A State of Dance

This month's guest is Hannah Kosstrin . Dr. Kosstrin is a dance historian and movement analyst. Her scholarship focuses on Jewish dance in global contexts including dance histories of the United States, Israel and the Jewish diaspora, Latin America, Europe, South Asia, and the African diaspora; gender and queer theory; nationalism, migration, and diaspora studies; Laban movement notation and analy...

This month's guest is David A. Choate, Jr., Founder  and Producing Artistic Director of Revolution Dance Theatre. David is an African American public speaker, dancer/choreographer, lighting designer, writer, director and theatrical producer. In his current role, he has written, choreographed and produced several original performances including the region's only African American Nutcracker exp...

This month's guest is Lynn Dally. Lynn is a pioneering tap dancer, choreographer, and educator whose artistry helped define the modern tap renaissance. A co-founder of the groundbreaking Jazz Tap Ensemble in 1979, Dally fused the improvisational spirit of jazz with the rhythmic precision of tap, bringing the form to concert stages around the world and re-establishing tap as a serious contemporary...

This month's guest is Suzan Bradford Kounta. Suzan is a dancer, choreographer, educator, and cultural leader dedicated to the preservation and celebration of West African traditions. She is the first African American woman to serve as Executive Director of Columbus’s historic Lincoln Theatre, where since 2009 she has guided its vision and operations while championing its role as a cultural anchor...

This month's guest is Cervilio Miguel Amador. Cervi  is a multifaceted artist, entrepreneur, and transformative figure in  the dance world. He received his education and training at the  Vocational Ballet School in Camagüey, Cuba, and the National Ballet  School of Cuba. Cervi began his professional career with the National  Ballet of Cuba, starting as a Corps de Ballet da...

This month's guest is pioneering artist, advocate, and cultural leader, Mary Verdi Fletcher. Mary is a nationally celebrated pioneer in physically integrated dance and a leading voice for disability rights in the arts. As President and Founding Artistic Director of the Dancing Wheels Company & School, she has spent over four decades reshaping the landscape of American dance, championing access...

Ann Cooper Albright is  the author of How to Land: finding ground in an unstable world which  offers ways of thinking about and dealing with the uncertainty of our  contemporary lives; Engaging Bodies: The Politics and Poetics of  Corporeality; Modern Gestures: Abraham Walkowitz Draws Isadora Duncan  Dancing; Traces of Light: Absence and Presence in the Work of Loïe  ...

Season Two, Episode Six: Our guests for the season finale are Griset Damas-Roche and Amy Schofield.  Born in Havana, Griset Damas Roche studied ballet at Cuba’s Instituto Superior de Arte and the Ballet of Havana. In 1998 she moved to Bogotá, Colombia, teaching flamenco and as a choreographer. In 2014, Griset moved to Columbus, with her family, where she taught for Flamenco del Corazón school...

Season Two, Episode Five: This month’s guest is Samuel A. McIntosh. McIntosh is a talented dancer and choreographer specializing in street dance styles, including Popping, Animation, and Boogaloo. With 15 years of experience, he has learned from legends and competed internationally, achieving recognition in events across the globe. An arts administration graduate, he advocates for Hip-Hop's commun...

Season Two, Episode Four: This month’s guest is Eric Otto Artistic Director & Head of Curriculum, Toledo Ballet, Toledo Ohio. Eric was born and raised in Westchester County, New York. He began dancing at the age of seven with the School of American Ballet in New York City. He has danced professionally with the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Cedar Lake...

Season Two, Episode Three: This month’s guest is Al Evangelista and we are discussing Filipino/a/x American diaspora, queer identities, and bringing history into the room with technology. Al s a performer, choreographer, and educator. His creative works have been performed at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, American Theatre Company, Links Hall, Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, and Moss Arts C...

Season Two, Episode Two: This month’s guest is Dennis Dugan. Lighting Designer/OhioDance Board Member, Dennis is a recipient of the 1997 Ohio Dance Award for outstanding contributions to dance in Ohio and has been working with light since the seventies. His early experiences in New York focused primarily on modern dance. Dennis worked with The Kathryn Posin Dance Company. The New York years also i...

Season Two, Episode One: This month’s guest is Padma Chebrolu. Padma is an accomplished teaching and performing dance artist and is the artistic director of the Cultural Centre of India (CCI) which she founded about 30 years ago in Cincinnati. Her exemplary artistic abilities, leadership, and creativity have created tremendous impact on the arts education and public appreciation for the heritage a...

Season One, Episode Six: This month’s guest is Damien Highfield. Damien began dancing at the age of four in his hometown of Columbus, where he trained at Balletmet for ten years, then became a member of Balletmet/Jazzmet. He then went to Butler University in Indianapolis. From there Damien performed for Atlanta Ballet, Ohio Ballet and GroundWorks DanceTheater.   Damien has performed as a...

Season One, Episode Five: This month’s guest is Zelma Badu-Younge, Ph. D. Zelma Badu-Younge is Professor of Dance, and Director of the School of Dance, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio. Zelma Badu-Younge, one of the most charismatic cultural fusion artists, captivates her audience as she steps on stage. This mesmerizing performer is considered one of the most electrifying choreographers, with her hig...

Season One, Episode Four: This month’s guest is Ira Weiss. Ira began working at the Ohio Arts Council in 1974. He started as a performing arts coordinator, then presenting touring coordinator, grants office assistant director, to information technology specialist. In 1980 Ira Weiss received the Association of Ohio Dance Companies award for significant contributions to the field of dance in the sta...

Season One, Episode Three: This month's guest is Labanotation expert, Dr. Valarie Williams. Dr. Williams is a Professor at The Ohio State University, Department of Dance. She is Director of the Dance Notation Bureau Extension Center for Education and Research at Ohio State. Dr. Williams teaches, stages, and documents movement nationally and internationally. She is a 1987 Presidential Scholars in t...

Season One, Episode Two: This month's guest is "Dayton Gem" Gregory Robinson. Robinson received his dance training at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. His career as a performer, teacher, ballet master, and choreographer, primarily with Dayton Ballet, in Dayton, Ohio, has spanned more than thirty years. He was named a "Dayton Gem" by the Dayton Daily News. His works have garnered critical p...

OhioDance A State of Dance is a six-part series coming out the fourth Friday of each month through November 2023. This podcast is driven by the OhioDance mission to secure the foothold of dance in Ohio through increasing visibility, firming viability, and elevating the position of dance in Ohio. In 2016, a five-person team set out on a mission to capture the achievements of persons and institution...