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March 2026

Mar 21
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MSP 197: David Parker

By Podcast

MSP 197: David Parker

Release Date: 3.19.26

TO DOWNLOAD PODCAST OR LISTEN:

    • Apple: Subscribe, Listen, Rate Us HERE

    • Spotify: Follow and Listen HERE

    • Any Smartphone Podcast app: Subscribe and Listen

Making Dance Performance ‘Fun’ with David Parker

Episode 197: Show Notes.

In this episode of Movers & Shapers, we welcome the founder of the Bang Group, David Parker, to talk about his incredible career and how his life and dancing are entwined. Tuning in, you’ll hear all about David’s life, how a film about the Golden Age of entertainment sparked his love for dance, the training he received, and so much more! David tells us all about his time in New York, his love for tap dancing, and what it was like to experience ‘the Dance Boom’. We delve into his decision to start choreographing later in life and how his sexual awakening informed his work before discussing how he combined dancing and acting in his choreography. David goes on to tell us about how choreography became his passion and why he still sees the importance of being able to dance when he wants to, even in his 60s. We even talk about some of the challenges he’s faced in his career and touch on some of the highlights of his career. Finally, our guest tells us what he is working on now. To hear all this, and so much more, be sure to press play now!

Key Points From This Episode:

  • Welcoming David Parker to the show. 
  • Where David’s from and how he started dancing. 
  • His time at Bard College and why he decided to leave. 
  • David touches on his love for tap, in particular, and his rhythmic brain. 
  • His experience of ‘the Dance Boom’ in New York. 
  • Why David only started choreographing in his late 20s.
  • Creating work that conveys meaning: acting through dance. 
  • David tells us about the personal revelation he had about his sexuality. 
  • Why it is very important for him to be able to dance as well as create. 
  • Some of the trials and peak moments he’s been through in his career. 
  • What David is working on at the moment.

The Bang Group is a rhythm-driven, theatrical dance company based in New York City which spans contemporary and percussive forms.  The company, founded and directed by Jeffrey Kazin and David Parker in 1995 tours widely throughout North America and Europe and is best-known for its comic/subversive, neo-vaudeville Nutcracker entitled Nut/Cracked, now in its 23rd season.  The Bang Group performs regularly in New York City at Arts On Site, 92NY, New York Live Arts, Danspace Project, The Flea, Symphony Space, and many other venues.  TBG has a second home in Boston which it developed through sustained partnerships with Summer Stages Dance, The Institute of Contemporary Art and The Dance Complex where its Dance Now Boston initiative is in its 12th season.  It has also enjoyed 9 seasons at The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard  and 16 years in residence at The West End Theater on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.  As a teacher of Dance Composition, Parker has served on the faculties of The Juilliard School, Princeton University, Barnard College, Hunter College, Marymount Manhattan College, The Alvin Ailey School and SUNY Purchase.  He has also taught several times for The Bates Dance Festival and served as an adjudicator for ACDA.  Parker continues to perform in his own work and the work of other choreographers including Catherine Tharin, Sara Hook, Christopher Williams, Doug Elkins, Kelli Edwards, Sara Rudner, and as a guest artist with The New York Theatre Ballet.  In addition to creating repertory for The Bang Group, he has created over 60 works for modern and ballet companies, colleges and universities, dance festivals, and soloists.  He has written about dance for Dance Magazine, The Brooklyn Rail and other independent publications. Parker is a 2013 Guggenheim Fellow in choreography.  www.thebanggroup.com

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Interviewer: Erin Carlisle Norton

Mar 07
Love2

MSP 196: Jessica Gaynor

By Podcast

MSP 196: Jessica Gaynor

Release Date: 3.5.26

TO DOWNLOAD PODCAST OR LISTEN:

    • Apple: Subscribe, Listen, Rate Us HERE

    • Spotify: Follow and Listen HERE

    • Any Smartphone Podcast app: Subscribe and Listen

Shaping a Life in Dance with Jessica Gaynor

Episode 192: Show Notes.

