Dance Behind The Screen

On our third episode in celebration of Black History Month your co-host Azaria interviews Theresa Ruth Howard of MoBBallet. In this episode we go behind the screen and talk about Theresa Ruth Howard's beginnings with Dance Theatre of Harlem, the creation of MoBBallet/interactive digital resource for educators, roll call, her viral article 'Is Instagram Changing the Dance World's Value System', and strategies for navigating the world in a black body.

https://www.knowboxdance.com/post/29-theresaruthhoward-mobballet

On our second episode in celebration of Black History Month your co-hosts Martheya and Azaria interview McKinley Willis. In this episode we go behind the screen and talk about McKinley's career as a professional dancer. She shares why pursuing a BFA in Modern Dance is a way of preparing for the future, the importance of considering location when picking a school, tips for creating your network, black female artists to follow, and how she thinks about body image.

https://www.knowboxdance.com/post/28-mckinleywillis

On our first episode in celebration of Black History Month your co-hosts Martheya and Azaria interview Brenda Dixon Gottschild. In this episode we go behind the screen and talk about Brenda Dixon Gottschild's career as creator, author, scholar, educator, and leader in the dance world. She shares what it was like growing up in the revolutionary community of Harlem, New York through the 1930's-1960's, the difference between activist vs. hater, the importance of having a supportive network of people as your allies, and tips for writing and staying present in the moment. Special thanks to Sandra Parks and the Women in Dance Leadership Conference for connecting us for this in-person interview.

https://www.knowboxdance.com/post/27-brendadixongottschild

On this episode your co-host YeaJean interviews Yin Yue the Artistic Director of YY Dance Company. On this episode we go behind the screen and talk about Yin Yue's career as a choreographer. She shares how she gets inspired, tips for emerging choreographers, the difference in responsibilities between artistic director vs. choreographer, the importance of editing your social media, and how she developed a hybrid of contemporary dance language called FoCo Technique.

Detailed showkNOwtes: https://www.knowboxdance.com/post/26-yin-yue-yy-dance-company

On this episode your co-hosts YeaJean and Reyna interview Miguel Gutierrez. Miguel is a choreographer, composer, performer, singer, writer, educator and advocate who has lived in New York for over twenty years. He has been presented in venues such as at Centre National de Danse, Centre Pompidou, ImPulsTanz, American Realness, among others. He has received support from Creative Capital, MAP, National Dance Project, National Performance Network, and Jerome Foundation. He is the recipient of an award from The Foundation for Contemporary Art, a 2016 Franky Award from Prelude Festival, and four Bessies. He is a 2016 Doris Duke Artist. On this episode we go behind the screen and talk about Miguel's approach to creating and performing, advantages/disadvantages of social media, the audience as a group of individuals who are ready for an experience, creative process tips for tricking yourself into different mental states, and teaching practices. Special thanks to the Texas Dance Improvisation Festival on connecting us for this in-person interview.

*38:50-end explicit language

Detailed showkNOwtes: https://www.knowboxdance.com/post/25-miguelgutierrez

On this episode your co-host Martheya interviews Elijah Alhadji Gibson the Founder and Artistic Director of Social Movement Contemporary Dance. He is a performer, choreographer, teacher, and professor. Gibson's choreography reflects his belief that dance mirrors how people embrace and/or resist the cultural boundaries, limitations, and expectations laid upon them by social constructs. This conviction motivated Gibson's creation of We Are Greenwood, which received critical acclaim and has been performed both at the Kennedy Center and Jacob's Pillow. He has performed work by the late Gus Giordano, Billy Seigenfeld, Christopher Huggins, Mia Michaels, and many others. On this episode we go behind the screen and talk about Elijah's academic and professional career, the importance of preparedness and recognizing the source of things, his identity in relation to performance and choreography, and the human condition.

