act/re/act

Welcome to my conversation with Audrey Chen, a wonderful and captivating musician who I have had the pleasure of first seeing her perform in the early 2000s in the DC/Baltimore area, where we both lived at the time. I have also collaborated with Audrey in a work commissioned by The Kennedy Center and have had the opportunity to perform with her a number of times, but not in a number of years. It w...

Welcome to my conversation with Ed Sarath, a Professor of Music in the Department of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, as well as the director of the U-M Program in Creativity and Consciousness Studies. He founded and serves as president of the International Society for Improvised Music, and has written two books on music, improvisa...

Welcome to my conversation with Cass Tunick, a senior teacher of Ruth Zaporah's Action Theater, and an amazing performer in her own right.  In this conversation we talk about, of course, improvisational performance, but also training, collaboration, what happens when you walk on stage with absolutely no plan, Buddhism, and the practice of getting lost.  Find out more about Cass here:  http://www.c...

Finally, the beginning of the second season of act/re/act! To start this second I have a fascinating conversation with Melanie George, a dancer/choreographer who's artistic practice is rooted in jazz dance. She is one of the few jazz dance artists, that I'm aware of, who actively incorporates improvisation in her teaching and choreography. In this episode we discuss why Melanie explores improvisat...

In this, the fifth and final episode of season one of act/re/act, I have a conversation with multi-media artist and DJ, Alvin Hill . In this conversation we discuss how Alvin began DJing in the 80s, how he prepares for a gig, the relationship he tries to develop with a crowd, DJing as an improvisation art, and his multi-media performance group, Alvin Hill Media Ensemble. Find out more about Alvin...

In this, the fourth episode of act/re/act, I have a conversation with Founder and Artistic Director of Ko-Thi Dance Company, Ferne Bronson. In this conversation we discuss West African dance, improvisation, how Ferne finds the dance in the transitions between the steps, and some wonderful clay pots she found while traveling in Africa. It all adds up to an amazing conversation - I'm sure you will f...

In this, the third episode of act/re/act, I have a conversation with Artistic Director of Washington Improv Theater Mark Chalfant. We discuss a multitude of elements of improv theater and WIT, as well as seek to find some common ground between theater improv and dance improv. I loved this conversation and I'm sure you will as well!  Find out more about Mark Chalfant here:  http://witdc.org Find ou...

In this, the second episode of act/re/act, I have a conversation with long-time collaborator and friend Sharon Mansur. We discuss a range of subjects from why and when Sharon started exploring dance/movement improvisation as a performance form, to our collaborations, and her current projects. It was a wonderful conversation I'm sure you'll love! Find out more about Sharon Mansur here:  http://www....

Joint host Daniel Burkholder for the primier episode of act/re/act, a podcast exploring improvisation through conversations with improvisationaly based artists.  In this first episode, Daniel is joined by musician and author Stephen Nachmanovitch, who you may know through his excellent book, Free Play. Daniel & Stephen discuss improvisation, the role of contraints and experience, as well as how an...