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Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

"Movers and Shapers: A Dance Podcast" brings to you personal stories, experiences, and ideas from the people who "shape" the dance field. Hosted by Erin Carlisle Norton, Artistic Director of the NJ/NYC-based all-female dance company The Moving Architects. New episodes available every other Monday.
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Now displaying: Page 2
Jan 9, 2023

Stepping Out into the World with Davalois Fearon

Today we bring you a beautiful and inspiring conversation with Davalois Fearon, whose work as a dancer, teacher, and choreographer brings together her family history, early years in Jamaica, and a dedication to moving the art form and community forward.  Expect to come away with some fascinating insight into her process of connecting the different parts of her life and experience into a unified artistic voice.  Make sure to join us for this great episode, with the one and only Davalois Fearon!

“From birth, I was surrounded by movement and music.” – Davalois Fearon, MSP 148

Key Points From This Episode:

  • Davalois' early years in Jamaica and initial attraction to dance and performance. 
  • Moving to the Bronx and the playground training that started Davalois' learning. 
  • Joining the Stephen Petronio Dance Company, touring, parties, and the excitement of the early years. 
  • Davalois' internship at Pentacle and the entrepreneurial lessons she learned. 
  • The period of research that enabled Davalois to truly realize her artistic identity.  
  • Why the grassroots approach that Davalois employed served her so well in the long run.

 

Davalois Fearon is a critically acclaimed choreographer, dancer, and educator. The recipient of numerous awards and grants, her work has been presented nationally and internationally, including at prestigious New York City venues such as the Joyce Theater. In addition, she has been commissioned by renowned institutions and is visiting lecturer at Princeton University.

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More info links from this episode: Davalois Fearon on Movers & Shapers 

Make your tax-deductable donation to Movers & Shapers! Donate HERE today!

Dec 26, 2022

Dancing Across Continents, Finding Your Body, and Discovering the Ilan Lev Method with Annie Rigney

Who you are as an artist is undoubtedly influenced by the teachers you encounter along the way. Similarly, being exposed to different artistic practices can have a significant impact on your development. Today’s guest, Annie Rigney, started dancing at the tender age of three and hasn’t looked back since. In our conversation, Annie recounts how she was first introduced to new techniques (like Graham and Gaga), the teachers that took the time to work with her one on one, and how these experiences gave her the tools to begin to move beyond the limitations of ballet. We hear about her time in Israel, her discovery of the Ilan Lev method, and why becoming an Ilan Lev practitioner was one of the best decisions she ever made. Annie's love for dance is evident throughout this conversation, and the knowledge she has accumulated is nuanced, profound, and thought-provoking. Be sure to tune in to hear all this along with her wonderful insights on a range of fascinating topics, from healing through dance to the art of repetition!

Key Points From This Episode:

  • Get to know today’s guest, Annie Rigney, and how she first fell in love with dance.
  • The rigor, discipline, pain, and emotional abuse that characterized Annie’s early dance training.
  • The Gaga dance course that Annie took with Bobbi Jene Smith and how it altered her trajectory.
  • Annie’s move to Israel and the time she spent training in Tel Aviv.
  • An overview of the Ilan Lev method and how it transformed Annie’s mobility and movement and how Annie became an Ilan Lev practitioner.
  • Annie’s experience playing Lady Macbeth for three years in Sleep No More
  • How the COVID-19 pandemic gave her the freedom to experiment with choreography.

“This whole journey with my body, from very young has been one of stripping away what's not needed. So I learned so many things in that short time, which were keys for me to unlock new physical possibilities.” – Annie Rigney, MSP 147

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More info links from this episode: Annie Rigney on Movers & Shapers 

Make your tax-deductable donation to Movers & Shapers! Donate HERE today!

