MOVERS & SHAPERS: A DANCE PODCAST

The personal stories, experiences, and ideas from those who shape the dance field.

“I love Movers and Shapers: it focuses my mind on the important things in life: I love the care with which it’s choreographed(!).” Review, Apple Podcasts

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Movers & Shapers: Eva Dean

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MOVERS & SHAPERS:

PODCAST No.81 –

 


Eva Dean

 

Release Date: 3.20.19

TO DOWNLOAD PODCAST OR LISTEN:

    • iTunes: Subscribe, Listen, Rate Us HERE

    • Stitcher: Subscribe and Listen HERE

    • Any Smartphone Podcast app: Subscribe and Listen

ABOUT EVA DEAN

Artistic Director and Choreographer Eva Dean founded Eva Dean Dance (EDD) in 1985. Dean is known for her inventive use of props, incorporating site-specific architectural elements, experiential lighting and ambient sound scores. Dean works collaboratively with guest artists such as musicians, puppet masters, lighting, set and costume designers to create a visually rich body of work. Dean’s teaching and residency credits are extensive both locally and internationally; most recently at Danscentrum Syd and Dansstationen (Malmö, Sweden), and at her Company’s home studio, Union Street Dance in Brooklyn. Dean has set EDD repertoire on college and conservatory students, created new dances for Brooklyn public school students and taught master choreography workshops as a guest artist at many institutions including: The Museum of Modern Art, Hampshire College and Bennington College among others. Dean is a graduate of Hampshire College and carries on its tradition of artistic experimentation. Dean founded Union Street Dance in 2000, which offers subsidized dance rehearsal space to over 100 dance artists annually.  

Eva Dean Dance is an award winning, neo-contemporary company based in Brooklyn and established in 1985. Known for their rich visuals and genre-defying theatricality, EDD has been featured on both the local and international stage. Notable New York City credits include The New Victory Theatre (Victory Dance 2018), The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Dance Theater Workshop, Danspace at St. Mark’s Church, The Brooklyn Museum and The Children’s Museum of Manhattan among many others. Also known for site-specific immersive dance, EDD has staged numerous public productions in Prospect Park (Brooklyn, NY) and other locations including a turn of the 20th century barn in Sheffield, MA. International performances include the Grahamstown Fringe Festival, Dubai United Arab Emirates, Fringe Festival Prague, Recklinghausen Fringe and Amsterdam Fringe where it received “Best of Fringe New York.”

 

MORE ON EVA:

EVA DANCE DANCE WEBSITE 

INSTAGRAM: @evadeandance

 

PODCAST INTERVIEW LINKS

Hampshire College – Dance

Contact Improvisation

Nancy Stark Smith

Daniel Lepkoff

Lisa Nelson

Steve Paxton

Five Colleges Dance Department

Susan Rethorst

Paula Kellinger

Judson Dance Theater

Deborary Jowitt

Elizabeth Zimmer

Yoshiko Chuma

Caroline Partamian

Danspace Project

Jack Anderson

Dan Froot

Union Street Dance

NYSCA

Fringe NYC

Bounce work

Spoke the Hub

Simone Forti

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

CUNY Dance Initiative

 

Podcast produced by: The Moving Architects
Interviewer: Erin Carlisle Norton
Theme Music: Adam Crawley whose music can be found at djplie.com

This podcast episode is in partnership with JAM.  JAM is the home of dance entrepreneur Jessica Marino, providing artist management services and industry shopping. jamdancer.com, networking for dance and bringing ideas to the spotlight.

Movers & Shapers: Oxana Chi

By Podcast

MOVERS & SHAPERS:

PODCAST No.80 –


Oxana Chi

 

Release Date: 3.6.19

TO DOWNLOAD PODCAST OR LISTEN:

    • iTunes: Subscribe, Listen, Rate Us HERE

    • Stitcher: Subscribe and Listen HERE

    • Any Smartphone Podcast app: Subscribe and Listen

ABOUT OXANA CHI

 

Oxana Chi is a choreographer, dancer, filmmaker, curator, author.

She founded the company Oxana Chi & Ensemble Xinren in Berlin, Germany in 1991 and moved to New York City in 2015. In 2018, she was listed in the Dance Enthusiast’s 2018 “A to Z” of People Who Power the Dance World.” She is featured in several publications and films, and is the main protagonist of the movie Dancing Through Gardens.

