Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

Today's guest is Sara Rudner.  Sara is a movement addict eager to spread the experience.  In her remarkable dance career, Sara has participated extensively in the development and performance of Twyla Tharp's modern dance repertory; was a founder and director of the Sara Rudner Performance Ensemble: has produced marathon dances as well as short forms; and is the former director of Dance at Sarah Lawrence College where she continues to teach.

Today's guest is Inbal Oshman. Inbal is an Israel-based choreographer and dancer who creates dance for stage, public spaces, and screen, and finds inspiration in diverse mythical, historical, and cultural sources. She has been a resident choreographer at Kyoto Art Center (Japan), Attakkalari Dance Company (India), and Fest'Factory (Israel), with recent performances as part of the Peak Performances program at Montclair State University (New Jersey).  Special thanks to Peak Performances for arranging this podcast interview.

Today's guest is Valerie Green.  Valerie has been an active dancer, choreographer and teacher in the New York City dance community since 1995. She is the Artistic & Executive Director of Dance Entropy and Green Space Studio in Long Island City, Queens.

An interview with Heather Bryce.  Heather is a Brooklyn, NY based contemporary choreographer, artistic director of Bryce Dance Company, and Teaching Artist with a focus on collaboration and creating work with and for every body. Starting her company in Boston in 2006, Heather's work has been supported and presented across New England, the tri-state area, and beyond.

Today's guest is Tom Pearson.  Tom is the co-founder/co-artistic director of Third Rail Projects and the director of the Global Performance Studio, an international program for cultural listening and exchange.  He has received two New York Dance and Performance (BESSIE) Awards, and is best known for his movement-based theater works, including the long-running Then She Fell and The Grand Paradise.

Today's guest is Nai-Ni Chen.  A cross-cultural choreographer based in the NJ/NYC area, Nai-Ni brings the dynamic freedom of American modern dance together with the elegant splendor of Asian Art.  Nai-Ni Chen Dance company is one of the most visible Asian American dance companies in America with an extensive season of touring and performing around the world for the past 30 years.

Today's podcast is in partnership with the Women in Dance Leadership Conference that took place in January 2018 in NYC. Our first guest in this episode is Sandra Parks, the founder/director of the Women in Dance Leadership Conference. Sandra is also a choreographer, dance educator, film producer and editor, and advocate for female leadership.  Our second guest is Renee Chatelain, currently President/CEO of the Arts Council of Baton Rouge. She is also an attorney, former professional ballet dancer, teacher and speaker. Most recently, she was on faculty at the Ballet Festival of India in Mumbai and a speaker at the Women in Dance Leadership Conference at NYU.

Today's podcast is in partnership with the Women in Dance Leadership Conference that took place in January 2018 in NYC.  The first guest in this series is Blakeley White-McGuire.  Blakeley is a critically acclaimed award winning dance performer, maker, and teacher working at the intersection of movement and ecology.  She was a Principal Dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company from 2002-2017.

An interview with Karen Eliot, a former dancer with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and now Professor in the Department of Dance at The Ohio State University.  An expert in the areas of ballet, modern, and dance history, she has written two dance history books and co-edited a third with Melanie Bales, and is co-editor of Dance Chronicle: Studies in Dance and the Related Arts.

An interview with Wendy Perron, a former dancer/choreographer and former editor in chief of Dance Magazine, now a freelance writer who teaches a graduate seminar at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.  Wendy is author of "Through the Eyes of a Dancer" and during her 30-year career as a dance/choreographer danced with the Trisha Brown company in the 1970s and choreographed more than 40 works for her own group, alongside teaching at many colleges, universities, schools, and dance centers.

An interview with Margie Gillis, Canada's modern dance legend. As an internationally acclaimed solo modern choreographer/dancer, Margie has been creating original works for over forty years.  

An interview with New York area based multi-disciplinary artist gwen charles.  gwen creates site-specific, collaborative live performances and choreographed actions for and with the camera using handcrafted wearable props & sculptures.  Her works have been viewed in international venues and video festivals in New York, USA, Germany, Slovenia, and Croatia, with artist residencies throughout the USA, Mexico, India, and Slovenia.

An interview with Sarah Weber-Gallo.  Sarah is a senior member of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Dance Director for Mile Square Theatre in Hoboken, NJ, and Choreographer and Director of SarahWeberGallo/dancetheatre.

An interview with Diane Jacobowitz.  Diane is a professional choreographer, arts administrator and the Artistic and Executive Director of Dancewave - a Brooklyn-based dance education organization championing accessibility to all.

An interview with Laurie Berg. Laurie works in a variety of forms including dance, performance, collage, and jewelry, and is co-organizer of the dance event platform AUNTS along with Liliana Dirks-Goodman.  Look for AUNTS as it opens NYU's Skirball season on Friday, September 15 in an immersive dance party.

An interview with Ariel Grossman.  Named one of Jersey (New) Moves Emerging Choreographers, Ariel is celebrating the 10th anniversary of her all-female contemporary dance company, Ariel Rivka Dance. Look for Ariel Rivka Dance at NYLA in NYC from September 6-10, 2017.

A special interview with the members of the all-female dance company, The Moving Architects, which is led by Movers & Shapers podcast host/producer, Artistic Director Erin Carlisle Norton. Hear from Caitlin Bailey, Maggie Beutner, Rachel Gill, Jenny Gram, Léla Groom, and Ashley Peters about their lives as 20-something dancers living, dancing, and working in the New York City dance scene. 

An interview with Adam Barruch, a choreographer and performer based in Brooklyn, New York.  Adam currently sets new work on dance companies alongside creating work under his own company Anatomiae Occultii.

An interview with Donnell Oakley. Donnell is an independent choreographer, performer, and teacher based in Brooklyn, New York since 2001.   As a current dancer with Doug Elkins and member of the collaborative trio LMNO3, she is continually interested in the inherently collaborative nature of dance

An interview with Theresa Ruth Howard.  Theresa is a writer, dance educator, and former dancer for companies including Dance Theatre of Harlem, Armitage Gone! Dance, and works by Donald Byrd.  In 2015 she launched MoBBallet (Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet) that reinstates and preserves the contributions and stories of Black artists in the field of ballet through a digital platform.