 

Dec 12, 2022

Performers are always looking for fulfilling artistic endeavors and creative communities. In this episode, we hear from three incredible people, Elizabeth Yilmaz-Dobrow, Mara Driscoll, and César Abreu, who have come together to form an exciting new project with a shared vision for performance. Art Bath is an immersive performance salon series that fosters community, exploration, and exchange within the community. Our guests share how they met while dancing at the Metropolitan Opera Ballet and why they decided to join forces to create Art Bath. We start by learning about each of their journeys to becoming the performers they are today, what they enjoy most about dance, and the unique way in which they have come together.  Learn about the power of the Art Bath platform, how art can help people connect and understand one another, and how they found the formula that works. We also find out how the various ways they support the salon, the challenges of building a solid support base, the ultimate goal of Art Bath, and what the future holds for this exciting creative production. Tune in to hear more about the power of art and community with today's inspirational guests, Art Bath founders Elizabeth Yilmaz-Dobrow and Mara Driscoll, and Associate Producer César Abreu!

“My life is surrounded with dance, movement, and beauty.” — Elizabeth Yilmaz-Dobrow

Key Points From This Episode:

  • How each of our guests first became interested in dance.
  • The experience of performing on stage at the Met.
  • The sense of community amongst the dancers at the Met.
  • How our guests first met and decided to start Art Bath.
  • The concept and vision behind Art Bath.
  • What to expect from Art Bath and our guests in the future.

 

Elizabeth Yilmaz-Dobrow is a former company member with Ballet Hispanico, Mara Driscoll grew up dancing at the Boulder Ballet and is currently the Program and Advancement Lead at ISPA (International Society for Performing Artists), and Puerto Rican dancer/producer Cesar Abreu began his career with the Grammy-nominated Latin group Menudo.  The three met while dancing with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. As an antidote to the pandemic’s months of social and creative isolation, they joined forces to create Art Bath, a new recurring artist salon series for some of today’s leading performers.

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More on this episode: themovingarchitects.org/podcast

Make your tax-deductable donation to Movers & Shapers! Donate HERE today!

Nov 28, 2022

Dance artist Carmen Caceres – passionate, driven, and inspiring! Hear what it was like for Carmen to:

  1. Move to NYC from Buenos Aires, Argentina and her deeply personal immigrant experience as a dancer and choreographer pulled between two cultures.
  2. How a childhood dream came true with an encounter with world-renowned dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov.
  3. What it’s like to follow your artistic voice and create important immersive creative work today.

“When I'm dancing, I get to be this person that's free from all those organized structures and enjoy the moment and be present.”

Carmen Caceres is a dance artist originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Caceres has been creating and presenting dance works in Argentina and NY since 2009. In 2012, she founded DanceAction, a creative platform composed of artists from multiple disciplines to produce performing artworks in collaboration and provide educational opportunities. Her works have been presented in several venues, such as Dixon Place, Green Space Studio, Triskelion Arts Center, Teatro Sea, The Mark Morris Dance Center, the Center at West Park, and the Center for Performance Research. As a performer and collaborator, she has worked with Ines Armas, Jillian Peña, Lisa Parra, Elia Mrak, Jody Oberfelder, among other artists. Carmen also works as a dance educator and program director for different art education programs in New York City, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. 

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More on this Episode: themovingarchitects.org/podcast

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Nov 14, 2022

Choreographer, dance educator, arts leader Amanda Selwyn - resilient, hard-working, and inspiring! Hear what it was like for Amanda to:

  1. Grow up wanting to be a performer, and then eventually finding her niche as a choreographer and arts leader.
  2. How her college experience at Northwestern University shaped her as an artist as well as connecting with her Jewish roots and spending a year living in Israel.
  3. What it was like for her to create and develop a thriving dance organization with an active dance company and an education arm that reaches into dozens of NYC public schools.

 

“There was never a doubt, I never thought about doing anything else, but every step of the way has been hard.”

Amanda Selwyn (Artistic Director/Choreographer) founded Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre/Notes in Motion in 2000 and in 23 seasons, has directed over 85 productions, developed a network of artists, and created the curriculum for Notes in Motion’s dance education programs.

