Graduating Seniors: Melding Dance, Linguistics, and Astronomy

On the stage, the moon goddess, the personification of pain, a god of wealth, the orchardist of Hades, and the old man of the sea all danced. As imagined by choreographer Caitlyn Wade, they were on a desolate planet where they had gone after death.

As the group concluded its portion of the dance, Wade began her solo. “Drawing inspiration from the Greek character Boreas (god of the north wind, winter, and ice), my place in the stars is a lone comet that sees no other celestial objects,” explains the Rochester Hills, Michigan, native. The creation of this performance was Wade’s senior thesis for her dance degree, and it drew heavily from her LSA education.

Wade, a 2025 graduate, is earning her degree with majors in linguistics from LSA and dance from the U-M School of Music, Theater, and Dance (SMTD). She also minored in interdisciplinary astronomy. Her experiences at U-M embody the interdisciplinary possibilities that many LSA students take advantage of—whether entirely within the college, or in partnership with other schools and colleges at the university. 

When conceiving of the dance, “I expanded on the concepts I learned in Astronomy 105—‘The Cosmos Through Constellations’ with Michael LoPresto. This course focused on the myths and stories associated with many of the constellations in our night sky,” Wade says. “I have also always loved learning about Greek mythology, and this course fused that passion with astronomy.”

In the class, she noticed a common theme: Someone from mythology with a compelling story would be placed in the sky after they died to remind people of their story or to provide them with safety in their afterlife. “The constellations act as a resting place for these notable figures,” she says. 

Her dance shined the spotlight on lesser characters. “A planet of rejects,” she says, “who were not notable enough to be granted a constellation, star, or planet to house them after death.” She asked the dancers to portray feelings of defeat. In her solo, her character questions her worth and feels profound loneliness.

In a way, Wade had prepped for the senior thesis performance for her entire life. She has danced more or less since she could walk, and she often creates dances that draw inspiration from a large range of topics. 

“As I’ve gotten more interested in astronomy, I find these concepts influencing the topics I create dances about,” she says. “I also have always loved astronomy; I find it fascinating as it takes concepts that get existential and explains them using the laws of physics. I am constantly in awe of the concepts we learn and how we are able to draw conclusions about so many astronomical events.” She also created a dance about black holes for Astronomy 201 with Associate Professor Keren Sharon.
 

Throughout Wade’s time at U-M, she worked diligently to balance the requirements of her majors and minor. During her first few years at Michigan, the height of the COVID-19 pandemic led to many classes being offered online. She took as many natural science classes online and asynchronously as she could, which helped with the intense time demands of a dance degree. 

When most classes were in person again, “I found a fair amount of unavoidable time conflicts. But my professors and the astronomy department were very understanding of this and allowed me to double book my classes and take some of my required courses asynchronously even when they were intended to be in person,” Wade says. 

After graduation, she plans to move to Europe to continue training and building connections with companies in both Spain and Italy. “As a dancer, future plans are always changing—but in general, I hope to perform with companies, choreograph, and fully immerse myself in the arts throughout Europe,” she says.

Caitlyn Wade choreographed this dance for her senior thesis, inspired by an astronomy class at LSA. Photography by Kiran Stump. Video by Amelie Vidrio.