A lifelong devotion to movement can shape not just an artist’s career, but an entire community. Today, choreographer, educator, and Artistic Director Jessica Gaynor shares how her path began in gymnastics before finding her true calling in modern dance. From her early days studying with the legendary Alice Teirstein to becoming a mentor and leader in her own right, Jessica’s story is one of passion, resilience, and creativity. In our conversation, Jessica reflects on the freedom and self-expression she discovered through improvisation, her formative years studying dance at Brown and CalArts, and the drive that led her to form her own company back in New York. She recalls milestone performances, collaborations with composers, and the challenges of sustaining a company while teaching full-time. Today, her work as Artistic Director of the Young Dancemakers Company continues to empower teens to create original work in partnership with professional composers, carrying forward the legacy of her mentor. Tune in to hear how Jessica has built a multifaceted career in dance, and why she remains committed to creating, teaching, and inspiring the next generation.

Key Points From This Episode:

  • Jessica’s upbringing in NYC and her shift from gymnastics to ballet and modern dance.
  • How she found mentorship with Alice Teirstein at the Fieldston School.
  • Her love of dance as a form of freedom, self-expression, and community through movement.
  • Early influences on her dance career: Pilobolus and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company.
  • Studying at Brown, while doing an academic major, repertory works, choreography, and more.
  • Graduate training at CalArts, focusing on choreography, performance, and collaboration.
  • What it was like returning to NYC and forming a company with fellow dancers.
  • Creating evening-length works at Triskelion Arts and touring performances.
  • Collaborative works with composers, exploring structure and form.
  • Joining the Young Dancemakers Company (YDC) and becoming Artistic Director.
  • Leading YDC through the pandemic with Zoom dance films and outdoor shows.
  • Jessica’s love of teaching and helping teens create original work.
  • Rediscovering performance and collaborating with her musician husband.
  • Reflections on highlights and challenges while sustaining a career in dance.

Jessica Gaynor is a choreographer, performer and teacher, as well as Artistic Director of Jessica Gaynor Dance and the Young Dancemakers Company. Hailed for her “risk-laden” (DIY Dancer) choreography and “sophisticated approach to pure dance,” (The New Yorker), Jessica’s work utilizes kinetic physicality, intricate patterning, and formal structures in an exploration of the complexities of human experience.

Jessica has created more than forty works for her company and for schools and universities around the world. Her work has been performed at venues such as Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out, The Skirball Center/NYU, Danspace Project @ St. Mark’s Church, Ailey Citigroup Theater, The Kitchen, Peridance, Triskelion Arts, Dance Theater Workshop, The 92Y, Dixon Place, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, CPR, Hudson Guild Theater, LAKE Studios, Kühlspot, Errant Sounds, PAS Berlin, Interior to Beings Festival, Uferstudios, Berlin Dance Institute and many more.

Jessica’s repertory has been set on students at Brown University, Grand Canyon University, Berlin Dance Institute, the Fieldston School, the Brearley School and the Young Dancemakers Company. She has taught workshops at Peridance Capezio Center, Gibney Dance Center, Tanzfabrik, PAUL Studios and Insight Dance, was a guest choreographer for Amalgamate Dance Company’s Guest Artist Showcase, and directed the dance program at The Brearley School from 2007-2014.

Jessica holds an MFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from California Institute of the Arts, and a BA from Brown University, where upon graduation she received the Weston Award for excellence in dance. Recent grants include an O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation Grant, two New Music/USA Commissions, a Mertz Gilmore Late Stage Production Stipend and multiple Andrew W. Mellon Space Subsidies. Jessica Gaynor Dance was a Gotham Arts Exchange Emerging Artist in 2010 and a member of Pentacle’s (DanceWorks, Inc.) Gallery Roster from 2013-2015.

Since 2019, Jessica has proudly served as Artistic Director of the Young Dancemakers Company. Founded in 1996 by Alice Teirstein, Young Dancemakers Company (YDC) is rooted in the belief that teenagers have something essential to say to the world, and that they can say it through dance. YDC is a unique, tuition-free summer dance ensemble of NYC teens dedicated to creating their own original choreography and performing it in free touring concerts city-wide, for audiences of up to 2000 individuals each season. Company members, selected annually by audition, are drawn from throughout NYC public high schools. Through daily intensive training and rehearsal sessions, the company creates original choreography based on meaningful personal and social themes.

Young Dancemakers Company is made possible by the generous support of: Jody and John Arnhold | Arnhold Foundation, the Harkness Foundation for Dance, the Emily Davie and Joseph S. Kornfeld Foundation, the Richenthal Foundation, the Teirstein Family in honor of Alice, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, and individual contributors.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Interviewer: Erin Carlisle Norton