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More on this Episode: themovingarchitects.org/podcast

Oct 31, 2022

"I'm grateful for the whole journey" - McClaine Timmerman, Founder and Artistic Director of the Contemporary Dance Choreography Festival (CDCFest)

Today's guest is McClaine Timmerman. McClaine is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Contemporary Dance Choreography Festival (CDCFest) in Orlando, Florida. She is an awarded choreographer, Nationally Certified Pilates instructor, business owner, and dance educator.

Applications for CDCFest are open now, and due January 25th! For guidelines and more info: CDCFest.com

For more on this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

For mroe on the dance company behind the podcast: The Moving Architects

Oct 3, 2022

"Dancers dance because we have to, I don't know how else to explain it." - Austin Hartel, MSP 142

Today's guest is Austin Hartel. Austin is a former longtime member of Pilobolus Dance Theater, and has been connected with the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond for almost 20 years as teacher and founder/artistic director of the University's School of Dance.

As Artistic Director of Dalton-Hartel Dance and Hartel Dance Group, he toured nationally and internationally to critical acclaim.  His choreography has been presented on five continents and at prestigious festivals, including in Italy at The Vignale Dance Festival, The Florence Dance Festival, and the Versiliana Festival.   He was presented in Brazil at the 5th Festival de Danca de Mercosul and the VI International Seminar de Danca.  New York performances were produced at numerous popular dance venues, including The Kaye Playhouse, DTW, St. Mark's Church, Clark Studio Theater at Lincoln Center, and more.

Austin's honors include the U.S. Department of State naming him as a Cultural Specialist touring throughout Central and South American for ten years, and a 2009 Fulbright Scholar's Grant. Austin started the Oklahoma International Dance Festival in 2019.

For more on this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

For more on the dance company behind the podcast: The Moving Architects

Sep 19, 2022

"I've always chased that thrill." - Adele Myers on her lifetime in dance

Today's guest is Adele Myers. Adele is a Miami based dance maker and Artistic Director of Adele Myers and Dancers (AMD), a national touring contemporary dance theater company made up of female athletes of the heart.

For over a decade, AMD has been presented throughout the U.S with funding from the New England Foundation of the Arts, National Dance Project, and National Performance Network. Since relocating to Miami, she received commissions from Miami Light Project, Live Arts Miami and South Miami Dance Cultural Arts Center. She was an Assistant Professor of Dance at Tulane University and Connecticut College and has taught on faculty at New World School of the Arts in Miami.

For more on this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

To learn more about The Moving Architects upcoming performances and events:  The Moving Architects

Sep 5, 2022

"We are the carriers of the culture." - Ranee Ramaswamy

 

Today's guests are Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy, the Artistic Directors of Ragamala Dance Company, a pioneering company rooted in the South Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam. Over the last four decades, Ranee and Aparna have forged a path for culturally rooted performing arts organizations and made Ragamala a standard-bearer within the American dance landscape. The New York Times says, “Ragamala shows how Indian forms can be some of the most transcendent experiences that dance has to offer.”

Ranee and Aparna’s choreographic work has been commissioned and presented extensively throughout the U.S., India, and abroad, highlighted by the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Joyce Theater (New York), Lincoln Center (New York), Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (MA), Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), American Dance Festival (Durham, NC), Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Just Festival (Edinburgh, U.K.), Bali Arts Festival (Indonesia), Sri Krishna Gana Sabha (Chennai, India), and National Centre for Performing Arts (Mumbai, India), and others.  Among their many individual honors, Ranee serves on the National Council on the Arts, appointed by President Barack Obama.

For more on the artists and this podcast episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

To learn more about The Moving Architects upcoming performances and events: The Moving Architects

Aug 22, 2022

"This is who I am. I am a dancer and this is what I have to offer the world." - Gloria McLean

Today's guest is Gloria McLean. Gloria is artistic director of LIFEDANCE/Gloria McLean and Dancers.  LIFEDANCE is dedicated to the integration of body, mind and spirit through the creative process. Gloria's dances often collaborate with new music, art, language and the environment.  Her choreography has been presented in NYC and internationally, including the American Dance Festival, festivals in Ireland, Paris, Montreal, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Korea, and China. She first received acclaim as a leading member of the Erick Hawkins Dance Company from 1982-1993, performing major female roles in the repertory, teaching at the Hawkins School, and touring the U.S. and internationally. Currently McLean is President of the American Dance Guild producing festivals live and online. She teaches and performs from her base in New York City and Andes, NY.

