act/re/act

Turning the Tables: Daniel Burkholder on Improvisation, Creative Process, and Building an Archive | act/re/act Podcast In this special episode of act/re/act, the script is flipped as host Daniel Burkholder, Chair of the Dance Department at UW-Milwaukee's Peck School of the Arts, sits in the hot seat. Recent BFA graduate and former podcast assistant Megan Holzhauer interviews Daniel about his impro...

Conversation with Nina Martin on Ensemble Thinking, ReWire Movement States, Improvisation, and Performance TCU Dance Professor | Ensemble Thinking Founder | ReWire Movement States | Contact Improvisation Discover the groundbreaking work of Nina Martin, PhD, creator of Ensemble Thinking and ReWire Movement States, two revolutionary methodologies that have transformed contemporary improvisation. Hos...

Jonathan Morris Conversation: DC Composer on "Resonance: Time + Wood + Steel" & 25-Hour Duet Performance | act/re/act Podcast Hartt School Graduate | DC Improvisers Collective | Low End String Quartet Join accomplished composer and musician Jonathan Morris (Matis) in this reflective conversation about improvisation, collaboration, and his latest solo album "Resonance: Time + Wood + Steel" on R...

Ishmael Houston-Jones Interview: 4-Time Bessie Winner & Guggenheim Fellow on Improvisation | act/re/act Podcast Guggenheim Fellow | Four-Time Bessie Award Winner | American Dance Festival Chair | Postmodern Dance Pioneer Join legendary choreographer Ishmael Houston-Jones, 2022 Guggenheim Fellow and four-time Bessie Award winner, in this profound conversation about improvisation as performance...

Ann Cooper Albright Interview: Guggenheim Fellow on Simone Forti & Contact Improvisation | act/re/act Podcast Oberlin Dance Chair | Guggenheim Fellow | Contact Improvisation Expert | Dance Scholar** Join Oberlin College Dance Department Chair Ann Cooper Albright, 2019-2020 Guggenheim Fellow, in this illuminating conversation about improvisation, dance scholarship, and her latest book *Simone F...

mayfield brooks:  "Improvising While Black"  Bessie Award Nominee | Princeton Fellow | UCLA Visiting Chair | Black Dance Methodology Discover the groundbreaking work of mayfield brooks, 2021 Merce Cunningham Award recipient and movement-based performance artist who created the revolutionary dance methodology "Improvising While Black" (IWB). Host Daniel Burkholder, Milwaukee-based dance artist, con...

Miguel Gutierrez Interview: Improvisation, Dance, Creative Process & Feldenkrais Method | act/re/act Podcast S5E1 Artist Interview | Dance Performance | Creative Process | Feldenkrais Method Discover the creative world of renowned dance artist Miguel Gutierrez in this intimate conversation exploring improvisation techniques, sexuality, and innovative performance methods. In Season 5, Episode 1...

Join me for the final episode of this season, and my conversation with Baakari Wilder.  Baakari is one of the most dynamic tap dancers of his generation and is known for his musicality and subtly, as well as his ability to explore complex rhythms. It was a pleasure to finish this season of act/re/act with this thoughtful and insightful conversation.  Baakari's bio: Baakari Wilder is internationall...

Join me for this fascinating conversation with Elena Day about physical theater, clowning, the Jacques Lecoq method, teaching, performing, and, of course, improvisation. Elena offers a unique perspective on how one uses or employs improvisation in pedagogy, the creative method, and performance in a context previously unexplored on this podcast - circus.  Here's a bit about Elena: Elena Day is a ph...

In this episode of act/re/act I had the opportunity to have a conversation with Andrew Suseno, a dancer and somatic practitioner who developed Parcon Resilience, and more recently Moving Rasa - a form of site-specific dance improvisation developed from his experience within the improv and dance community as a person of the Global Majority. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation, I hope you do as w...

In this episode of act/re/act I have the pleasure of talking with Dr. S Ama Wray, a dance artist and founder of Embodiology - a dance improvisation practice developed from Dr. Wray's expertise in jazz dance, African arts, and creative practice. This was an exciting conversation that touched on many aspects of the importance of art making, and a wonderful expression of the breadth of dance improvis...

Welcome to act/re/act podcast, where we explore improvisation through conversations with remarkable artists. In this episode I talk with Keith Hennessy, a dance artist who I have admired since I first saw him perform with Contraband, a seminal dance company from San Francisco, in the mid-1990s when I was working at Dance Place in Washington, DC. Keith is someone I’ve always seen as a visionary, pr...

