Podcasts - The Moving Architects

Mar 07

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MSP 196: Jessica Gaynor

By ecnorton 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:

Jessica Gaynor
Jessica Gaynor on LinkedIn

Jessica Gaynor on Instagram

Young Dancemakers Company

Young Dancemakers Company on Facebook

Young Dancemakers Company on Instagram

Alice Teirstein

Pilobolus

Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Company

Julie Strandberg

Michelle R. Bach-Coulibaly

Jamal Jackson Dance Company

California Institute of The Arts
Lauren Hale
Merce Cunningham
Triskelion Arts
Abby Bender
William Catanzaro
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival

Podcast produced by: The Moving Architects

Interviewer: Erin Carlisle Norton

Feb 19

Love1

MSP 195: Remembering Kathy Dunn Hamrick

By ecnorton Podcast

MSP 195: Remembering Kathy Dunn Hamrick

Release Date: 2.19.26

TO DOWNLOAD PODCAST OR LISTEN:

- Apple: Subscribe, Listen, Rate Us HERE
- Spotify: Follow and Listen HERE
- Any Smartphone Podcast app: Subscribe and Listen

With a heavy heart, KDH Dance Company announced the passing of their fierce founder and dearest friend, Kathy Dunn Hamrick. Kathy has had an enormous impact, with ripples throughout Austin and beyond, as she is loved by so many. In her final weeks, she was receiving 30-40 texts a day and numerous visits from friends, family, students, colleagues, collaborators, and neighbors whom she had made a lasting impression on. The organization is heartbroken, but committed to honoring Kathy and her legacy for years to come. Read more in the KDH Dance Company newsletter.

Creating a Modern Dance Culture and Community with Kathy Dunn Hamrick

Episode 195: Show Notes.

Establishing a modern dance company is no easy feat, but today’s guest managed to create a successful organization and build a wonderful modern dance community in Austin, Texas. Today on Movers & Shapers, we welcome Kathy Dunn Hamrick, the Artistic Director of Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance, to discuss her work and how she helps dance grow in Austin. Kathy found a love for dance at a young age and quickly decided that she needed to dedicate her life to it. In this episode, you’ll hear all about Kathy’s life and career, her decision to teach, and how her desire to be ‘in charge’ led her to start her company. We discuss the difficulty of balancing a family and career, her gorgeous piece choreographed on platforms on a lake, and starting the Austin Dance Festival. We delve into Kathy’s recent cancer diagnosis and how her community has showed up for her, and Kathy opens up about next steps of sharing her knowledge with the next generation of dancers and choreographers. Finally, we walk through Kathy’s career highlights and struggles. To hear all this and more, press play now!

Key Points From This Episode:

We delve into the who behind Kathy Dunn Hamrick and learn about how she got into dance.
The wonderful mentors Kathy has had and how they shaped her career.
What Kathy loves about dance and how she constantly stays interested in it.
Kathy tells us about her move to New York and why she decided to get her MFA.
Transitioning into the role of dance teacher and founding namesake company; Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance.
How Kathy balances her family and business while keeping her career interesting for herself.
The incredible dance piece that was choreographed by Kathy and performed on a lake.
Kathy outlines all of the things her dance company does.
The modern dance culture in Austin and why Kathy started her dance festival.
How COVID affected Kathy’s business and festival.
Kathy’s diagnosis with stage four cancer and what’s next for her and the organization.
Why finances have always been Kathy’s biggest business struggle.
The highlights of Kathy’s career and the wonderful dance community she’s built.

“From a very young age I knew I wanted a family and I knew I wanted to dance and I’ve achieved both of those [things] so I’m living my best life honestly.” — Kathy Dunn Hamrick