For more on this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

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Aug 8, 2022

Today’s guest on Movers & Shapers are Joan Myers Brown and Kim Bears-Bailey of Philadanco.

Joan is the founder of Philadanco which was created in 1970 out of a need to provide performance opportunities and training for Black dancers. PHILADANCO!  has since grown into a professional dance company that is recognized around the world for its artistic integrity, superbly trained dancers, and captivating performances. Of her many honors, she is the honorary chairperson for the International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD), an organization she established in 1991, and she received the prestigious National Medal of Arts Award and 2019 Bessie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Dance for her choreographic influence on black dance in America. 

Kim joined Philadanco in 1981 and its current Artistic Director. She is a Bessie's award recipient and Associate Professor of Dance at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Kim is one of few artists granted permission to remount the works of many world-renowned choreographers including Talley Beatty, Pearl Primus and Gene Hill Sagan.

For more in this episode of Movers & Shapers: themovingarchitects.org/podcasts

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Jun 20, 2022

Today's guest is Lar Lubovitch. Lar is one of America’s most versatile and widely seen choreographers. He founded the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968. Over the course of 54 years, it has gained an international reputation as one of America’s top dance companies, produced more than 120 dances and performed before millions across the U.S. and over 40 countries. Many other major companies throughout the world have performed the company’s dances, including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Joffrey Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, and more.

Recent awards: 2011 designated a Ford Fellow by United States Artists and received the Dance/USA Honors Award; 2012 his dance “Crisis Variations” awarded the Prix Benois de la Danse for outstanding choreography at the Bolshoi Theatre; 2013 honored for lifetime achievement by the American Dance Guild; 2014 awarded an honorary doctorate by The Juilliard School; 2016 received the Scripps/American Dance Festival Award for lifetime achievement and the Dance Magazine Award, named one of America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures by the Dance Heritage Coalition and appointed a Distinguished Professor at UC/Irvine. In honor of his company’s 50th anniversary, in 2018 he was presented with the Martha Graham Award for lifetime achievement.

For more on this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

Jun 6, 2022

Today's guest is Nadia Adame. Nadia is a Spanish multidisciplinary award-winning artist with a spinal cord injury and the Artistic Director at AXIS Dance Company. She was a company member with AXIS (2001-2003) and Candoco Dance Company (2007-2008). In 2004, she co-founded and was the Co-Artistic Director of Compañía Y in Spain, a multimedia and performance collective. Nadia’s credits include dance, theatre, commercial, and independent film projects in the UK, Spain, US, and Canada. As a performer, she has been featured in works by Stephen Petronio, Bill T. Jones, Arthur Pita, Rafael Bonachela, Davis Robertson, Sonya Delwaide, Marc Brew, Chevi Muraday and Asun Noales, among others. 

For more on this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

May 23, 2022

Today's guest is Erica Hornthal. Erica, a licensed clinical professional counselor and board-certified dance/movement therapist, is the CEO and founder of Chicago Dance Therapy. Since graduating with her MA in dance/movement therapy and counseling, Erica has worked with thousands of patients from age 3 to 107. Known as “The Therapist Who Moves You,” Erica has truly changed the way people see movement with regard to mental health: moving people toward unlimited potential, greater awareness, and purpose by tapping into their innate body wisdom. In addition to her passion for working with cognitive and movement disorders, neurologic conditions, anxiety, depression, and trauma, she is an advocate for the field of dance/movement therapy. Erica created the Dance Therapy Advocates Summit in 2020 in order to spread awareness and inspire and connect individuals and practitioners from all over the world.

