Love is in the air — but exactly what is “it”? “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” — a part of the Creative Collaborations series organized by the UA Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry — is an hour-long musical event aimed to examine the science and psychology behind love.

David Sbarra, an associate professor and director of clinical training for psychology, and Paula Fan, a regents’ professor emerita for the UA College of Fine Arts, will team up to approach the subject of love in a fun, informative manner on Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon in the lower level of the UA Bookstore.

Fan will present classical songs in a variety of styles spanning three centuries. Two singers, Seth Kershisnik and Mackenzie Romriell, will accompany her as they perform a variety of songs, including “At the Last Lousy Moments of Love” by Bolcom and Weinstein and “Love in the Dictionary” by Celius Doughtery.

“Everyone can think of a love song — celebrating the things that attract the one who is in love — both in the case of the successful conquest and the unsuccessful,” Fan said. “Everyone can think of a breakup song, lamenting the end of love.”

Sbarra will discuss the science behind romantic relationships, and the music played by Fan and her accompanying singers will be interspersed throughout his talk. Sbarra will shed light on love from a psychological standpoint, breaking a relationship into “the four seasons of love.”

He defines his four seasons of love as “Attraction, which is what draws us together; falling in love, which is what cements us together in a love relationship; maintaining, which is what keeps us together in a relationship; and finally, transitions, which is how we manage the end of a relationship.”

The Creative Collaborations series often consists of presentations that meld two disciplines that initially seem unrelated. However, according to Fan, in the case of “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” they very much are related.

“My somewhat warped sense of humor, coupled with the sense of inquiry that defines the Confluencenter, prompted me to approach Dr. David Sbarra, who does a lot of research on … divorce,” Fan said.

In presenting jointly, Fan said they are shedding light on what it means to be human.

“The performing and creative arts are an expression of humanity,” Fan said. “The social and behavioral sciences explore the motivation behind works of arts.”

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