard to track all those data points of movement and parse them meaningfully. Not to mention the golden ratio is already so prevalent in nature that it could lead to a lot of false correlations.

Not to mention the golden ratio/fibonacci sequence often gets blown out of proportion and overhyped. Subject to to be credited in situations where it doesn’t belong. I do have to be careful not to contribute to this kind of overextension. Nor do I think there is some kind of silver bullet equation that can “solve” something as complex as human movement. I will still let this idea float around in my head, there may still be something interesting here, whether the golden ratio is a part of it or not. It may just be an interesting thought.