MOVERS SHAKERS MAKERS

Makeshift Company
  • 5.0 (14)
  • ARTS
  • MONTHLY

What makes creative people tick? How do they find and develop their inspiration? Welcome to the podcast that draws back the curtain on the inventive mind and its artistic process with a series of interviews between host Emma Lister and performers, choreographers, designers and other artists. Look out for our special mini-series, like 'Ballet for the 21st Century' and 'Ballet Macabre'.

  1. The Next Step - Saturday Night Fever (1977)

    28/06/2025

    The Next Step - Saturday Night Fever (1977)

    We conclude our 6 part series, The Next Step, with SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (1977)! The surprisingly harsh film that launched a #1 bestselling soundtrack by the Bee Gees and John Travolta to super stardom. You'll easily be able to summon the sight of Travolta strutting down the street in the opening scene and hear that thumping beat of Stayin' Alive, but did you remember that he's actually a 19 year old kid on an errand to buy paint?  In this tale set in the end days of disco, Travolta's Tony Manero learns not to treat women like an accessory, breaks away from his oppressive catholic family and ultimately makes the journey across the Brooklyn Bridge...all through dance! Justice for Annette! Guest: Jennifer Goggans from the Merce Cunningham Trust Emma will also do a quick wrap up our Coming of Age mini series by collating all the overlapping themes, so many are set in New York, so many daddy issues, but only one daisy tattoo! Links Vanity Fair article The Rest Is History Ep on Disco

    1h 22m
  2. The Next Step - Save the Last Dance (2001)

    16/06/2025

    The Next Step - Save the Last Dance (2001)

    We’re making our entrance for this one running in with arms in bras bas! Was SAVE THE LAST DANCE (2001) the beginning of the dance movie craze of the noughts? With a bonus film that definitely hits right in the middle of that fad: STEP UP (2006) It’s interesting revisiting STLD on the other side of the reckonings that happened around BLM. It earnestly explores some serious topics with Julia Stiles’s white ballerina becoming a fish out of water when she moves to a majority black neighbourhood in Chicago. Julia Stiles relied heavily on a body double for her ballet, but this box office hit made her a star. Watch out for Kerry Washington in her first film role.  Sara may have learnt how to find her groove thanks to Derek, BUT WILL SHE GET INTO JULLIARD?!?! Join us and Jack Webb and Isaac Bowry, virtual guests, but real-life friends! LINKS Cheryl Edwards on STLD script Pierre-Émile on Instgram

    1h 15m
  3. Rerelease - Boys Dance Too

    09/06/2025 · BONUS

    Rerelease - Boys Dance Too

    5 years after first recorded, we're rereleasing this episode of our first dance flavoured mini series - Ballet for the 21st Century. We've chosen to revisit the last ep in that series, Boys Dance Too, because having just discussed the film Billy Elliot we thought it was worth digging into some themes that came up in more depth. This episode has been shortened from its original length... -------------------- Why is the bullying of boys who want to take ballet so persistent? Emma Lister seeks to answer this question and why their love of dance is often defended with the usual football comparison/"real men lift women" trope.  In the final episode of of our mini-series, Ballet for the Twenty-first Century, we'll open up topics such as: body image, casting, role models, gendered ballet technique, The Billy Elliot Effect and homophobia. Special guests: Denzil Bailey, Richard Bermange, James Forbat, Matthew Paluch and Mark Samaras. REFERENCES: M. Paluch. (2019). There's an elephant in the room and it's gay.... Dancing Times. October 2019, p29-31. www.dancing-times.co.uk This mini-series  has been made possible by a grant  using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

    57 min
  4. The Next Step - Billy Elliot (2000)

    02/06/2025

    The Next Step - Billy Elliot (2000)

    We couldn't make The Next Step mini series without including BILLY ELLIOT. Is this the seminal dance coming of age film? How does it hold up a quarter of a century after it was released and became a cultural phenomenon? Bonus film: THE FITS (2015) starts eerily the same as Billy Elliot, but steers firmly away from the predictable halfway through... I'm joined this episode by host of Drinks at the Bar podcast, Paul James Rooney...who apart from being a podcast host and experienced dancer has actually played older Billy Elliot in the very successful stage version! We muse over Thatcherism, homophobia, questionable "ballet" choreography and whether Billy would've realistically had a shot at getting into the Royal Ballet School. LINKS Drinks at the Barre Podcast on Apple Drinks at the Barre Podcast on Spotify Spice Girls, Stop Right Now Indie Wire interview with Stephen Daldry  Billy Elliot: Class Traitor