Kathy Dunn Hamrick is the Artistic Director of Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company, an award-winning modern dance company based in Austin, Texas. Kathy has happily committed her professional life to dancing, teaching, choreographing, presenting, mentoring, andadvocating for modern dance and dancemakers. She has created over 50 dances that have been described as “strikingly athletic and wonderfully expressive,” “heavenly,” “smart” and “masterly,” and garnered numerous recognitions for the dance company, including Austin Critics Table awards for Best Choreographer, Best Dance Concert, Best Dancer, Best Duet, Best Lighting Design, and Best Ensemble. The company has performed throughout Texas as well asin New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and Toronto, and her “Lake Dances” were featuredin Arts + Culture Texas, Arts Journal, and Dance Magazine. Kathy holds a BA in Modern Dancefrom The University of Texas and an MFA in Performance, and Choreography from Florida State University. She has taught at Florida State, Stephen F. Austin State University, St.Edwards University, The University of Texas, and Austin Community College. She currentlyteaches modern dance for both recreational and professional dancers at Café Dance; providesprofessional development for educators; directs artist residencies for high schools anduniversities; and served as a mentor for Austin Emerging Arts Leaders. In 2015, Kathy founded Austin Dance Festival, an annual modern dance event that hosts professional danceshowcases, master classes, and a Youth Edition that includes non-competitive showcases forteens 13-18, a Pro Chat Q&A, and a college fair. In 2018, Kathy was inducted into the AustinArts Hall of Fame as “a model for the artist who approaches each project in a spirit of experimentation and reinvention.”

Connect with Kathy Dunn Hamrick

Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance

Austin Dance Festival

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Maryse Gobell

Gallia Kouskoff

Texas Christian University

The University of Texas At Austin

Sharon Vasquez

Ruth Currier

Lynda Davis

Dance Magazine

Kate Warren on Instagram

Cafe Dance

Kay Braden

Austin Dance Festival

Austin Community College

Podcast produced by: The Moving Architects
Interviewer: Erin Carlisle Norton

Feb 06

Love1

MSP 194: Bobbi Jene Smith

By ecnorton Podcast No Comments

PODCAST 194: Bobbi Jene Smith

Release Date: 2.5.26

TO DOWNLOAD PODCAST OR LISTEN:

- Apple: Subscribe & Listen HERE
- Spotify: Follow and Listen HERE
- Any Smartphone Podcast app: Subscribe and Listen

Reaching Beyond Borders, Rooted in Movement with Bobbi Jene Smith

Episode 194: Show Notes.

From Iowa to Juilliard, from Israel to screens, Bobbi Jene Smith’s Journey through dance is anything but ordinary and defies borders and expectations! In this episode, we are joined by internationally acclaimed dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker Bobbi Jene Smith. Known for her deeply personal and raw approach to movement, Bobbi shares the milestones that shaped her path; from leaving home at the age of 11, to ultimately moving to Israel to join Batsheva Dance Company. Bobbi opens up about the challenges of living abroad and the profound ways in which her relationship with dance evolved through her time in Israel before reflecting on her decision to leave Batsheva and return to the US. We also hear about her transition to dance filmmaking, her current projects, and what it means to her to continuously practice and live through her craft. Finally, Bobbi leaves us with thoughtful reflections on identity, artistry, and her hopes for the future. Thanks for tuning in!

Key Points From This Episode:

Welcoming today’s guest, Bobbi Jene Smith.
Bobbi Jene tells us about her background in dance.
What the summer program at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School was like.
Moving away from home at the age of 11 and ending up at Juilliard.
How the Juilliard environment differed from Bobbi’s previous studies.
Bobbi Jene walks us through the logistics of moving to Israel and what it felt like.
How Bobbi Jene reconnected with her love for dance.
The challenges that came with being in Israel for so long.
Bobbi Jene tells us about some of her favorite performances.
How she decided to leave Batsheva Dance Company and move back to the US.
The importance of continuously practicing your craft.
How Bobbi Jene got into creating dance films and what she’s working on now.
What Bobbi Jene’s hopes and dreams are for the future.

ABOUT Bobbi Jene Smith

Bobbi Jene Smith is from Ames, Iowa. She is an alumnus of the Juilliard School, North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. From 2005-2014, she was a member of the Batsheva Dance Company under the artistic direction of Ohad Naharin. In collaboration with Or Schraiber, she has choreographed original works for the Paris Opera Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, Royal Danish Ballet, Theater Basel, L.A. Dance Project, The Batsheva Dance Ensemble, among others. She is a founding member of American Modern Opera Company and an artist in residence at L.A. Dance Project.is from Ames, Iowa. She is an alumnus of the Juilliard School, North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. From 2005-2014, she was a member of the Batsheva Dance Company under the artistic direction of Ohad Naharin. In collaboration with Or Schraiber, she has choreographed original works for the Paris Opera Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, Royal Danish Ballet, Theater Basel, L.A. Dance Project, The Batsheva Dance Ensemble, among others. She is a founding member of American Modern Opera Company and an artist in residence at L.A. Dance Project.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Bobbi Jene Smith on Instagram