*30:03 Trigger Warning Conversations on Race Riots/Massacres

Detailed showkNOwtes: https://www.knowboxdance.com/post/24-elijahgibson-social-movement-contemporary-dance

Matt Kent has worked with Pilobolus since 1996 as a dancer, collaborator, creative director, and choreographer. Additionally Matt's work has been seen on the Sports Emmy-nominated teaser created in collaboration with the NFL network, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and AMC's hit series The Walking Dead. On this episode we go behind the screen and talk about the value of synchronicity and working collaboratively in the creative process, the challenge of managing logistics and creativity, 'neural mirroring', and a surprise contribution from Emily Kent, Pilobolus' Education Director, on what Pilobolus looks for at company auditions.

Detailed showkNOwtes: https://www.knowboxdance.com/post/23-mattkent-pilobolus

On this episode your co-hosts Martheya, YeaJean, Azaria, and Reyna wrap up 2019 and season 1 of Dance Behind the Screen Podcast. On this episode we have an open conversation between the co-hosts sharing what we think about social media and its influence on the dance world, what we have learned from our conversations, define digital dance company, and what our audience can expect for season 2 in 2020.

Detailed showkNOwtes: https://www.knowboxdance.com/post/22-teamdbs-season-1-wrap-up

On this episode your co-hosts Azaria and Martheya talk with the founder of the Women in Dance Leadership Conference, Sandra Parks. Originally from Taiwan, Sandra danced as a soloist with Four Seasons Ballet and Wu-I Dance Company in Taipei. She toured nationally and internationally with a Broadway production of the King And I. While directing her own production, she danced and choreographed over 80 live concerts. After moving to Boston, she danced with Bosoma Dance Company, Dance Collective, and Impulse Dance Company. Sandra was a member of the faculties at Boston University, Bridgewater State College, Colleges of Fenway, Kennesaw State University, Regis College, Smith College, National Taiwan University of Arts, the Head of Dance Program and assistant professor at Louisiana State University, and is currently on the faculty at Drexel University in Philadelphia. In 2013, Sandra founded Women in Dance L.L.C. to celebrate and promote female leadership in dance, and she is the director of the international conference: Women in Dance Leadership Conference. On this episode, we go behind the screen of the Women In Dance Leadership conference. We unpack Sandra Parks career path. We discuss her strategies for supporting female voices in the dance world across many platforms and redefining equality. She offers what to consider when curating a conference to create a space for all voices of dance in mediums of film, live performances, workshops, presentations, and more. Sandra offers transparency on the financial realities of creating a conference, how to ask for help, and her visions for the future of Women In Dance.

Detailed showkNOwtes: https://www.knowboxdance.com/post/21-sandraparks-women-in-dance

On this episode your co-hosts YeaJean and Reyna interview artists, teachers, performers, and attendees at the annual Texas Dance Improvisation Festival (TDIF). Initially conceived of by Jordan Fuchs with the mission to share, inspire and challenge the improvisational dance community of Texas, TDIF was first co-hosted at TWU in 2009 by Fuchs and Sarah Gamblin. Since that first year TDIF has grown to include over 200 participants a year, including students, professors and professional dance artists from across Texas, the United States and as far away as Germany and Taiwan. Relying on a Coordinating Committee of university faculty and professional dance artists to produce the annual weekend festival, TDIF is hosted by a different Texas university each year. Through a lean organizational structure and the leveraging of university resources for the benefit of the wider university and improvisational dance communities, TDIF emphasizes financial accessibility, with participant registration fees for the three-day festival minimized as much as possible, and only recently raised to $20 total. On this episode, we go behind the screen of TDIF facilitating a roundtable discussion with Blake Nellis, Chrissy Nelson, and Lily Sloan of Big Rig Dance Collective. We uncover their varied career paths and relationship to dance and improvisation. We discuss and define improvisation in relation to processes, practice, and transferable skills. We share conversations on how the current issues of consent in relation to the #metoo movement affect the culture of improvisation. We unpack the evolution and offerings of TDIF.

Detailed showkNOwtes: https://www.knowboxdance.com/post/20-tdif2019