Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

A special announcement from podcast host Erin Carlisle Norton about upcoming interviews.

An interview with Kat Wildish, a multi-level ballet and pointe technique teacher of teachers, mentor, and coach for professionals and students of all ages and levels, based in NYC.  Kat is one of those rare ballerinas who appeared with both New York City Ballet (under Balanchine) and American Ballet Theatre (under Baryshnikov), as well as with such companies as Zurich Ballet, Metropolitan Opera Ballet and The Eglevsky Ballet (under Edward Villella).  

Tiffany Mills is a choreographer and Artistic Director of the Brooklyn-based Tiffany Mills Company, a visceral and emotionally-charged dance company celebrating its 15th Anniversary Season at NYC's La MaMa, May 12-15, 2016.

An interview with Wendy Osserman.  Wendy is the Artistic Director of Wendy Osserman Dance Company which celebrates its 40th anniversary season this year.  Before forming the company in 1976, Wendy performed with Kei Takei, Frances Alenikoff, and Valerie Bettis. For four decades the company has toured and performed in New York City and internationally, creating performances and workshops for all ages and collaborating with a wide range of artists and utilizing alternative spaces for performance.  The company celebrates its 40th Anniversary season with performances at Theater for the New City April 20-23, 2016.

An interview with Samuel Pott.  Samuel Founded Nimbus Dance Works and the School of Nimbus Dance Works based in Jersey City, outside of NYC.  He has toured internationally as a soloist for the Martha Graham Dance Company and has performed as a lead dancer in many ballet and jazz dance companies.  This interview is part of the special 5-part series "Starring New Jersey" that features interviews with prominent "shapers" in the dance field who call NJ home.  The series is made possible by a grant from New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  

An interview with Sharron Miller.  Sharron is a former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater principal dancer and veteran of seven Broadway shows who is currently the Founder/Director of Sharron Miller's Academy of the Performing Arts (SMAPA) in Montclair, NJ located 15-miles outside of NYC.  This interview is part of the special 5-part series "Starring New Jersey" that features interviews by prominent dance "shapers" in the dance field who call NJ home.  The series is made possible by a grant from New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

An interview with Maxine Lyle, a choreographer, teaching artist, dancer, and producer, specializing in African-American step dance. Maxine founded the step company Soul Steps in 2005 in NJ/NY, with the mission to expand the presence of stepping throughout the world while creating avenues for cultural exchange and awareness among diverse communities. Soul Steps brings step everywhere - from school workshops in Brooklyn, to partnerships with U.S. Embassies throughout the world, to Paris Fashion Week, they embrace every opportunity to expose diverse communities to the magnetism and dynamic power of step.

An interview with Jeff Friedman.  Jeff is a dancer, choreographer, and scholar at the Dance Department at Rutgers University-New Brunswick as Associate Professor of Dance Studies, and as Graduate Director will launch the new MFA in Dance program this coming academic year.  Jeff danced in NYC with Twyla Tharp, as well as for nearly a decade with Oberlin Dance Collective (ODC), touring nationally and internationally.  Jeff created Legacy, an oral history project for the San Francisco Bay Area performing arts communities in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and launched his doctoral research into the theories, methods and practices of oral history interviews as they intersect with dance and other embodied practices.  Jeff has a Ph.D in Dance History and Theater and publishes his works regularly.

An interview with Doug Post, Gallery Artist Representative and Office Manager at Pentacle, an artist service organization based in New York.  He has served as president of Beyondance Inc.'s Board of Directors, was founding member of Freespace Dance's Board, and is on the Advisory Board of ACF Dance, Reverb Dance, and the Brooklyn Dance Festival.  Doug curates Dixon Places's (NYC) Under Exposed and Moving Men series.  He publishes a weekly newsletter of performances, auditions, and other items of interest to the dance community. This interview is part of the special 5-part series "Starring New Jersey" that features interviews by prominent dance "shapers" in the dance field who call NJ home. The series is made possible from a grant from New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

A special announcement from podcast host Erin Carlisle Norton about upcoming interviews.