Oxana Chi created 19 dance productions, including 2 commissioned works for Humboldt-University. All creations are accompanied by music composed – and often performed live – by outstanding contemporary musicians specially for the dance. Drawing inspiration from her travels to and study in 40+ countries in Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, Africa, the Pacific, and the Americas, she developed her own performing language, Chi Fusion style.

The company received funding from public and private sponsors such as the European Union Social-Cultural Program, French Ministry for Youth, Sports and Societal Cohesion, Die Linke German Parliament Cultural Funding, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Heinrich-Boell-Foundation, Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah and Fimor. Oxana Chi performed at theaters, universities, and festivals all across Germany, as well as in the USA, Canada, Finland, Turkey, Australia, Canada, India, France, Austria, Taiwan, England, Indonesia, Ghana, Martinique, Singapore and Austria.

Oxana Chi is accompanied in this podcast by her main collaborator Dr. Layla Zami, Visiting Assistant Professor in the Performance + Performance Studies MFA Program at Pratt Institute and interdisciplinary artist (music, poetry, theater, film). Chi and Zami held residencies at the Abrons Arts Center (AIRspace Grant for Performing Artists 2017-2018), Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning and Maison Rouge : Maison des Arts (Martinique) among others.

With a passion for the intersection between performing arts, knowledge and civic education, Oxana Chi and Layla Zami curated events for Dixon Place, CUNY, Technical University Berlin, and are Co-Curators of Dance at the International Human Rights Art Festival. Oxana Chi was honored as an Ambassador of Peace for her art at DOSHIMA 2016 in Jakarta.

 

 

PODCAST INTERVIEW LINKS

Waldorf Education

Bothmer Gymnastics

Robert Solomon, Jazz Dance Theatre, Düsseldorf

Alwin Nikolais & Murray Louis, Choreographer and Teacher in New York

Abrons Art Center / Henry Street Settlement

Tanzhaus Düsseldorf (Dance House Dusseldorf)

Folkwang University of the Arts

Pina Bausch

Kathakali

Ivonne Vendrig, Ballet

Rudolf Nureyev

Ricki von Falken, Cunningham Technique

Academy of Arts / Akademie der Künste, Berlin

The Living Theatre New York / Judith Malina

Galerie, Factory and Art Salon „ Boudoir“ in Berlin / Directors: Lena Braun, Suse EichingerAnthony Huberman, Curator

Merce Cunningham, Modern Dance, New York

Elena Kunikova, Ballet, Steps on Broadway, New York

Solo International Performing Arts Festival

Werkstatt der Kulturen Theatre Berlin

Dancing Through Gardens

Humboldt University / Transdisciplinary Center for Gender Studies

Movement Research at the Judson Church series

Reverend Micah Bucey

Pratt Institute Brooklyn

International Human Rights Art Festival

 

 

Podcast produced by: The Moving Architects
Interviewer: Erin Carlisle Norton
Theme Music: Adam Crawley whose music can be found at djplie.com

This podcast episode is in partnership with JAM.  JAM is the home of dance entrepreneur Jessica Marino, providing artist management services and industry shopping. jamdancer.com, networking for dance and bringing ideas to the spotlight.

Movers & Shapers: Michele Wiles

By Podcast

MOVERS & SHAPERS:

PODCAST No.79 –


Michele Wiles

 

Release Date: 2.20.19

TO DOWNLOAD PODCAST OR LISTEN:

    • iTunes: Subscribe, Listen, Rate Us HERE

    • Stitcher: Subscribe and Listen HERE

    • Any Smartphone Podcast app: Subscribe and Listen

ABOUT MICHELE WILES

 

Michele Wiles founded BalletNext in 2011 with the vision to pair classically trained dancers and live musicians in a collaborative setting that encourages risk taking and a focus on process.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, at age 10 she moved to Washington D.C. to train at the Kirov Academy on full scholarship. She was a Gold Medal winner at the 18th International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria a Bronze Medal winner in Nagoya, Japan and a finalist at the Paris International Dance Competition. She was a Princess Grace Foundation – U.S.A. Dance Fellowship recipient for 1999–2000 and won the Erik Bruhn Prize in 2002.

She joined American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company in 1997 and joined American Ballet Theatre in 1998.  She was promoted to soloist in 2000 and to principal in 2005. In 2011, she left that position to start BalletNext.