I am than thrilled to share this conversation with K.J. Holmes. In many ways K.J. was my main teacher of contact improvisation, mostly while I was living in the San Francisco/Bay area, many years ago. K.J. is one of the most important contemporary improvisational based dancers working today, and I deeply respect her approach and love to see her in performance. In this conversation we get into her...

Welcome to act/re/act podcast, where we explore improvisation through conversations with remarkable artists. I'm thrilled to introduce you to Stringz, as he is another artist I didn’t know before we sat down and had this conversation. It is always a pleasure to add another Detroit-based artist to the mix - since I grew up kind of half way between Detroit and Ann Arbor. So, nice to have another Mic...

Welcome to act/re/act, a podcast exploring improvisation through conversations with remarkable artists. In this episode I had the pleasure of talking with vocal improviser Rhiannon, someone I did not know before this conversation, but someone I really enjoyed getting to know a bit and hearing about her improvisational practice. It is always illuminating to talk with improvisational-based artists w...

Welcome to the new season of act/re/act, a podcast exploring improvisation through conversations with remarkable artists. In this first episode I have the pleasure of talking with Chris Aiken, a wonderful dancer who has extensive experience in improvisational performance, contact improvisation, and improv pedagogy. He is truly an expert in weaving together the intellect and the visceral. I loved t...

Join me for the final podcast of this season, where I featured 8 artists who approach improvisation in their own unique ways - from dance to music to theater to performance. It has been an exciting season with lots of new connections made, and fascinating perspectives explored. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have! In this episode I talk with Kata Kovacs, a Berlin-based sound artist and in...

Join me for another episode of act/re/act where I talk with Susan Murphy about her amazing career that includes working with aerial dance pioneer Terry Sendgraff, Action Theater creator Ruth Zaporah, Authentic Movement creator Mary Whitehouse, and even worked with Willem de Kooning.  We talk about all her adventures in a wonderfully delightful conversation. Susan offers a wonderful example of a tr...

In this episode of ac/re/act, for the first time, we have two guests at the same time - musician and composers Jessie Montgomery & Eleonore Oppenheim. They are both fabulous artists in their own rights, but also make up the duet, 'big dog little dog' - which uses improvisation at the heart of its creative and performance processes.  This was such an amazing opportunity to get to know these two art...

Welcome to another fabulous episode of act/re/act. I was so thrilled to talk with this episode's guest, Sharna Fabiano, who I've known for years but never had the chance to get to know well. In this conversation we talk about her improvisational roots in Tango and how those skills transfer to her current work as a coach, consultant, painter, and author. It was so wonderful to hear about tango, whi...

Join me for this engaging conversation with my friend and colleague Maria Gillespie. She and I have known each other for over 7 years, ever since I joined the faculty here at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. We have also performed improvisationaly together on multiple occasions, so it was wonderful to dig into her thoughts about improvisation, performance and pedagogy. Enjoy!  Here's a bit more...

In this episode, I have the pleasure of having a conversation with Aysha Upchurch - an artist, educator, and activist. Hear how Hip Hop has informed and influenced how she approaches the world, as well as her insights about higher education, improvisation, activism, and how they all bump up against one another. It was such an illuminating conversation, I'm sure you'll love it! A bit about Aysha: A...

Join me for this wonderful conversation with dance-maker, somatic practitioner, writer, and activist Nicole Bindler. Our conversation is quite wide-ranging, and I'm sure you'll find it as insightful and delightful as I did! Correction: The correct title for the Sandberg Instituut's program that Nicole references is "Ecologies of Transformation".   For more info about me check out: https://www.dani...

Join me to start a new season of act/re/act with this amazing conversation with Ruth Zaporah. Active in improvisational performance since the 1960s, Ruth shares her wealth of knowledge about improv, Zen Buddhism, and navigating the world as an improvisational artist. The creator of Action Theater, Ruth has a unique lens as an expert performance and a highly regarded teacher. Check out this convers...

In this, the final episode of the second season of act/re/act, Cass Tunick returns, but this time to interview Daniel - a bit of a role reversal. We touch on an array of subjects including dance improvisation, performance, the Feldenkrais Method, freedom, making choices, how to relate to music when improvising, and a story about my grandfather who was a bricklayer. Find out more about Cass here: ...