At Maths Dance we delight in bringing the arts and the academic together through our unique backgrounds in mathematics, dance and education. Read on to get to know us and find out more about our love for teaching and learning maths through movement:
Panorea Baka
Founder & Director
Most notable performance: TEDx Talk “Setting Mathematics in Motion” (2015)
Most loved maths concept: Logic
Favourite thing about the job: That I created it! It did not exist when I was a child.
Most loves dancing to: My 3-year-old son singing nursery rhymes.
MORE ABOUT PANOREA
Founder Panorea studied Applied Mathematics (BSc) and Biomedical Engineering (MSc) in Greece before moving to London to study an MA in Maths Education where she began to fuse her love of maths with her love of movement and Maths Dance was born. Alongside Maths Dance, Panorea works with schools and families as a Maths Education specialist – devising enrichment projects, delivering creative family workshops and developing personalised learning plans for children as well as adult learners.
In 2014, Panorea was presented with the Roehampton Award for innovating in the sector of education. She has been invited to talk about Maths Education, Creativity in Education and Maths Dance in several conferences and has shared her enthusiasm about embodied learning with audiences in Greece and the UK. In November 2014 Panorea gave a TEDx talk “Setting Mathematics Education in Motion” at TEDx University of Macedonia. In June 2019 Panorea received the Highly Commended Mpower National Business Award in the Courage category.
Despina Patsika
Facilitator
Most notable performance: Calling Tree by Rosemary Lee
Most loved maths concept: Explorations of infinity with its paradoxes
Favourite thing about the job: Learning through movement, using the body in space to understand and learn kinesthetically.
Most loves dancing to: I love improvising to live music and pieces that last long, e.g. Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Max Richter.
MORE ABOUT DESPINA
Despina, grew up in North Greece. By 2015, she graduated with Honors as a primary school teacher from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and simultaneously completed her piano studies with a Diploma in teaching and performance. In 2018 she completed her MA studies in contemporary dance at the London Contemporary Dance School. Despina works around London as a primary teacher, music teacher and dance artist, performing or making work.
