StarDance project and motivation for the workshop

The ERC project "StarDance: the non-canonical evolution of stars in clusters" seeks to connect exotic stellar populations such as blue stragglers, red stragglers, hot subdwarfs, and the like, with the byproducts of binary and multiple stellar evolution. In particular, multiple stellar populations in globular clusters display chemical patterns that are compatible with hot hydrongen burning (CNO cycle and hotter, in some cases s-process elements). This chemistry could in principle be produced by binary interactions as well. This founding hypothesis requires a well-designed sample of binaries and exotic stars in star clusters and in the field, the ability to derive their accurate properties and chemistry, and reliable interpretation tools. This workshop gathers experts in all the aspects relevant to the topic, to identify open questions and possible ways to answer them, including the possibility of creating new collaborations between different teams of experts.