Staff Writer- Evangelyn Hill

Every year in October, world-renowned scientists and Nobel Prize laureates make the trek to Gustavus Adolphus College to speak at the Nobel Conference. And the world comes to watch – prior to 2020, the event would typically draw nearly 5,000 attendees, according to a Gustavus blog post on the 2020 conference.

Each year focuses on a different theme. Past topics have included sleep, insects, and youth mental health, according to the Gustavus website.

The 2025 Nobel Conference, titled “Sugar: Bringing Sweetness to Light,” will bring a neuroscientist, an award-winning baker, and a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, among others, to campus, according to the same source.

But the Nobel Conference explores more than just science. Gustavus also uses it as an opportunity to explore the intersection of science and art, delving into the theme using visual art and performances—and this year is no exception.

“Sugar: Because I’m Lonely” is a dance performance scheduled for the second day of the conference (Tuesday, October 7th) at 3:15 p.m., outside Christ Chapel, as explained in the conference schedule. The piece was choreographed by Jill Patterson and will be performed by three members of the Gustavus Dance Company, Kaia Meyer, Marisa Schmidt, and Joanna Mai, according to the Theater & Dance faculty.

Annalise Maiers will be accompanying the dancers on cello, performing music from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1. It’s a piece she’s familiar with, having played it last year in lessons. Her favorite part of the song is “when it transitions to the second piece of music, because it’s a bit more upbeat.”

“Sugar: Because I’m Lonely” plays with the idea of sugar and sweetness with both the choreography and music. “The cello music is minor for a lot of it,” Maiers said, “Kind of that slothful, lazy, I-had-sugar sort of thing. And then it kind of gets more upbeat right at the end.”

She also commented on the rehearsal process and the difficulties of performing as a cohesive group. “It’s definitely challenging to play for dancers. The dancer in me wants to play exactly to the music, but Jill likes to have the dance sort of… fall to what I’m doing.”

According to the Gustavus website, the Nobel Conference is the only American event that is “authorized by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden to use this name.” Conference organizers don’t take this responsibility lightly; the college has stated that “it is our privilege to host a space in which we can talk about big scientific questions, and the big ethical issues to which they inevitably give rise.”

While the focus of the Nobel Conference is on the exploration of science, pieces like “Sugar: Because I’m Lonely” allow the interplay between science and art to shine.