Dancing... to the tune of the virus
To mark World Dance Day, Zsolt Vencel Kovacs performed his interpretation of part of the composition created this month by Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists.
“For me this music brings melancholy, its monotony gives me tension and as the music progresses it becomes more rhythmical and aggressive and at the end it calms down. It inspired me,” the 21-year-old told Reuters.
The MIT team used a computer to transform a model of the structure of SARS-CoV-2 - as the virus that causes COVID-19 is known - into interwoven melodies, assigning a different note to each of the protein’s amino acids.
Kovacs is challenging other choreographers to perform their own interpretations of the “COVID melody” at other famous locations, showcasing their beauty to future visitors.