In addition to leading BalletNext as artistic director and dancer, Michele is choreographing. Ushuaia to music by Heinrich Biber, which premiered at New York Live Arts in February 2015 marked her formal choreographic debut.

 

MORE ON MICHELE:

Website: BalletNext.com

 

PODCAST INTERVIEW LINKS

The Nutcracker with Gelsey Kirkland

Darcey Bussell

The Royal Ballet

Kirov Academy of Ballet

Vaganova Method

Star Search

ABT

David Hallberg

David Howard

“I was a Dancer”

Charles Askegard

Mauro Bigonzetti

Complexions 

School of Dance, University of Utah

New Victory Theater

Flex Dance

The Shed

 

 

Podcast produced by: The Moving Architects
Interviewer: Erin Carlisle Norton
Theme Music: Adam Crawley whose music can be found at djplie.com

This podcast episode is in partnership with JAM.  JAM is the home of dance entrepreneur Jessica Marino, providing artist management services and industry shopping. jamdancer.com, networking for dance and bringing ideas to the spotlight.

Movers & Shapers: Dunya Dianne McPherson

By Podcast

MOVERS & SHAPERS:

PODCAST No.78 –


Dunya Dianne McPherson

 

Release Date: 2.6.19

TO DOWNLOAD PODCAST OR LISTEN:

    • iTunes: Subscribe, Listen, Rate Us HERE

    • Stitcher: Subscribe and Listen HERE

    • Any Smartphone Podcast app: Subscribe and Listen

ABOUT DUNYA DIANNE MCPHERSON

Dunya Dianne McPherson is a dancer, choreographer, author, and Shattari Sufi Master Teacher. As Founder and Principal Teacher of Dancemeditation™ she specializes in techniques that open the wonderment of deep, subtle, peaceful self-perception.

She holds a BFA in dance from the Juilliard School, MA in Writing from Lesley University, was an Artist Scholar at Columbia University, and trained extensively in yoga with Shri Dharma Mittra. Significant study with Master Dance Teachers whose work has influenced hers includes: Elena Lentini, Anahid Sofian, Janet Panetta and Alfredo Corvino. After 1001 days training in Sufism with Sufi Master Adnan Sarhan, Dunya received teaching permission. Her new memoirSkin of GlassFinding Spirit in the Flesh, chronicles her journey of dance & mysticsim.

Dunya’s extensive teaching credits include:
Department Chair
: Victorian College of the Arts, Australia * Faculty: Kripalu Center * Master Classes & Residencies: Princeton University, Swarthmore College, Amherst College, Oberlin College, Mt. Holyoke College, University of TexasNew York University, Hunter College , Barnard College, Montclair State College, Mark Morris Dance Center, New York Open Center * Shattari Sufi Master: Mystic Festival in Netherlands, and SAT Conferences in Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, France  * Director & Spiritual Guide: Dervish Society of Americ

Dunya’s teachers include:

Juillard School:
Modern Dance: Hanya Holm, Helen McGeehee, Ethel Winter, Daniel Lewis, Libby Nye, Jennifer Scanlon. Kazuko Hirabayshi
Ballet: Alfredo Corvina, Hector Zaraspe, Genia Melikova
Later, in Middle Eastern dance:
Anahid Sofian, Elena Lentini

A National Endowment for the Arts Choreography Fellow, her choreographic commissions include Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, Dance Uptown, High School of Performing Arts, Barnard College, Victorian College of the Arts, Santa Fe Performing Arts. She is the recipient of Massachusettes Arts Council grants, CETA Artists Grant, Texas Arts Council grants.

She has performed widely as both concert dancer and as a Middle Eastern dancer. Her whirling veil dance is featured in the film Dances of Ecstasy. She directed the film/dance work, Shafi, for NOLA’s 2007 Dramarama Festival.

Dunya and her Dancemeditation work are widely referenced and profiled in books and journalism including: Your Body Mandala, Mary Bond 2018; Bellydance Soul, Alia Thabit, 2018; Reckoning with Spirit in the Paradigm of Performance, Donnalee Dox, PhD, 2017; Conscious Dancer Magazine, Dancer Magazine, Contact Quarterly Magazine, Attitude Magazine, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Austin American Statesman, Austin Chronicle, Innerchange Magazine, Spirit of Change Magazine, NYSpirit Magazine, XS Magazine Miami, Cape Cod Times, Whole Life Times LA, Body & Soul, and many others.

