Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

Building a Dancer with Rosalynde LeBlanc Rosalynde LeBlanc built her career dancing for some of the biggest names in dance. Today, she is Professor and Chair of Dance at Loyola Marymount University. Social justice awareness has always underpinned her work as a choreographer, which is why she creates pieces that are related to the world and not the mirror. During today's conversation, she shares he...

Remembering Agnes De Mille with Elizabeth Ferrell and Jenna Rae Herrera Today's episode is a special one, where we look back and remember world-renowned dancer, choreographer, writer, lecturer, and director, Agnes De Mille. Agnes had a successful, yet tempestuous, career that spanned almost 70 years through the world of 20th-century American theater and ballet. We take a look at her through the ey...

Remembering Jennifer Muller (1944-2023) Today's podcast is a re-airing of an interview with Jennifer Muller on Movers & Shapers from September 2019. Jennifer was the Artistic Director/Founder of Jennifer Muller/The Works, and was an influence in the dance world for over 50 years. Jennifer passed away March 29 peacefully in her home.   A maverick in the dance field, in this episode you will hear fr...

Fierce, Fragile, Empathetic, Political, and Poetic Art with Miguel Gutierrez Our guest today, Miguel Gutierrez, is irrevocably passionate about making works of art and creates empathetic and irreverent spaces outside of traditional discourse.  Our conversation starts with Miguel sharing more about his upbringing as the child of two immigrants, how he came to love the arts and dancing, and what he...

The Art of Improvisation with Margaret Beals For today's guest, dancing without inhibitions is what has fed her soul for more than 8 decades.  Joining us on Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast is the incredible dance improvisation innovator Margaret Beals to tell us all about her years of dancing and her new documentary, Dancing Without Steps . Tuning in, you'll hear all about our guest's privileged...

The Magic of Creativity with Renée Jaworski Being a successful dance performer requires a combination of technical skills, artistry, professionalism, dedication, and networking.  In today's episode, we sit down with Renée Jaworski, the Executive Director and Co-Artistic Director of the rebellious dance company, Pilobolus, as she shares her experience working there throughout her illustrious 20+ ye...

Sharing the Power of Dance with Lynn Peterson and Kate Sutter The power of dance can be harnessed and shared with people from all walks of life. The connection facilitated by the art form is undeniable when witnessing the fortuitous friendship between Lynn Peterson and Kate Sutter. The two visionary leaders behind SYREN Modern Dance join us today to share their respective dance journeys, and the p...

A Legacy of Dance with Alessandra Corona Today's episode is sure to inspire you! Joining us in conversation today, we have a joyful spirit, Alessandra Corona. Tuning in, you'll hear about her time as a principal dancer for Ballet Hispánico, overcoming a language barrier, and falling in love with modern dance. Alessandra shares how Ann Reinking was a revolutionary influence on her, and invited her...

Sustaining the Legacy of the Limón Dance Company with Dante Puleio and Michelle Preston The Limón Dance Company is approaching its 75th anniversary and in today's episode, we are joined by its Artistic Director, Dante Puleio, and Executive Director, Michelle Preston. Dante and Michelle's passion for their work is palpable and over the next few years they plan to inject new energy into Limón while...

Stepping Out into the World with Davalois Fearon Today we bring you a beautiful and inspiring conversation with Davalois Fearon, whose work as a dancer, teacher, and choreographer brings together her family history, early years in Jamaica, and a dedication to moving the art form and community forward.  Expect to come away with some fascinating insight into her process of connecting the different p...

Dancing Across Continents, Finding Your Body, and Discovering the Ilan Lev Method with Annie Rigney Who you are as an artist is undoubtedly influenced by the teachers you encounter along the way. Similarly, being exposed to different artistic practices can have a significant impact on your development. Today's guest, Annie Rigney, started dancing at the tender age of three and hasn't looked back s...

Performers are always looking for fulfilling artistic endeavors and creative communities. In this episode, we hear from three incredible people, Elizabeth Yilmaz-Dobrow, Mara Driscoll, and César Abreu, who have come together to form an exciting new project with a shared vision for performance. Art Bath is an immersive performance salon series that fosters community, exploration, and exchange withi...

Dance artist Carmen Caceres – passionate, driven, and inspiring! Hear what it was like for Carmen to: Move to NYC from Buenos Aires, Argentina and her deeply personal immigrant experience as a dancer and choreographer pulled between two cultures. How a childhood dream came true with an encounter with world-renowned dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. What it's like to follow your artistic voice and create...

