{"id":318362,"date":"2018-05-08T11:38:36","date_gmt":"2018-05-08T15:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=318362"},"modified":"2018-05-11T08:58:29","modified_gmt":"2018-05-11T12:58:29","slug":"student-uses-dance-understand-biology-grief-318362","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/student-uses-dance-understand-biology-grief-318362\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding the biology of grief through dance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Making their mark: This is\u00a0one in a series<\/a>\u00a0of profiles celebrating members of Rochester\u2019s graduating class of 2018.<\/em><\/p>\n

Erin Dong \u201918 knew from a young age that she wanted to study biology. While at the University of Rochester, she supplemented her coursework with stints as a volunteer in rehabilitation physical therapy at the Medical Center and as a research assistant in the School of Nursing. But what surprised her during her time at Rochester was that she also developed a love of dance, leading her to double major in both biology<\/a> and dance.<\/a><\/p>\n

For her senior capstone project, Dong created a dance called \u201cThe Beautiful Awful: Experiencing Grief Through Movement\u201d that combines aspects of both her majors. Along the way, she learned important lessons about the creative process, taking risks, and the wisdom that can come from failure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI only started dancing when I came to college,\u201d Dong says. \u201cBut I love how it\u2019s this universal way of expression. In my senior project, I wanted to help people remember the loss they felt and experienced, connect to others who also shared that, and allow them to feel the emotions in their entire bodies, not just in their heads.\u201d<\/p>\n