For more on Erica and this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

May 9, 2022

Today's guest is Shamel Pitts. Shamel is a dancer, choreographer, teacher, as well as performance, conceptual, and spoken word artist. Since 2019, he is the artistic director/founder of TRIBE, a New York-based multidisciplinary arts collective which was a 2020-21 Artist-In-Residence at 92Y Harkness Dance Center.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, he started his professional dance career with Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Hell’s Kitchen Dance and BJM_Danse Montreal. Between 2009-2016, he was a company member of the Batsheva Dance Company, led by Ohad Naharin where he studied Gaga movement language, of which he is now a certified teacher. Since 2015, Shamel has created a triptych of award-winning multidisciplinary works known as “BLACK Series,” which has been performed and toured extensively to many festivals around the world. He is the recipient of a 2018 Princess Grace Award in Choreography, a 2019 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship Award winner in Choreography, and a 2020 Jacob’s Pillow artist in residence, a 2020 Guggenheim Fellow, and the cast member of the 2021 Bessie Award-winning production of “The Motherboard Suite” at New York Live Arts. 

For more on Shamel and this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

Apr 25, 2022

Today's guest is Cara Hagan. Cara is a mover, maker, writer, curator, champion of just communities, and a dreamer. Cara's adventures take place as live performance, on screen, as installation, on the page, and in collaboration with others in a multitude of contexts.

In recent years, Cara and her work have traveled to such gatherings as the Performática Festival in Cholula, Mexico, the Conference on Geopoetics in Edinburgh, Scotland, the Loikka Dance Film Festival in Helsinki, Finland, the Taos Poetry Festival in Taos, New Mexico, and to the Dance on Camera Festival in New York City. Extended residencies have taken place at Thirak India in Jaipur, India, Playa Summer Lake in the dynamic outback of Oregon, Roehampton University in London, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the University of North Carolina, School of the Arts.

Since becoming a parent and navigating a global pandemic, Hagan’s work takes place a bit closer to home these days. She is working on a new book titled, Ritual is Both Balm and Resistance. 

For more on this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

Apr 11, 2022

Today's guest is Peggy Baker. Peggy Baker has been a vivid presence in contemporary dance since 1973, performing internationally in the work of Lar Lubovitch, Mark Morris (with Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project), Doug Varone, Tere O’Connor, Molissa Fenley, and Charles Moulton (NYC); with Fortier Danse-Creation (Montreal); and Dancemakers, Toronto Dance Theatre, and James Kudelka, (Toronto). She established Peggy Baker Dance Projects in 1990, and for the first 20 years she dedicated herself to solo performance, winning rapturous praise for the eloquence and depth of her dancing, and accolades for her collaborative partnerships with extraordinary choreographers, directors, musicians, and designers. Since 2010 her choreography has focused on works for small ensemble. Over its 32-year history Peggy Baker Dance Projects has been presented at major festivals and dance centres in North America, Asia and Europe, including Danspace, The Kitchen, Symphony Space, and the Harkness Festival in New York; the Luckman Center in Los Angeles; Jacob’s Pillow; the Copenhagen International Dance Festival; the Time Festival in Ghent, Belgium; The Holland Dance Festival; the Cervantino Festival in Guanajuato, Mexico; MoDaFe in Seoul, Korea; Landmark Tower in Yokohama, Japan; the Canada Dance Festival in Ottawa, the High Performance Rodeo in Calgary, Tangente, L’Agora de la danse, and Danse Danse in Montreal, and Canadian Stage and Fall for Dance North in Toronto. Her evening-length multi-disciplinary work who we are the dark, created with composer/performers Sarah Neufeld and Jeremy Gara of Arcade Fire, toured across Canada and internationally from winter 2019 to early in 2020.

