Stanford Stories XVIII - Christmas Party and Transverse Orientation

Second week of December and it seems like we are already half way towards Christmas. Consequently, it was time for the yearly Christmas party of the Radiological Science Lab featuring a white elephant. Don’t worry, we did not have a specimen of the largest land animal invited as special guest - our meeting room is definitely not big enough for that. Instead, a white elephant is a method of gift sharing where everyone brings a wrapped present and puts it on a table. All participants also get a number and as soon as your number is called, you can either select and unwrap a present from the table or steal an already unwrapped present from another person. There were many fun small little things such as one meter long hot water bottle or bacon lollipops. I finally ended up with a nice mug that I am using for drinking my beloved peppermint tea when I am working in the office.

On Friday, a colleague invited me to visit a modern dance / theater performance “Transverse Orientation” from the Greek artist Dimitris Papaioannou who e.g. directed the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004. Before seeing the show, I was a bit skeptical since I have seen many modern dance performances that seemed way too abstract and chaotic to me. But “Transverse Orientation” was simply breathtaking. It is a genius mix between dance, theater, circus arts, visual installations and music. A trailer of the show can be seen here. Before seeing the actual performance we also went to see a panel discussion featuring Dimitris Papaioannou where another professor introduced us to the concept of “selective inattention” which apparently is the scientific term for describing people falling asleep during performances. According to the professor part of a good experience and nothing to be ashamed of. By the way, “Transverse Orientation” is on a world tour, so there is a chance that you can see it as well - definitely highly recommended.