Chorea: Stories about science and dance
The Story Collider
Story Collider, Inc.
4.4 • 824 Ratings
🗓️ 20 March 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this week’s episode, both storytellers explore the surprising connections between dance and science.
Part 1: Learning a modern version of her childhood Indian dances puts Sumitra Mattai’s brain and body to the test.
Part 2: When people doubt that dance can empower girls to pursue STEM careers, Yamilée Toussaint sets out to prove them wrong.
Sumitra Mattai is a writer, storyteller and textile designer. She holds a BFA in Textile Design from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. Her essays have been published in Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, and Lit Magazine, among others. She lives in Harlem with her family.
Yamilée Toussaint is the Founder & CEO of STEM From Dance, which empowers girls with the skills, experiences, and confidence to pursue careers in STEM through the transformative power of dance. Combining her background in engineering, education, and a lifelong passion for dance, she started the program in 2012 to inspire girls of color to pursue STEM careers. Yamilée holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and a M.S. in Teaching from Pace University. She has earned numerous accolades, including the MIT MLK Leadership Award, Teach For America's Social Innovation Award, AnitaB.org's Educational Innovation Award, Falling Walls Foundation Science Engagement Breakthrough of the Year, and a 2024 Top 5 CNN Hero.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | A science story, huh? |
| 0:04.0 | Is NYU scientist the... |
| 0:06.0 | I felt it was so... |
| 0:08.0 | And I just thought, well, |
| 0:10.0 | it was that golden moment. |
| 0:12.0 | Because science was on my side. |
| 0:15.0 | Hey, everyone, and welcome to The Story Clutter, where true personal stories about science help us to discover how weird and wonderful it is to exist in this world and be a human. |
| 0:32.6 | I'm your host, Misha Gaieski, and in today's episode, we're exploring the connection between dance and science. |
| 0:38.7 | Our first story is from writer, storyteller, and textile designer Sumitra Matai. |
| 0:42.9 | Her story is recorded in September 2025 at Pier 57 Hudson River Parks Discovery Tank in New York City. |
| 0:49.1 | Here's Dimitra. My daughter was four years old when she took her first lesson in Bardtnatium, a form of Indian classical dance. |
| 1:09.3 | I tried not to cry as I watched her learn the same steps I had learned |
| 1:14.1 | as a child. We were in a studio in the Upper West Side, but when the teacher sang the notes, |
| 1:21.0 | I was transported straight back in time. Kittata, Kittata Kina Kita K getta get-tot-tri-kenta, get-tot-tad-di-kin-a. The rhythm beckoned me like I was a weary |
| 1:32.9 | traveler coming home. For weeks, I wanted to ask the teacher if she had a class for grown-ups, |
| 1:41.6 | but every time I tried to send the email, I talked myself out of it. |
| 1:46.4 | I'm too old. I don't have time. What's the point? |
| 1:52.4 | Berthnatium originated in Tamil Nadu in South India and found its way to me and my family |
| 1:58.7 | in the suburbs of New Jersey. I began learning as a third grader, and by the time I was a teenager, I was dancing every weekend. |
| 2:07.6 | While my friends were throwing sweet 16 parties, I had an arrangethrum, or a dance graduation, |
| 2:15.6 | a three-hour performance with live musicians and my teacher's guru, |
| 2:20.4 | who we'd flown all the way from India. |
... |
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