 

Press Quotes

“…a modern day Isadora Duncan…approached Ruth St. Denis as she slithered through an impudently sensuous belly dance…a vibrant performer…an unusual and talented choreographer.”
Jennifer Dunning, New York Times

“She knows how to put movement together…ingenious…adds up to good dancing and an original statement.”
New York Times

“…killer creative choreographer…the best belly dancer in the world…
Carman Moore, Village Voice

“I liked Dunya Dianne McPherson’s ‘Clan’ a lot. It was jaunty and it was breezy, but in very solid, unpretentious ways. Tidily structured but not tight-lipped.”
Deborah Jowitt, The Village Voice

“Her pure, solid dancing has never seemed so welcome to me…I think I held my breath in delight through the entire dance…The works soundly structured, with all the details meticulously etched, revealed the full extent of McPherson’s talent.”
Dance Magazine

“…elegant, confident, sensual…”
Kerri Hikida, Whole Life Times, LA

“…she evoked something essentially female, essentially powerful…”
Elizabeth Zimmer, Dance Magazine

“She has the lithe and leggy body of a ballerina and the articulate arm and leg movement of a butoh performer.”
Marene Gustin, Austin-American Statesman

“I see Dunya’s dances floating like feather down to the center of her big, elaborately patterned carpet…They merge with her body, she processes them, and they dance themselves right back out…Dunya’s [performance] is a very clean space on a psychic/spiritual level, a natural resting spot for dances.”
Stephanie Beauchamp, Austin Chronicle

Choreographic Vitae

AWARDS
• National Endowment for the Arts Choreography Fellowship (1995)
• Massachusetts Arts Council/LCC Grant (2000)
• City of Austin Grant (1996, 1997) under Texas Arts Council
• Cultural Council Foundation’s CETA Artist’s Project (1978-79)

ORIGINAL WORKS  (edited list)
• “Shafi”, collaborative film ‘wallpaper’ for dervish whirling; Drama-Rama, New Orleans, LA funded by NEA, LA State Arts Council, City of New Orleans (2007)
• Works funded by NEA, Texas State Arts Council & City of Austin Arts Council: “Turkish Songs” (1995-98); Palimpsest (1997); “Intimate/ Dances from Inside a Marriage” (1997); “Engaged: Dances Between Friends” (1998)
• Works Commissioned by Lincoln Center Outdoors:  “Secret/Bangalore” (1996)
• Works commissioned by Montclair State College, NJ: “The Visitation” (1986), “Rosedust and Wind” (1984),  “Her Heart Riding an Ocean Wave” (1983), “Divorce” (1981)
• Work commissioned by High School of Performing Arts, NYC: “The Journey of Jamila and the Seer” (1985)
• Work presented by Barnard Dance Ensemble: “Nocturne” (1985); “Nocturne with a Fan” (1985); “Danse Orientale” (1985); “Winter’s End” (1985) Premiered on Dance Uptown; “Remembrance” (1984); “Mideastern Descent” (1984); “Phantom” (1983) – solo works to the music of David Feinberg.  “Phantom”, “Remembrance” and “Mideastern Descent”
• Works commissioned by Grand Valley State Colleges, MI: Rapid Valley Dance” (1982), “Cross America” (1982).
• Works presented by Dianne McPherson & Dancers: “Sanctus, Benedictus” (1985, premiered on Dance Uptown, NYC); “Journal: August, September, October, November” (1981); “I was troubled with no correspondence” (1981); “Leaf” (1979); “Drift and Pierce” (1979, premiered on Dance Uptown); “Clan” (1979, presented on Dance Uptown); “Haunt” (1978, premiered on Dance Uptown. presented at Dance Theatre Workshop’s Choreographer’s Showcase); “The Vagabond” (1977); “Twone Verse” (1976, premiered on Dance Uptown. restaged for Dance Gallery, Northampton, MA); “Street Scene” (1975, restaged for Rondo Dance Theatre); “Sea Songs” (1975, premiered by the Kazuko Hirabayashi Dance Theatre restaged for the Juilliard Dance Ensemble Workshop, and for the Barnard Dance Ensemble)
• Works commissioned by the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, Australia: “Flotsam” (1980), “Blues” (1980), “Summer House” (1980)
• Works commissioned by the Barnard Dance Ensemble and premiered on Dance Uptown: “Night Sail” (1980), “Miniatures” (1979)
• Work commissioned by Rondo Dance Theatre, presented by Barnard Dance Ensemble:  “Bach Suite #1 for Solo Viola” (1978)
• Work commissioned by Colgate University, NY: “Reticences” (1978)