Choreographer, dance educator, arts leader Amanda Selwyn - resilient, hard-working, and inspiring! Hear what it was like for Amanda to: Grow up wanting to be a performer, and then eventually finding her niche as a choreographer and arts leader. How her college experience at Northwestern University shaped her as an artist as well as connecting with her Jewish roots and spending a year living in Isr...

"I'm grateful for the whole journey" - McClaine Timmerman, Founder and Artistic Director of the  Contemporary Dance Choreography Festival  (CDCFest) Today's guest is McClaine Timmerman. McClaine is the Founder and Artistic Director of the  Contemporary Dance Choreography Festival  (CDCFest) in Orlando, Florida. She is an awarded choreographer, Nationally Certified Pilates instructor, business owne...

"Dancers dance because we have to, I don't know how else to explain it." - Austin Hartel, MSP 142 Today's guest is Austin Hartel. Austin is a former longtime member of Pilobolus Dance Theater, and has been connected with the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond for almost 20 years as teacher and founder/artistic director of the University's School of Dance. As Artistic Director of Dalton-Harte...

"I've always chased that thrill." - Adele Myers on her lifetime in dance Today's guest is Adele Myers. Adele is a Miami based dance maker and Artistic Director of Adele Myers and Dancers (AMD), a national touring contemporary dance theater company made up of female athletes of the heart. For over a decade, AMD has been presented throughout the U.S with funding from the New England Foundation of th...

"We are the carriers of the culture." - Ranee Ramaswamy   Today's guests are Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy, the Artistic Directors of Ragamala Dance Company, a pioneering company rooted in the South Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam. Over the last four decades, Ranee and Aparna have forged a path for culturally rooted performing arts organizations and made Ragamala a standard-bearer within the Ameri...

"This is who I am. I am a dancer and this is what I have to offer the world." - Gloria McLean Today's guest is Gloria McLean. Gloria is artistic director of LIFEDANCE/Gloria McLean and Dancers.  LIFEDANCE is dedicated to the integration of body, mind and spirit through the creative process. Gloria's dances often collaborate with new music, art, language and the environment.  Her choreography has b...

Today's guest on Movers & Shapers are Joan Myers Brown and Kim Bears-Bailey of Philadanco. Joan is the founder of Philadanco which was created in 1970 out of a need to provide performance opportunities and training for Black dancers.  PHILADANCO!   has since grown into a professional dance company that is recognized around the world for its artistic integrity, superbly trained dancers, and captiva...

Today's guest is Lar Lubovitch. Lar is one of America's most versatile and widely seen choreographers. He founded the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968. Over the course of 54 years, it has gained an international reputation as one of America's top dance companies, produced more than 120 dances and performed before millions across the U.S. and over 40 countries. Many other major companies through...

Today's guest is Nadia Adame. Nadia is a Spanish multidisciplinary award-winning artist with a spinal cord injury and the Artistic Director at AXIS Dance Company. She was a company member with AXIS (2001-2003) and Candoco Dance Company (2007-2008). In 2004, she co-founded and was the Co-Artistic Director of Compañía Y in Spain, a multimedia and performance collective. Nadia's credits include dance...

Today's guest is Erica Hornthal. Erica, a licensed clinical professional counselor and board-certified dance/movement therapist, is the CEO and founder of Chicago Dance Therapy. Since graduating with her MA in dance/movement therapy and counseling, Erica has worked with thousands of patients from age 3 to 107. Known as "The Therapist Who Moves You," Erica has truly changed the way people see movem...

Today's guest is Shamel Pitts. Shamel is a dancer, choreographer, teacher, as well as performance, conceptual, and spoken word artist. Since 2019, he is the artistic director/founder of TRIBE, a New York-based multidisciplinary arts collective which was a 2020-21 Artist-In-Residence at 92Y Harkness Dance Center. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he started his professional dance career with Mikhail Bary...

Today's guest is Cara Hagan. Cara is a mover, maker, writer, curator, champion of just communities, and a dreamer. Cara's adventures take place as live performance, on screen, as installation, on the page, and in collaboration with others in a multitude of contexts. In recent years, Cara and her work have traveled to such gatherings as the Performática Festival in Cholula, Mexico, the Conference o...