For more on Peggy and this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

Mar 27, 2022

Today's guest is Moses Pendleton. Moses has been one of America’s most innova­tive and widely performed choreographers and directors for over 40 years.  A co-founder of the ground-breaking Pilobolus Dance Theater in 1971, he formed his own company, MOMIX, in 1980. Mr. Pendleton has also worked extensively in film, TV, and opera and as a choreographer for ballet companies and special events. Moses is an avid photographer with works presented in Rome, Milan, Florence, and Aspen. Images of his sunflower plant­ings at his home in northwestern Connecticut have been featured in numerous books and articles on gardening.  Momix at Staller Center for the Arts, Stony Brook, NY on April 2, 2022

For more on this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

Mar 13, 2022
Today's guest is Netta Yerushalmy.  Netta is an award winning choreographer and performer originally from Galilee, Israel. Based in New York City since 2000, her work aims to engage with audiences by imparting the sensation of things as they are perceived, not as they are known, and to challenge how meaning is attributed and constructed.  

Most recently recognized with a 2022 United States Artists Fellowship, Netta has also been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, Princeton Arts Fellowship, Research Fellowship from New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Toulmin Fellowship for Women Leaders in Dance at the Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University, New York City Center Choreography Fellowship, Jerome Robbins Bogliasco Fellowship, Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants-to-Artists Award, National Dance Project Grant, LMCC’s Extended Life, Six Points Fellowship, and a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship.

For more on Netta and this episode  including her upcoming work with Peak Performances at Montclair State University: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast.

Feb 21, 2022

Today's guest is Hannah Kahn, founder and artistic director of the Hannah Kahn Dance Company.  Hannah is a master teacher with fifty-two years of experience creating over one hundred and forty dances. Some of the strongest influences on her choreography were her childhood classes in Ithaca, New York with Iris Barbura, her studies of the techniques of Jose Limon and Martha Graham, and her performance of dances by Doris Humphrey and Anna Sokolow.  The practice of Tai Chi has also influenced her movement style. 

After graduating from the Juilliard School in 1972, Kahn founded the Company in New York, and directed it there for twelve years before moving to Colorado in 1988, where she has directed the company ever since.  In addition to her own company, her works have been in the repertories of over a dozen other dance companies. 

For more on this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

Catch The Moving Architects at Green Space, NYC March 18-19, for premieres of new work. For more info: The Moving Architects

Jan 23, 2022
Today's guest is Lisa La Touche. As a proud Canadian and former New Yorker, Lisa’s credits are world renowned. She was an original cast member in Broadway’s Shuffle Along, choreographed by Savion Glover and Directed by George C. Wolfe, where she received both the Fred Astaire Award and the Actor’s Equity Award for Outstanding Broadway Chorus. Her TV credits include the 70th Annual Tony Awards and Amazon’s Original “Z, The beginning of everything”. Previous highlights have also included touring with the Savion Glover production, Stepz, and also performing with both New York's Off-Broadway and the North American touring casts of STOMP. Since 2010 she has run her own performance company Tap Phonics and has been commissioned to present for organizations such as The Brooklyn Museum, 92Y, Gibney Dance and Fall For Dance North. As an educator and Professor she has taught for PACE University, NYU, The School of Jacob’s Pillow, University of Calgary, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, Rosie’s Theater Kids and member of the creative council for the American Tap Dance Foundation. Her recent endeavor includes co-curating the Tap Dance Legacy Series along with Travis Knights in partnership with Dance Immersion providing the local black community free access to their cultural history. She also has written and directed her debut film TRAX encompassing her journey back to Alberta while discovering important local black history. Above all, her proudest achievement greatest inspiration, is the gift of being a mom. 
 
For more on Lisa and this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcastt
Jan 9, 2022

Today's guest is veteran choreographer and dance educator, JoAnna Mendl Shaw.

JoAnna has been devising performance works for stage, rural and urban landscapes since the 1980’s. Her body of interspecies work initiates visceral engagement with the natural and cultural environment. Redefining the possibilities for dance-making, Shaw’s research into the human-equine dialogue began in 1998. Her company, The Equus Projects, tours throughout the States and Europe creating site-specific works through immersive collaboration with local equine and arts communities. An internationally recognized dance educator, Shaw has taught on faculty at NYU, The Juilliard School, Alvin Ailey, Princeton, Mount Holyoke, and Montclair State. Shaw is the recipient of NEA Choreographic Fellowships and multiple NEA grants for Interdisciplinary Performance. She has brought her somatic practice of Physical Listening into elementary schools and academic think tanks, into the Strategic Studies group at the Naval War College and NYU Medical school. She is a certified Laban Movement Analyst. She is the author of the 2021 book, Physical
Listening, A Dancer’s Interspecies Journey.

