From the Top

18-year-old pianist and composer, Andrew Guo and host Christopher O'Riley discuss the compositional assignment that inspired his piece "7 Images for Piano."

This week's From the Top comes from Miami, Florida where we got to hear a talented local teenager perform the music of Schumann and enjoy his stories of growing up in the Cuban community of Miami. Also featured on the show is an eleven-year-old pianist who performs two works by Chopin, and a violinist performs the beautiful and dramatic second movement from César Franck's Sonata for Violin and Piano.

16-year-old pianist, CoCo Ma reads segments of her YA novel to host Christopher O'Riley and performs the music of Ginastera.

Drugs don't seem to play a big role in the swing dance community but they are there - though it's mostly just cannabis and other soft drugs. In this episode, we hear from two anonymous dancers that admit to taking drugs while dancing, and learn a little history with Peter Loggins.

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Produced and presented by Alexei Korolyov

www.alexei-korolyov.com

From the Top theme song by Alexander Forstner, Nina Jukić and Alexei Korolyov

A person's height affects all aspects of their life, and it matters when it comes to dancing, too. We hear from both ends of the spectrum.

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Contributors to this episode:

Sofi Mirkovic, Maria Grabherr, Ruben Garred, Johanna.

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Produced and presented by Alexei Korolyov

www.alexei-korolyov.com

From the Top theme song by Alexander Forstner, Nina Jukić and Alexei Korolyov

Swing dancing may seem like a carefree world that is "open to all" but even some perfectly fit and healthy people can have a hard time entering it, to say nothing of people with disabilities. In this episode, we meet two disabled dancers who beat the odds to have a healthy and fulfilling dancing life, and hear from one of the most successful integrated dance troupes in the world.

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Contributors to this episode:

Johannes Priebsch, dancer, software engineer and mediator based in Vienna

www.priebsch.at

Dominic Eagleton, London-based dancer and senior campaigner at Global Witness

Stine Nilsen, artistic co-director at Candoco Dance Company

www.candoco.co.uk

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Produced and presented by Alexei Korolyov

www.alexei-korolyov.com

From the Top theme song by Alexander Forstner, Nina Jukić and Alexei Korolyov

Swing dancing seems far removed from the daily grind of business life but in fact it's just as much about money and value as any other human activity. It's just that its financial system is extremely opaque. There are no clear, universally agreed upon prices or tariffs and often no legal oversight either; it's effectively a black market economy.

In this episode, we ask how you survive in this remarkably unregulated and non-transparent economy, who sets the prices and who pays for everything, what goes into running a successful swing dance business and how to fight off unscrupulous competition. 

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Contributors to this episode:

Jerry Almonte, dancer, photographer, organiser and blogger based in Washington D.C.

www.jsalmonteproductions.com

Mandi Gould, Canadian swing dance entrepreneur and organiser

www.mandigould.com

Jana Grulichová, co-founder of the Swing Maniacs school in Spain

www.swingmaniacs.com

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Produced and presented by Alexei Korolyov

www.alexei-korolyov.com

From the Top theme song by Alexander Forstner, Nina Jukić and Alexei Korolyov

Veteran performer and instructor Peter Loggins has a powerful message for his fellow dancers: go out and do it in public.

Peter is also featured in Episode 12 - Swing dance: art or what?

Cover photograph courtesy of Peter

We return to the topic of globalisation with an episode that is full of stories of border-crossing. From London to Vienna to Leipzig to Seoul, we hear from those who started dancing in one place but continued in another. Together with them, we reflect on the differences and similarities between various swing dance communities around the world.

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Contributors to this episode:

Lisa Carman, Marc D'Olimpio, Sam Jozeps, Ben Beccari, Nancy Hitzig, Katie Latter

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Produced and presented by Alexei Korolyov

www.alexei-korolyov.com

From the Top theme song by Alexander Forstner, Nina Jukić and Alexei Korolyov

In this fourth of our special series, we talk to Anaïs Sékiné, a dancer and researcher (or, to use her own definition, a dancing researcher) in Montreal who is conducting PhD research in modern swing dance culture.

For a selection of Anaïs' smaller publications on the subject, go to the website of the Université de Montréal at www.umontreal.academia.edu

Anaïs is also featured in Episode 12 - Swing dance: art or what?

Cover photograph courtesy of Anaïs