In Between Dance and Musical Theater PODCAST BY SILVA LAUKKANEN In this episode of DanceCast, Silva interviews Meredith Aleigha Wells, a dancer with Dancing Wheels Company in Cleveland, OH. The Massachusetts native has a background in musical theater, and started using a wheelchair while in college. She discusses the support she received in college, how the process of translating able-bodied dance onto her body has given her technical and choreographic skills, and the similarities and difference...
Jul 06, 2018•30 min•Ep. 28
Experimentation and Inclusivity In this episode of DanceCast, Silva interviews Eric Kupers, a director, choreographer and performer in the Bay Area. He is the co-director of Dandelion Dancetheater and director of Bandelion (the interdisciplinary ensemble within the company). Eric discusses his experimental approach to dance-making, the creative significance of inclusivity (both in terms of different bodies as well as different artistic genres), his intro to performance through folk dance at his ...
Jun 20, 2018•34 min•Ep. 27
Creating a More Inclusive World PODCAST BY SILVA LAUKKANEN In this episode of DanceCast, Silva interviews Marisa Hamamoto, founder and director of Infinite Flow, the first inclusive ballroom dance company in the US. She shares her myriad experiences with inclusion and why it became such an important concept for her, her difficult history pursuing dance before founding Infinite Flow, why the #MeToo conversation needs to be integrated more into the dance world, and how the discovery of ballroom pu...
Jun 12, 2018•45 min•Ep. 26
Embodying the Conversation on Arts and Social Justice In this episode of DanceCast, Silva interviews Adam McKinney, cofounder of DNAWORKS, an arts and service organization committed to dialogue and healing through the arts. He discusses how he became involved in race and trauma work; how dance can build community and address oppression; DNAWORKS programming exploring layers of identity; and the importance of keeping intersectionality in mind when teaching and leading. Adam McKinney is a classica...
May 12, 2018•59 min•Ep. 25
In this episode of DanceCast, Silva interviews Adam Benjamin, a pioneer and much esteemed choreographer and teacher in the field of integrated dance. Based in the United Kingdom, he describes his introduction to disability through a visual arts residency at a spinal injury clinic, and how it led to a moment of a woman in a wheelchair supporting himself, an able-bodied man, subverting gender and able-ist norms, and thus initiating CandoCo Dance Company. He discusses the importance of marrying cho...
May 03, 2018•59 min•Ep. 24
In this episode of DanceCast, Silva interviews Wagner Moreira, a Brazilian dancer, choreographer and teacher living and working in Dresden, Germany. Wagner and Silva discuss the in-between place of living in one country but being from another, the role of Wagner’s father in helping him find dance and his choreographic tribute to him 18 years after he took his own life, the use of nudity in dance and the idea of provocation instead of confrontation, the process of making/becoming/identifying as a...
Mar 14, 2018•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 23
In this episode of DanceCast, Silva interviews Douglas Scott, artistic director of Full Radius Dance in Atlanta, Georgia. Silva and Douglas discuss, among other things, the importance and challenge of transposing movement for bodies of different abilities, the choice of the word “transposing” and how it is borrowed from music, the need for a university dance program that welcomes disabled students, and the development of the Dance and Disability Affinity Group with Judith Smith (found of AXIS Da...
Mar 12, 2018•48 min•Ep. 22
In this episode I speak with Maija Karhunen about her work and life as a dancer. In this episode of DanceCast, Silva interviews Maija Karhunen, a dancer and performer based in Helsinki, Finland. Maija discusses the practicalities of touring as a disabled dancer, attitudes in Europe toward disability, how to navigate the special attention that disability voices receive, and her desire to grow in both her professional and personal identity. Text by Emmaly Wiederholt. Maija Karhunen is a dancer and...