For more on this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

Dec 26, 2021

Today’s podcast is a re-airing of an interview with Nai-Ni Chen on Movers & Shapers from February 2018.  Nai-Ni passed away unexpectedly on December 12, 2021 in a swimming accident in Hawaii.

Since starting her dance company Nai-Ni Chen Dance in 1998, her choreography has brought the dynamic freedom of American modern dance together with the elegant splendor of Asian art.  Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company has been one of the most visible Asian American dance companies in America, touring nationally and internationally over the last 30+ years.  Her signature technique, Kinetic Spiral, is a fusion the dynamism of contemporary dance with the essence of Chinese traditional art.  As a beloved member of the New Jersey and NYC dance communities, she will be deeply missed and her work and spirit will continue to resonate with everyone she touched.

For more on this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

Dec 12, 2021

Today's guest is Loni Landon.  Loni is a Dancer, Choreographer, and Movement Consultant based in New York City. In addition to creating dances for her own collective Loni Landon Dance Project, her work is commissioned by dance companies and film directors across the country. Born and raised in New York City, Loni performed with Aszure Barton and Artists, Ballet Theater Munich, Tanz Munich Theater, and The Metropolitan Opera, and is a Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship Winner. 

As a sought after choreographer, her work has been commissioned by such institutions as The Joyce Theater, Keigwin and Company, BODYTRAFFIC, The Juilliard School, American Dance Institute, Northwest Dance Project, and Groundworks Dance Company.  Her company has performed at The Joyce Theater, Pulse Art Fair, Jacob’s Pillow, Insitu Dance Festival, Bryant Park, Beach Sessions in Rockaway Beach and Guggenheim Works and Process Series.

Loni has won numerous choreography awards, with residencies at New Movement Residency at USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation New Directions Choreography Lab, ITE, NYU, CUNY Dance Initiative, Kaatsbaan, and Stephen Petronio’s new residency center. She has been adjunct faculty at NYU, Barnard, SUNY Purchase, and Princeton University. 

Loni is passionate about Entrepreneurship in the Arts and has co-founded THE PLAYGROUND, an initiative designed to give emerging choreographers a place to experiment, while allowing professional dancers to participate affordably. The Playground was recognized by Dance Magazine as a 25 To Watch. As well as four/four presents, a platform that commissions and presents collaborations betweens dancers and musicians.

For more on this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

Nov 14, 2021

Today's guest is Margaret Jenkins. Margaret Jenkins, founder and artistic director of the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company, celebrating the 50th anniversary of her Company in 2022, is a choreographer and mentor to many artists as well as a designer of unique community-based dance projects.

In the 1960's, Margaret moved to New York to study at Juilliard, continued her training at UCLA and returned to New York to dance in the companies of Jack Moore, Viola Farber, Judy Dunn, James Cunningham, Gus Solomons, Jr. and Twyla Tharp’s original company with Sara Rudner. In addition, Jenkins was a member of the faculty of the Merce Cunningham Studio and restaged his works for companies in Europe and the United States for over 12 years.

In 1970, Jenkins returned to San Francisco, and in 1973, formed the MJDC. She opened one of the West Coast's first studio-performing spaces and a school for the training of professional modern dancers. In the last five decades, she has created an impressive body of work, with over 85 works created on her Company, as well as resident companies in the United States, Asia and Europe.

For her unique artistic vision, Margaret has received numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Irvine Fellowship in Dance, the San Francisco Arts Commission Award of Honor, three Isadora Duncan Awards (Izzies), and the Bernard Osher Cultural Award for her outstanding contributions to the arts community in San Francisco and the Bay Area.  

Fore more on this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast and The Moving Architects

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