Podcast

Episode 178: Show Notes

Key Points From This Episode:

• Alice’s beginnings in Perugia, Italy, and her introduction to dance at three years old.
• Early dance influences, including her exposure to the Alwin Nikolais lineage.
• Pressure Alice faced to pursue choreography over dance due to her appearance.
• Her interest in integrating performance art and dance in nontraditional venues.
• The distinction between makers and performers and which category she fits into.
• Reflections on feeling like an “other” in both Italy and the United States.
• Alice’s strong connection to Seattle and its artistic support.
• Insight into her love for planes, airports, and creating dance pieces in “non-places.”
• Perspectives on creating dance and choreography that isn’t driven by entertainment.
• Engaging audiences not typically interested in dance through sensory experiences.
• Alice’s exploration of durational performances, inspired by long-form theater.
• Compassion for the audience in durational versus endurance performances.
• The experimental dance and performance ensemble that she collaborates with.
• What Alice is working on now and what audiences can expect from her in the future.

Welcome to another episode of Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast! You’re in for a very exciting treat as we venture into interviewing dance professionals from across the USA. Today we are interviewing four dance figures from Pittsburgh about their careers and the dance culture in their city. Tuning in, you’ll hear all about our incredible guests, Shana Simmons, Peter Kope, Alan Obuzor, and Brittany Nettles’ careers, how they have navigated the dance scene in Pittsburgh, what resources have helped them, and so much more! We delve into how dance fits into Pittsburgh’s culture before discussing the competition and collaborative spirit in the city. They tell us about the struggles they face in their industry, why consistency is problematic, and how they need multiple jobs to be successful. We go on to talk about the incredible changes they have seen over the years in the Pittsburgh dance world and what they’d love to see happen in the future. Finally, they share beautiful moments that made them so passionate about working as dance professionals in Pittsburgh and why they love it so much. You don’t want to miss out on this inspirational episode, so be sure to press play now!

Key Points From This Episode:

• A brief overview of Pittsburgh’s history of dance.
• Introducing today’s guests: Shana Simmons, Peter Kope, Alan Obuzor, and Brittany Nettles.
• How they navigated dance careers in Pittsburgh and the resources that have helped them.
• Our guests tell us where dance fits into the culture of Pittsburgh.
• The collaborations and competition each of our guests experience.
• What kinds of classes they offer and the struggles they face when it comes to consistency.
• How they have seen the local dance community change over the years.
• The changes and collaborations they’d love to see in the Pittsburgh dance scene.
• Our guests tell us what they love about working in the dance industry in Pittsburgh.

ABOUT Alan Obuzor

Cultivating Genuine Connections with Clare Cook

Episode 176: Show Notes

Our guest today is the remarkable Clare Cook. Based in Lafayette, Louisiana, Clare is the Founder and Creative Director of Basin Arts, a non-profit arts incubator dedicated to helping Louisiana artists develop sustainable creative practices. Basin Arts aims to expand access to professional contemporary arts experiences while fostering genuine connections between artists and the broader community. In our interview, we explore how dance was positively cultivated in different spaces throughout her life, what she’s grateful for, and unpack her decision to pursue a life in dance. She shares insights into being the youngest in her NYU Tisch Dance program, her passion for storytelling and collaboration, and her interest in the theatre-dance hybrid. We also discuss her experience with an observership, the decision to return to Lafayette, and go deeper into the heart and vision behind Basin Arts. For all this and much more, be sure to tune in!

Key Points From This Episode:

• We’re introduced to our guest Clare Cook and her life and dance journey.
• She reflects on how dance was cultivated in different spaces throughout her life and what she’s grateful for.
• Clare unpacks her decision to pursue a life in dance.
• How she thought of dance as a way to become more of herself.
• Being the youngest dancer in the NYU Tisch Dance program.
• Her love and interest in storytelling and collaboration.
• How she got her first gig choreographing a musical.
• She talks about her interest in the theatre-dance hybrid.
• Clare shares about her opportunity to do an observership.
• The impetus to move back to Louisiana and what it was like navigating that transition.
• How the concept for Basin Arts started to unfold.
• She speaks to the idea of trajectory as continued evolution along the path of creative process, collaboration, and community.
• Clare breaks down what creating authentic relationships with the community looks like through Basin Arts.
• What Basin Arts is all about and the heart of their goals.
• Clare shares what she’s excited about and upcoming events.

