Merce Cunningham essays

Merce Cunningham essays In the age of conformity, Merce Cunningham has resisted the temptation to remain aligned with his peers. Cunningham has pioneered a new school of thought in dance, and has set the standard for future pioneers. He is passionate about what he does and it has been evident in his works as a dancer and a choreographer. Cunningham was born on April 16, 1919, in Centralia, Washington. At the age of twelve, Cunningham became interested in dance and started informal instruction. Upon graduation from high school, Cunningham began his formal dance instruction at the Cornish School of Fine and Applied Arts. After two years at the Cornish School, he studied at Mills College and at Bennington College; this is where he was invited to join Martha Grahams dance company in 1939. Graham was an incredible dancer who also choreographed during her career. While dancing for Graham, Cunningham began to make a name for himself in the dancing community. It was with Grahams encouragement that Cunningham started to choreograph on his own. His decision to start choreographing can be looked at as one of the most important decisions in the history of dance. With the encouragement of John Cage, a composer, Cunningham left Martha Grahams Dance Company in 1945 to pursue a fulltime partnership with Cage. The two men would go on to have a very storied career. On the night of April 6, 1944, at the Humphrey Weidman Studio, Cunningham and Cage performed their first solo recital. In attendance that night was acclaimed dance critic, Edwin Denby. When he was actively reviewing, Edwin Denby was this countrys most respected critic of the dance(Klosty 215). Cunninghams first performance captured Denby from the very beginning with Cunninghams amazing steps, runs, and knee bends and he described them as brilliant in lightness and speed. Denby was also impressed by Cunninghams gifts as a lyric dan...

How to Make a DNA Model out of Candy

How to Make a DNA Model out of Candy There are many common materials you can use to form the double helix shape of DNA. Its easy to make a DNA model out of candy. Heres how a candy DNA molecule is constructed. Once youve completed the science project, you can eat your model as a snack. Key Takeaways: Candy DNA Model Candy is a fun and edible construction material that is perfect for making a model of DNA.The key ingredients are a rope-like candy to serve as the DNA backbone and gummy candies to act as the bases.A good DNA model shows base pair bonding (adenine to thymine; guanine to cytosine) and the double helix shape of the DNA molecule. Smaller candies may be used to add more detail to the model. The Structure of DNA In order to construct a model of DNA, you need to know what it looks like. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule shaped like a twisted ladder or double helix. The sides of the ladder are the DNA backbone, made up of repeating units of a pentose sugar (deoxyribose) bonded to a phosphate group. The rungs of the ladder are the bases or nucleotides adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. The ladder is twisted slightly to make a helix shape. Candy DNA Model Materials You have several options here. Basically, you need 1-2 colors of rope-like candy for the backbone. Licorice is good, but you can find gum or fruit sold in strips, too. Use four different colors of soft candy for the bases. Good choices include colored marshmallows and gumdrops. Just be sure to choose a candy you can puncture using a toothpick. LicoriceSmall colored marshmallows or gummy candy (4 different colors)Toothpicks Construct the DNA Molecule Model Assign a base to a candy color. You need exactly four colors of candies, which will correspond to adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine. If you have extra colors, you can eat them.Pair up the candies. Adenine binds to thymine. Guanine binds to cytosine. The bases do not bond to any others! For example, adenine never bonds to itself or to guanine or cytosine. Connect the candies by pushing a matched pair of them next to each other in the middle of a toothpick.Attach the pointy ends of the toothpicks to licorice strands, to form a ladder shape.If you like, you can twist the licorice to show how the ladder forms a double helix. Twist the ladder counterclockwise to make a helix like the one that occurs in living organisms. The candy helix will unravel unless you use toothpicks to hold the top and bottom of the ladder to cardboard or polystyrene foam. DNA Model Options If you like, you can cut pieces of red and black licorice to make a more detailed backbone. One color is the phosphate group, while the other is the pentose sugar. If you choose to use this method, cut the licorice into 3 pieces and alternate colors on a string or pipecleaner. The candy needs to be hollow, so licorice is the best choice for this variation of the model. Attach bases to the pentose sugar parts of the backbone. Its helpful to make a key to explain the parts of the model. Either draw and label the model on paper or attach candies to cardboard and label them. Quick DNA Facts DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid) are nucleic acids, an important class of biological molecules.DNA is the blueprint or code for all of the proteins formed in an organism. For this reason, it is also called the genetic code.New DNA molecules are made by breaking the ladder shape of DNA down the middle and filling in the missing pieces to make 2 molecules. This process is called transcription.DNA makes proteins through a process called translation. In translation, the information from DNA is used to make RNA, which goes to the ribosomes of a cell to make amino acids, which are joined to make polypeptides and proteins. Making a DNA model isnt the only science project you can do using candy. Use extra materials to try other experiments!