Batsheva Dance Company

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School

North Carolina School of the Arts

San Francisco Conservatory of Dance

Sleep No More

The Royal Danish Ballet

Jan 23

Love1

MSP 193: Morgan Teel

By ecnorton Podcast

PODCAST 193: Morgan Teel

Release Date: 1.22.26

TO DOWNLOAD PODCAST OR LISTEN:

- Apple: Subscribe & Listen HERE
- Spotify: Follow and Listen HERE
- Any Smartphone Podcast app: Subscribe and Listen

Beyond the Product: The Dance Process with Morgan Teel

Episode 193: Show Notes.

Morgan Teel is the mind behind Dance Waterloo, an organization making dance more accessible through site specific and site responsive shows in Austin, Texas. During this episode, she joins us to share the story of how she first fell in love with dance, what deepened her knowledge of choreography, and the motivation behind launching Dance Waterloo. Morgan also shares what first drew her to site-specific work and how Austin audiences have embraced it, from intimate community performances to larger shows like Quixotic States at the Zilker Hillside Theatre Stage. We discuss her inventive projects, including a spelling bee themed dance production, and how she works to make the creative process as visible as the final product. Along the way, she reveals where she finds inspiration for her pieces and why accessibility, experimentation, and community connection remain at the heart of her vision for Dance Waterloo’s future.

Key Points From This Episode:

Morgan Teel’s introduction to the world of dance as a child.
Applying for colleges and honing her skills as a choreographer.
What motivated Morgan to start Dance Waterloo: making dance more accessible.
Working full-time in an arts administration role.
Naming Dance Waterloo, fundraising, and putting on their first show under an overpass.
How dance classes for families allow children to see their parents as equal collaborators.
The legacy Morgan hopes to build with Dance Waterloo.
How she is working with Austin’s senior population.
Marketing Dance Waterloo and growing its network.
What first drew Morgan to site-specific work and how it has been received.
The spelling bee dance production she recently put on.
Where she finds inspiration for her pieces.
How she is working to make the process of dance visible beyond the product of it.
Quixotic States: a dance show at the Zilker Hillside Theatre Stage.
Plans for the future: dancing with teenagers.
How Morgan cross-pollinates her skills.

ABOUT Morgan

Morgan Teel is a choreographer, dancer, and the founder and artistic director of Dance Waterloo, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides performances and dance education programs to adults and children, and to other artists at affordable rates. By integrating her passion for dance and expertise in community engagement she aims to bridge the gap between institutions and their communities, enabling mutual growth.

Morgan founded Dance Waterloo after realizing there was a gap in how dance was being shared with the community. For a city known for its cultural vibrancy, she was struck by how few people had ever experienced modern or contemporary dance. When she talked to strangers, many said they didn’t watch modern dance because they didn’t feel like they “got it” or thought it wasn’t something for them. This opened her eyes to an opportunity: how could she offer dance in a way that felt accessible and inviting to everyone? In 2015, Dance Waterloo launched with their debut performance, Under the Overpass, a night performance at Skylines in Boggy Creek Greenbelt Park. Since its inception, Morgan has led the organization as it has expanded into community programs, virtual monthly workshops with proceeds supporting BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disabled communities, mentorship for emerging rural Central Texas BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disabled choreographers, and performances in partnership with Austin institutions like Lady Bird Lake, Epoch Coffee, and more. Through Dance Waterloo, Morgan believes in creating multigenerational work that brings the choreographic processes to a more digestible level, invites the audience to participate, and makes dance community driven.

In addition to her work at Dance Waterloo, Morgan is a Certified Enneagram Coach specializing in time management with an intuitive approach. Instead of using rigid systems, she helps individuals understand how their natural tendencies, motivations, and energy cycles influence how they manage their time. By focusing on self-awareness and adaptability, Morgan encourages people to work with their own rhythms, creating a sustainable balance between creativity, productivity, and rest. This approach aligns with her work in dance and community engagement, both of which require flexibility and the ability to adjust to shifting priorities while staying focused.