A native of Québec, Canada, today's guest Helen Simoneau is director of Helen Simoneau Danse, a North Carolina based dance company with strong New York City ties and acclaimed international presence.  Her work has been presented at notable venues such as Dance Place (DC), New York Live Arts, Joyce Soho (NYC), Tangente (Montréal), The Aayama Round Theatre (Tokyo), Jacob's Pillow Inside/Out Stage (MA), the L.I.G Art Hall Busan (South Korea), and Athens International Dance Festival (Greece).

An interview with Brooklyn-based choreographer, performer, and director Julie Mayo. Julie has had her work presented on both coasts and in the Midwest, and was a 2014-2015 New York Live Arts Fresh Tracks Artist in Residence.  She has recently been commissioned by Gibney Dance in NYC to create an evening-length work for their Fall 2016 season.  Originally from Richmond, VA, Julie has lived and been a part of the dance communities in Seattle, San Francisco, Richmond, Chicago, and NYC.

An interview with a woman who is all things dance video, Nel Shelby.  Nel preserves and promotes dance by filming performances and creating marketing videos and original films.  Her company Nel Shelby Productions, based in NYC, boasts a diverse list of dance clients in New York and beyond.  Nel serves as Festival Videographer for Jacob's Pillow Dance and is Resident Videographer at the Vail International Dance Festival (VIDF).  Her documentary about choreographer Nejla Y. Yatkin was screened at a PillowTalk at Jacob's Pillow's 2015 festival, and past films include The Altitude of Dance, a documentary on VIDF, which debuted on Rocky Mountain PBS; four short films for Wendy Whelan's Restless Creature; and a short created with Adam Barruch that screened at NYC's Dance on Camera Festival and San Francisco Dance Film Festival.

An interview with Seattle-based choreographer Pat Graney.  Pat has received numerous honors throughout her career as a choreographer including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts for 11 consecutive years, the Alpert Award, US Artists Award in Dance, and was one of 20 Americans to receive a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award in 2013. Pat also founded Keeping the Faith/The Prison Project, the longest running prison-arts program in the United States. 

An interview with Pittsburgh-based ballet instructor Leslie Anderson-Braswell, a former dancer with Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Stuttgart Ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem.  Leslie has taught for over 35 years in the Pittsburgh area, and is currently on faculty at the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts.  Leslie is the namesake of the "Brazzy Award", an honor awarded annually to promising young artists in the Pittsburgh area in honor of Leslie's lifetime spent in dance education and mentorship.

An interview with NYC-based choreographer and performer Heidi Latsky. Heidi is a former dancer with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. In 2001, she launched her own contemporary dance company, Heidi Latsky Dance, which promotes Heidi's definition of a dancer as all-inclusive through the use of disabled and non-disabled performers.

Interview with Dr. Elizabeth McPherson, a New York City-based writer, dance historian, dance notator, dance educator, and Associate Professor at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey. Beth is the author of two dance history books, regularly contributes to multiple dance publications, and has staged numerous 20th century works from Labanotion.

Interview with Karen Love, a New Jersey-based choreographer and dance educator.  Karen is the Founder/Artistic Director of Umoja Dance Company and Usaama Dance Company, Coordinator for Wofabe African Dance & Drum Festival, Director of the Dance Department at Hillside High School, and owner of Umoja Dance studio located in Vaux Hall, NJ.

An interview with NYC-based dance artist Caitlin Trainor.  Caitlin has danced for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Sean Curran, and Amy Marshall, and was assistant to Mr. Curran and site-specific choreographer Stephen Koplowitz.  She is currently Artistic Director of Trainor Dance and on the dance faculty at Barnard/Columbia University.

An interview with Paula Kellinger, choreographer and Professor of Dance at Wilson College located in Chambersburg, PA.  Prior to teaching at Wilson College, Paula danced for such choreographers as Meredith Monk, Laura Dean, Susan Rethorst, Wendy Perron, and as apprentice for Trisha Brown, alongside creating her own body of choreographic work.