    1h 16m
  5. The Next Step - Fame (1980)

    26/05/2025

    The Next Step - Fame (1980)

    FAME (1980) fed the world a version of performing arts schools where everyone is constantly jumping around dancing and singing. But how much truth is there in that? Our bonus film, GIRL (2018), has a very different take on the experience of dance training. We talk about the enduring genius of Gene Anthony Ray, finding your tribe in school, why the cast demanded danger pay for one scene and...did we mention Gene?! What happens in Rocky Horror stays in Rocky Horror! Guest: Cordelia Braithwaite LINKS La Guardia Alumni Sanjoy Roy review of Up From the Waist

    1h 8m
  6. The Next Step - Dirty Dancing (1987)

    19/05/2025

    The Next Step - Dirty Dancing (1987)

    Up next in our new mini-series, The Next Step, is DIRTY DANCING (1987)! With bonus film--FLASHDANCE (1983). Long a stalwart of slumber parties, Dirty Dancing can actually be a tougher watch than you remember, with a plot that revolves around an illegal abortion. We all know the famous line at the end of the film, but do you know who Baby's father was in real life? Or how to do that lift properly? And why Patrick Swayze isn't even the best dancer in this movie?  Perhaps the ultimate 80s film about a female sexual awakening, a rewatch reveals canny representations of class struggles. WARNING: you'll be singing that f*cking Hula Song for days to come. Guests: Zoë Ashe-Browne, Diarmaid O'Meara LINKS Abortion law timeline  Jezebel interview with Eleanor Bergstein

    1 hr
  7. The Next Step - Center Stage (2000)

    12/05/2025

    The Next Step - Center Stage (2000)

    Our first episode of the new mini series, The Next Step, is CENTER STAGE (2000)! Can you believe this dancer classic is celebrating 25 years since its release? With bonus film--DANCERS (1987). We use Center Stage to discuss the delicate balance between dancer and sponsor, camisole tops, unequal power dynamics, the girl behind Degas's 'Little Dancer' sculpture and Ethan Steifel's dancing assets.  Chock full of professional NYC dancers (not to mention future Oscar Winner Zoe Saldaña) Center Stage was the millennial go-to film for a soapy story with an all out dance number at the end. So, a quarter of century on, this film definitely has the feet...but does it have the heart? Guests: Amber Hunt, Prof Rose Martin LINKS  NYTimes article 2004 About Marie van Goethem The Spinoff article Tiler Peck Center Stage solo  Roger Ebert Dancers Review 1987

    1h 13m
  8. Ballet Macabre - Duality

    29/10/2023

    Ballet Macabre - Duality

    Our ballet horror movie mash up podcast, continues with BLACK SWAN (2010) and US (2019). In this final instalment of Ballet Macabre we're looking at Duality. To start off, host Emma Lister and guests Amber Hunt and Rose Martin give their insights as professional dancers on what is likely the best known film in this mini genre, Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. Though the film won its star Natalie Portman an acting Oscar for her role as the dancer trying to master the dual roles of the white and black swan, how accurate is her portrayal? Do all top level ballerinas have disordered eating? Are all directors sexual predators? And what’s up with the 32 fouettés in this movie? (If you don’t know what those are, don’t worry, we’ll explain!) The final film in our mini series is Jordan Peele’s Us, the most recent film we’re covering. With a story that highlights the privilege a portion of society enjoys at the expense of others, we ponder whether ballet is truly elitist. We also acknowledge the proximity to wealth and glamour being a ballet dancer provides while not necessarily paying above minimum wage. And finish off the mini series by asking a big question: must we split ourselves in two to be a great dancer? Bonus reel: Scary Movie 5 References: Black Swan 32 fouettés BBC Panorama doc Sam Kench on Body Horror Angela Trimbur Dance

    1h 31m
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About

What makes creative people tick? How do they find and develop their inspiration? Welcome to the podcast that draws back the curtain on the inventive mind and its artistic process with a series of interviews between host Emma Lister and performers, choreographers, designers and other artists. Look out for our special mini-series, like 'Ballet for the 21st Century' and 'Ballet Macabre'.

Information

  • Creator
    Makeshift Company
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2025
  • Episodes
    53
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 MOVERS SHAKERS MAKERS
  • Show Website
    MOVERS SHAKERS MAKERS