PROFESSIONAL CHOREOGRAPHIC EXPERIENCE
• Renaissance Institute of Colgate University, Hamilton, NY (1978) – Choreographer for “La Pelligrina”, a 15th century celebration of the Medici wedding.
• Oberlin Music Theatre, Oberlin, Ohio (1973-74) – Choreographer for “Four Saints in Three Acts” and “The Gondaliers”
• Equity Library Theatre, New York, NY (1972) – Choreographic staging for Equity showcase production of “Oedipus at Colonus”
• College Light Opera Company, Cape Cod, MA (1971) – Resident Choreographer:  “The Merry Widow”, “Guys and Dolls”, “Finian’s Rainbow”, “Carousel”, “Babes in Arms”, “The Pajama Game”, “Can- Can”, “Desert Song”, “Weiner Blutt”, “The Pirates of Penzance”, “Iolanthe” and “HMS Pinafore”

COMPANY DIRECTION
• Dunyati Alembic, NY, NY (2004-2013) Director/Principal Choreographer
• Dianne McPherson & Dancers, NY, NY (1978-82) Director/Principal Choreographer
• Workwith Dancers Company, NY, NY (1975-78)  Co-founder /Co-director

 

PODCAST INTERVIEW LINKS

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Laban

Kurt Yooss

North Carolina School of the Arts

Bennington College Dance

“With My Red Fires” by Doris Humphrey

The Julliard School

Jose Limon

Kazuko Hirabayshi

Anna Sokolow

Hannah Kahn

Victorian College of the Arts

Montclair State University – Dance

Kazuo Ohno

Adnan Sarhan

Sufism

Leslie University – Writing

“This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland” by Gretel Ehrlich

 

 

Podcast produced by: The Moving Architects
Interviewer: Erin Carlisle Norton
Theme Music: Adam Crawley whose music can be found at djplie.com

This podcast episode is in partnership with JAM.  JAM is the home of dance entrepreneur Jessica Marino, providing artist management services and industry shopping. jamdancer.com, networking for dance and bringing ideas to the spotlight.

Movers & Shapers: Eduardo Vilaro

By Podcast

MOVERS & SHAPERS:

PODCAST No.77 –


Eduardo Vilaro

 

Release Date: 1.23.19

TO DOWNLOAD PODCAST OR LISTEN:

    • iTunes: Subscribe, Listen, Rate Us HERE

    • Stitcher: Subscribe and Listen HERE

    • Any Smartphone Podcast app: Subscribe and Listen

ABOUT EDUARDO VILARO

EDUARDO VILARO joined Ballet Hispánico as Artistic Director in August 2009, becoming only the second person to head the company since it was founded in 1970. In 2015, Mr. Vilaro took on the additional role of Chief Executive Officer of Ballet Hispánico. He has been part of the Ballet Hispánico family since 1985 as a dancer and educator, after which he began a ten-year record of achievement as founder and Artistic Director of Luna Negra Dance Theater in Chicago. Mr. Vilaro has infused Ballet Hispánico’s legacy with a bold and eclectic brand of contemporary dance that reflects America’s changing cultural landscape. Born in Cuba and raised in New York from the age of six, he is a frequent speaker on the merits of cultural diversity and dance education.

Mr. Vilaro’s own choreography is devoted to capturing the spiritual, sensual and historical essence of Latino cultures. He created over 20 ballets for Luna Negra and has received commissions from the Ravinia Festival, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Grant Park Festival, the Lexington Ballet and the Chicago Symphony. In 2001, he was a recipient of a Ruth Page Award for choreography, and in 2003, he was honored for his choreographic work at Panama’s II International Festival of Ballet. Mr. Vilaro was also inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame in 2016 and was awarded HOMBRE Magazine’s 2017 Arts & Culture Trailblazer of the Year.

MORE ON EDUARDO:

Website: Ballet Hispanico

 

PODCAST INTERVIEW LINKS

 

Podcast produced by: The Moving Architects
Interviewer: Erin Carlisle Norton
Theme Music: Adam Crawley whose music can be found at djplie.com

This podcast episode is in partnership with JAM.  JAM is the home of dance entrepreneur Jessica Marino, providing artist management services and industry shopping. jamdancer.com, networking for dance and bringing ideas to the spotlight.

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