Feb 28, 2018•38 min•Ep. 21
In this episode of DanceCast, Silva interviews Monika Požek, founder and director of MeetShareDance in Madrid, Spain. MeetShareDance is an annual festival that takes place in a different country each year, and that was created with the aim of supporting integrative dance as well as building an international network of integrated dance professionals. Silva and Monika discuss the evolution of the festival, Monika’s background, and the spread of integrated dance both in Europe and the United States...
Dec 12, 2017•52 min•Ep. 20
Interview with Violeta Fatas. http://www.paressueltos.org http://www.keshetarts.org http://www.bodyshift.org http://stanceondance.com https://www.adambenjamin.co.uk https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/ba-dance https://meetsharedance.com
Nov 28, 2017•44 min•Ep. 19
In this episode I spoke with my dear friend and colleague Tanya Winters about her career and our visit to Berlin, Germany where we took part in couple of integrated festivals. In this episode of DanceCast, Silva interviews Tanya Winters, a dancer in Austin, TX. Tanya found her way into the world of dance in the early 2000s before becoming certified in DanceAbility in 2011. She currently performs with Body Shift. Tanya shares a bit of her journey claiming dance with a disability, from overcoming ...
Oct 09, 2017•40 min•Ep. 18
n this episode of DanceCast, Silva interviews Nancy Bain, who has spent her life working in dance education. She shares some of her most unique teaching experiences, including addressing war with students through dance at a public elementary school for the arts. Nancy also discusses why she never opted to open a dance studio, how she helped her alma mater start a dance department, how she developed an injury awareness class, and her myriad work with special needs students. She believes dance is ...
Sep 27, 2017•47 min•Ep. 17
In this episode I was talking to my good friend Julie about her work within the integrated dance scene as well as her time in Java.
Aug 25, 2017•29 min•Ep. 16
Liv is a multidisciplinary artist and educator based in the Bay Area. Liv graduated from Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA Program at Dominican University of California in 2013, and spent the 2013-2015 seasons dancing with DanceWorks Chicago under direction of Julie Nakagawa. Liv embraces employment opportunity nationwide; developing integrative arts curriculum, educating dancers, performing, and creating choreographic commissions with organizations such as Youth Art Exchange, Jacob's Pillow Curricul...
Jun 15, 2017•34 min•Ep. 15
Sandra Paola López R. is a dancemaker, improviser and performance activist. Her work is characterized by the investigation of complex issues such as relationship, gender, race, identity, awareness, kinesthetic listening and perception, and it has taken her through the US, Colombia, Brazil, Cyprus, France, Canada and Mexico. Since moving to the United States from her native Colombia in 2004 she has developed her art practice to integrate her creative process and her cultural organizing efforts. D...
Jun 15, 2017•57 min•Ep. 14
In this episode of DanceCast, Silva interviews 22 year-old Hanna Tams, founder and director of Douban Dance Company in Jerusalem. Hanna is dedicated to reaching at-risk Palestinian youth through dance, thereby using art for social change. Hanna shares the cultural obstacles he has overcome, the political implications of sharing dance with his community, and the power of dance to bring joy and heal. Text by Emmaly Wiederholt https://www.facebook.com/douban2012/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKv...
Jun 06, 2017•46 min•Ep. 13
In this episode of the DanceCast, Silva Laukkanen speaks to her third site-specific dance artist, Stephan Koplowitz, who has been producing site specific dances for over 30 years. He shares a peek into his research and choreographic process, as well as discusses the origins and status of site specific dance, and the considerations of history and politics when choreographing in a new space. Text by Emmaly Wiederholt http://bodyshift.org http://stanceondance.com http://stephankoplowitz.com/about.h...
May 18, 2017•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 12
Dale Andree is the founder and director of National Water Dance, a biennial event that organizes dance artists and educators across the country into a movement choir to inspire environmental awareness and action. In this episode of DanceCast, Dale discusses her history teaching improvisation to children, her status as a re-emerging choreographer, and her larger vision of getting communities of dancers across the country to come together and dance for water. Text by Emmaly Wiederholt http://se.na...