“[Basin Arts] was this idea of how can we, in the simplest, least encumbered way, find a space for people to come together and do their work.” — Clare Cook

ABOUT Clare

Rachel Damon (she/her) is a designer, choreographer, producer, and performer whose career bridges onstage and backstage. As a cofounder and Co-Director of Synapse Arts she has been honored to receive support from MetLife, The Saints, The Illinois Arts Council, 3Arts, and DCASE for projects that have been presented at The Dance Center, The Museum of Contemporary Art, The Detroit Institute of Art, Ingenuity Cleveland, TEK BOX Minneapolis, The Field Museum, Roy Hart International Arts Centre (France), and Vo’Arte (Portugal).

Damon has developed her dance-theatre, site-specific, film, and kinetic textile works through residencies with The Ragdale Foundation, The Morrison-Shearer Foundation, Links Hall, The Chicago Cultural Center, and South House (England).

A Stage Manager at Cirque du Soleil/Blue Man Group and a 2005 graduate of Columbia College Chicago, Damon loves to knit while watching action movies, and she eats dessert every day.

ABOUT Sydney

Sydney Skybetter is a choreographer. Hailed by the Financial Times as “One of the world’s foremost thinkers on the intersection of dance and emerging technologies,” Sydney’s choreography has been performed at such venues as The Kennedy Center and Jacob’s Pillow. He has lectured at SXSW, Yale, Mozilla and the Boston Dynamics AI Institute, and consulted for The National Ballet of Canada, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Hasbro, and The University of Southern California, among others. His work has been supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and a Creative Capital “Wild Futures” Award. He is a Senior Affiliate of metaLAB at Harvard University, a frequent contributor to WIRED and Dance Magazine, the Founder of the Conference for Research on Choreographic Interfaces and Host of the podcast, “Dances with Robots.” Sydney serves as the Deputy Dean of the College for Curriculum and Co-Curriculum, is an Associate Professor of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies, and was the first choreographer at Brown University to receive tenure.

Dance for a Violence-Free Future with Giada Matteini

Episode 173: Show Notes

Today’s guest, Giada Matteini, embodies the belief that artists have the extraordinary ability to shape a world free from violence. As a performer, educator, choreographer, and cultural producer, Giada founded WADE (Wandering Avian Dance Experience), a women-led performing arts company that brings awareness to gender-based violence and offers healing through the transformative power of dance. In this episode of Movers & Shapers, Giada shares a panoramic view of her international dance career, brimming with hope and inspiration for those driven by their passion for art, movement, and self-expression. She speaks candidly about her personal experience with domestic violence and the profound role that dance played in her healing process; emphasizing how WADE emerged as a platform to raise awareness, initiate important conversations, empower survivors, and build a compassionate community of creative minds. You’ll gain insight into Giada’s journey, her dedication to her craft, and her unwavering commitment to using art as a catalyst for social change. This episode is a testament to the boundless potential of dance and resilience, so be sure to tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Giada’s love for movement and teaching and an overview of her dance career.
• The story of how she first came to the United States (and what made her stay).
• How she learned English from The Cure and honed her American slang with TV.
• Her early days in New York and how she began to build a career for herself.
• Insight into her passion for learning and her formal dance education.
• The haven that dance provided for Giada when life was difficult.
• How WADE was born and how it became so much more than a dance company.
• The bird that inspired the name and the four foundational pillars in the logo.
• Touching stories about some of the most poignant moments from Giada’s career.
• Why Giada refers to ballet as “the greatest equalizer” and her somatic approach to it.
• Insight into her plans to use dance as a tool to build a violence-free future for all.

“My life was hard; emotionally hard, physically hard, financially hard. Dance was – my haven.” — Giada Matteini

ABOUT Giada

Giada Matteini is an Italian performer, educator, choreographer, and cultural producer based in New York City. She is the Founder and Director of WADE (Wandering Avian Dance Experience), a women-led multifaceted performing arts company working at the intersection with social justice and focused on supporting the voices and artistic expressions of women and historically underrepresented artists. WADE offers numerous points of entry into art and activism through educational programs and curated festivals in the US and Europe. Her WADEintoACTIVISM Festival began during the Covid-19 Pandemic lockdown as a response to the global increase of violence against women and continues its efforts today. The Festival joins the Global 16 Days Campaign, launched by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership and feminists from around the world and has forged collaborations with artists across the globe and with organizations fighting all forms of violence in schools, college campuses, dance studios and work places such as Speak About It: Consent Education, Project Callisto, Dance Data Project, Dance Education Equity Association, and White Ribbon.

Giada is an Assistant Arts Professor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts in NYC and has traveled as a guest artist to Germany, Sweden, Austria, Finland, Spain, China, The Philippines, Mexico and across the U.S. and Italy.