Morgan is committed to serving artists in Austin. In 2025, she joined the advisory council for Keep Austin Beautiful, an organization that has been serving Austin since 1983 to ensure that the community stays safe, clean, and beautiful. She has served as the president of Austin Emerging Arts Leaders (EAL), a collective of Austin-based arts practitioners, administrators, and advocates offering professional development opportunities and inclusive community building. During her tenure she co-created the mentorship program which identifies and cultivates the next generation of arts leaders by selecting approximately five emerging artists and arts administrators and pairing them with established mentors to build relationships that aid their personal, professional, and creative development.

Morgan holds a masters of fine arts in Dance from The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a bachelors of fine arts in Dance Performance and Choreography from The University of Southern Mississippi. Her artistic works have premiered across the United States—including Florida, Arkansas, Indiana, Mississippi, Texas, and New York—and internationally in Italy. For more information please visit, dancewaterloo.org.

Connect:

@Morgan Teel

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Morgan Teel

Dance Waterloo on Instagram

Quixotic States

The Artist Access Program

Jan 08

Love1

MSP 192: Mickela Mallozzi

By ecnorton Podcast

PODCAST 192: Mickela Mallozzi

Release Date: 1.8.26

TO DOWNLOAD PODCAST OR LISTEN:

- Apple: Subscribe & Listen HERE
- Spotify: Follow and Listen HERE
- Any Smartphone Podcast app: Subscribe and Listen

Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi

Episode 192: Show Notes.

Joining Erin on the Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast today is Mickela Mallozzi. Mickela is a four-time Emmy® Award–winning host and executive producer of Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi, a PBS and Amazon Prime travel series celebrating global dance traditions. A professional dancer and trained musician, she travels the world exploring how everyday people express their cultures through movement. Her work has been featured in major outlets including The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, Forbes, and The Washington Post, and more. In today’s conversation, Erin and Mickela delve into the origins of her dance journey, how a middle-of-the-night dream blossomed into her life project, Bare Feet, and she recounts the impact of growing up in an immigrant family on both herself and the TV show. Mickela unpacks how she worked hard to get her show off the ground, in the process starting a blog, and emphasizes the weight of storytelling in producing the episodes. She touches on what it’s like going into different cultural settings, how she has overcome challenges throughout the year, and when she realized that Bare Feet was more than just a travel show! To hear more about Mickela’s incredible journey, including how she navigated the ins and outs of the COVID-19 pandemic, and what hopes and dreams are coming into fruition in the near future, be sure not to miss out on another insightful episode. Thanks for listening!

Key Points From This Episode:

Mickela shares the origins of who she is and her dance journey.
How she took a middle-of-the-night dream and made it an award-winning TV Show reality.
She recounts growing up in an immigrant family with an amazing storytelling Nonnapina.
Mickela talks about Bare Feet, the TV Show, and the features of immigrant families in NYC.
“The Plan” before Bare Feet came to be.
Mickela shares how dance returned to her life.
She tells the story of getting Bare Feet off the ground and ultimately starting her blog.
The story of sneaking into a PBS conference and how it panned out.
Mickela emphasizes the weight of storytelling on Bare Feet.
The importance of working hard and intentionally pursuing what you’re called to do.
She talks about the hard juxtaposition of finding funding and support for the show.
Mickela breaks down what it’s like going into culturally different communities and learning from the people, the dances, and the spaces.
The difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation.
Overcoming challenges throughout the years: Mickela shares a real-life example of “figuring it out.”

ABOUT Mickela

Mickela Mallozzi is the 4x Emmy Award-winning Host & Executive Producer of Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi, a travel series on PBS. Mickela likes to say she “makes new friends by dancing with strangers,” connecting with locals through the universal language of dance and music wherever she goes. From re-discovering her family’s roots in Southern Italy to learning the haka with the Māori in Aotearoa (New Zealand), the series covers Mickela’s adventures as she experiences the world, one dance at a time.

Mickela has been featured in The New York Times, O Magazine, The Washington Post, AFAR Media, Hemispheres Magazine, Dance Magazine, Forbes, National Geographic, Condé Nast Traveler, NBC, and more, and she has performed on various television shows including Sesame Street.

Mickela is also an adjunct professor at her alma mater, New York University, where she teaches “Intercultural Communication Through Dance” when she’s not filming her TV series. The new season 8 of Bare Feet premieres on PBS starting December 2025.