May 09, 2017•32 min•Ep. 11
Morgan Teel choreographs in the larger world beyond the studio; her stage is Austin, TX, the city she calls home. In this episode of DanceCast, Morgan shares her process building her newest work at the local skate park, her experience building community through site specific dance, and her reflections on how site-specific dance can bring people into the dance world who might otherwise never enter it. Text by Emmaly Wiederholt http://dancewaterloo.org http://stanceondance.com http://bodyshift.org...
May 03, 2017•43 min•Ep. 10
Mark Travis Rivera is a choreographer, writer, public speaker and advocate who lives in the world of intersectionality. Latino, gay, gender-non conforming and disabled, Mark’s life is a testament to how much agency a young person can have. In fact, the 26-year-old holds the distinction of being the youngest person to found an integrated dance company in the United States, marked dance project. In this episode of DanceCast, Mark shares the ins and outs of his life, as well as what still needs to ...
Apr 11, 2017•28 min•Ep. 9
In this episode of DanceCast, Mary Verdi-Fletcher shares her history founding and directing Dancing Wheels, a company and school based out of Cleveland, OH that has been uniting the talents of dancers both with and without disabilities since 1980. Mary was one of the first professional wheelchair dancers in the US, and has inspired many to follow her path through her desire to provide full and equal access into the world of dance. In this interview, she looks both backward and forward, appreciat...
Mar 30, 2017•39 min•Ep. 8
We're More Alike Than Different PODCAST BY SILVA LAUKKANEN In this episode of DanceCast, Wayne M. Smith shares his experience working with Playback Memphis and Company d. Through Playback Memphis, Wayne helps bring together police officers and formerly incarcerated individuals to share and build a performance on their cumulative experience. Wayne also teaches at Company d, a dance company comprised of young adults with Down syndrome. Reflecting on his experiences, he arrives at the conclusion we...
Dec 19, 2016•38 min•Ep. 7
We All Have Our Shoes On PODCAST BY SILVA LAUKKANEN Amii LeGendre has taught dance to incarcerated men in New York through two programs: the Bard Prison Initiative and Rehabilitation Through the Arts. She is a wellness coordinator and dance professor at Bard College, and is currently performing a new dance/theatre solo called "I'm looking at you as if" about her experience teaching dance to men in prison. In this podcast, she reads a piece she wrote for Contact Quarterly about her experience wit...
Dec 05, 2016•45 min•Ep. 6
In this episode of dancecast we talk about art in prison and the impact and experience of it for the teachers and participants and the fine line of who is a teacher to whom in this context. http://www.truth-be-told.org/ http://www.bodyshift.org http://stanceondance.com
Nov 26, 2016•38 min•Ep. 5
In this episode of DanceCast I'm chatting with Emmaly Wiederholt about definitions of dance and everything dance related. She also tells us why she decided to start Stance on Dance and her over 50 project. It is delicious episode.
Nov 16, 2016•38 min•Ep. 4
In this episode I discuss about the history and future of Keshet Dance Company with its founder and artistic director Shira Greenberg. Shira will share the how all began and where they are now. She is talking about her different projects , some of them expanding through out the 20 year history of Keshet. Keshet Dance Company - http://keshetarts.org/
Oct 06, 2016•44 min•Ep. 3
Judith and I talk about her work in Axis Dance Company and her 10 year plan about getting the integrated dance scene together in USA. Axis dance Company - http://axisdance.org Keshet Dance Company http://keshetarts.org Body Shift http://bodyshift.org VSA Texas http://vsatx.org
Sep 21, 2016•42 min•Ep. 2
Talking about past, present and future of Marc's artistic endeavors. Artistic Director and Choreographer Marc Brew trained as a professional dancer at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and The Australian Ballet School. He has been working in the UK and Internationally for the past 20 years as a dancer, choreographer, director, teacher and speaker; with the Australian Ballet Company, State Theatre Ballet Company of South Africa, Infinity Dance Theatre in New York and for 5 years ...
Sep 07, 2016•22 min•Ep. 1