Her 30 year long and on-going ballet research is based in debunking the idea of elitism in the art form, by nurturing the appreciation of the many shapes and sizes of the moving body and of gender fluidity, with the intention to support the training of her students who might feel marginalized in the studio.

As a company director, Giada has produced and/or facilitated over 60 residencies with international artists including Roy Assaf (Roy Assaf Dance), Davide Di Pretoro (Sasha Waltz), Janet Wong (Bill T Jones), Diane Madden (Trisha Brown Dance Company), Kirsten Foote (Limón Dance Company), Cindy Salgado (Crystal Pite), Rashaun Mitchell (Merce Cunningham Dance Company), Shamel Pitts, Rena Butler, Netta Yerushalmy, Stefanie Batten Bland, Bobbi Jene Smith, Loni Landon, Gregory Dolbashian (Dash Ensemble), Shannon Gillen (Vim Vigor), Nathan Trice, Vita Osojnik, Charlotte Boye-Christenson, Cora Bos-Kroese (NDT), Richard Chen See (Paul Taylor Dance Company), Arcell Carbuag (Ronald K. Brown Evidence), Madboots, Sonya Tayeh, Studio Wayne McGregor, Ori Flomin, Sadé and Kristina Alleyne, Molissa Fenley and Company, Sarah Cernaux, and many more.

Giada holds a BA in Dance and Education from Empire State College, an Embodied Social Justice Certificate from the Embody Lab, a Parent Leadership Certificate from Rise Magazine, and she is working on her Moving For Life Certification with Martha Eddy.

The Journey of Creating Dance for Video with Mimi Garrard

Episode 172: Show Notes

Video dance work has become increasingly popular as technology has advanced, but not many dancers and choreographers have made it their primary medium of work. Today’s guest, Mimi Garrard, is the exception, having spent most of her extensive career focusing on video dance. In this episode of Movers & Shapers, we hear all about Mimi’s life, what led her to dance, her training under Alwin Nikolais, why she chose video dance, and what she loves about it. We delve into how she combines video and live dancing before Mimi expands on how technology has changed her work, the lighting system her husband designed for her, and some of her biggest influences throughout her career and life. Mimi feels that intuition has always been a driving force for her, and today, she tells us how that has served her work. We even discuss how AI might impact her work and what’s next for Mimi Garrard Dance Theatre. This is a fascinating episode filled with unique perspectives carved from Mimi’s special journey, so be sure to tune in!

Key Points From This Episode:

• An overview of Mimi’s life and what led her to dance.
• Her training and touring program with Alwin Nikolais and the pieces she did with him.
• How 9/11 influenced her career and how her video dance work has evolved over the years.
• Mimi’s move to the country, her outdoor work, and how madness is a theme of her work.
• What informed her decision to combine video with live dance and how it has been received.
• Dancers and composers that Mimi is currently working with.
• Who has influenced her work most throughout her career.
• What Alwin Nikolais was like (according to our guest!)
• How Mimi got hooked on video dance and how her work has evolved with technology.
• The lighting system her husband came up with for her dance videos.
• How Mimi’s intuition has served her throughout her career.
• The importance of learning and continuously working as a beginner.
• What’s next for Mimi and her curiosity about how AI will affect her work.
• Why she doesn’t attend screenings of her own work.

ABOUT MIMI

Mimi Garrard was a dancer with Alwin Nikolais. He produced her concerts at the Henry Street Playhouse for ten years and then she toured under the National Endowment Touring Program for many years. In collaboration with James Seawright, her work was commissioned for CBS Camera Three and WGBH Boston television. She created more than ninety works for
the stage that were performed throughout the United States and in South America. She received two grants for choreography from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Most recently Mimi Garrard is experimenting in new ways, creating dance for video using digital techniques to transform the dance material. Her work in this area is unique and is gaining increasing attention. This work is shown internationally on television, in museums and galleries, and in festivals. It was also shown on the dome of the planetarium in Jackson, Mississippi, and on the BBC BIG screen throughout England. Over the last four years she participated in 2305 international festivals and won 1280 first place awards. She won the Distinguished Alumnae Award from Sweet Briar College in 2019.

She has a half hour monthly television program on Manhattan Neighborhood Network in Manhattan, New York that is streamed live at the time of broadcast. (247 programs to date) She received a life- time achievement award from the INSTITUTE OF ARTS AND LETTERS in Mississippi for her outstanding achievement in dance both for video and for the stage.