  In teaching the physical sciences, a significant challenge lies in the
student's tendency to consider the scientific world and the "real" world as
separate. For example, Newton's 1st Law of Motion states that an object in
motion remains in motion in a straight line unless acted on by an external
force. However, our experience tells us that most objects keep moving only as
long as someone or something pushes on them. One key to understanding physics
is the ability to abstract the "law" from a reality which also includes
friction and other effects. In this article we describe a college course for
non-science majors, The Physics of Dance. The central theme of this course is
the personalization of the physics of motion by making each student the object.
With this approach we give students not only scientific tools to measure and
understand but personal involvement to experience forces and motion. This
combination provides a bridge that connects the science to reality.

Physics Education