181 episodes

Bringing to you the personal stories, experiences, and ideas from those who shape the dance field through autobiographical interviews. Hosted by Erin Carlisle Norton, Artistic Director of the NJ/NYC all-female dance company The Moving Architects. New interviews available every other week.

Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast The Moving Architects

    • Arts
    • 5.0 • 29 Ratings

Bringing to you the personal stories, experiences, and ideas from those who shape the dance field through autobiographical interviews. Hosted by Erin Carlisle Norton, Artistic Director of the NJ/NYC all-female dance company The Moving Architects. New interviews available every other week.

    MSP 171: Stefanie Nelson

    MSP 171: Stefanie Nelson

    Finding Your Artistry Beyond Words with Stefanie Nelson
    One of the beautiful things about dance is the ability to express yourself without words. You can just dance. Joining Erin on the podcast today is Stefanie Nelson, Founder and Director of Stefanie Nelson Dancegroup (SND), a contemporary dance company based in NYC. Stefanie also established Dance Italia, an international summer dance program in Lucca, Italy. Today, she shares what kickstarted her lifelong love of dance and the influence that Alice Teirstein had on her journey. She also offers insight into her college journey and what it takes to make it as an artist in New York City. Tuning in, you’ll learn how she transitioned from dancer to choreographer and how 9/11 ultimately led her to Italy. She details her time dancing and choreographing in Italy before returning to America and shares her vision for Dance Italia. To learn more about Stefanie’s career highlights, challenges, and the different projects and initiatives that keep her busy, be sure not to miss this episode of Movers & Shapers. Thanks for listening in!
    Key Points From This Episode:
    ·       How quitting piano led Stefanie to a lifelong love of dance.
    ·       Alice Teirstein and what led her to become a dancer.
    ·       What it means to “make it work” as an artist in New York City.
    ·       How Stefanie eventually transitioned into creating her own work as a choreographer.
    ·       Running away to Italy after 9/11 and how it played out.
    ·       Highlights from her time dancing and choreographing in Italy. 
    ·       Details about the Dance Italia festival and the vision behind it. 
    ·       How the organization and planning for Dance Italia have changed over the years.
    ·       The different projects and initiatives that Stefanie is busy with. 
    ·       Insight into her upcoming work in 2025 and beyond.
    ·       Highlights, challenges, and other obstacles from Stefanie’s career journey. 
    ·       Her hopes, aspirations, and dreams for the future. 
    “There’s something very beautiful about being able to express yourself without having to articulate words, ideas, thoughts, and sentences in a linear way.” — Stefanie Nelson
    Stefanie Nelson is the Founder and Director of Stefanie Nelson Dancegroup (SND), a contemporary performance group based in NYC; DANCE ITALIA, an international summer dance festival in Lucca, Italy; and Motore 592, a bold, new, center for contemporary movement practices in Lucca, IT. 
    For more on this episode: Movers & Shapers
    Follow for the latest on Facebook and Instagram

    • 38 min
    MSP 170: Kathy Dunn Hamrick

    MSP 170: Kathy Dunn Hamrick

    Creating a Modern Dance Culture and Community with Kathy Dunn Hamrick
    Establishing a modern dance company is no easy feat, but today’s guest managed to create a successful organization and build a wonderful modern dance community in Austin, Texas. Today on Movers & Shapers, we welcome Kathy Dunn Hamrick, the Artistic Director of Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance, to discuss her work and how she helps dance grow in Austin. Kathy found a love for dance at a young age and quickly decided that she needed to dedicate her life to it. In this episode, you’ll hear all about Kathy’s life and career, her decision to teach, and how her desire to be ‘in charge’ led her to start her company. We discuss the difficulty of balancing a family and career, her gorgeous piece choreographed on platforms on a lake, and starting the Austin Dance Festival. We delve into Kathy’s recent cancer diagnosis and how her community has showed up for her, and Kathy opens up about next steps of sharing her knowledge with the next generation of dancers and choreographers. Finally, we walk through Kathy’s career highlights and struggles. To hear all this and more, press play now!
    Key Points From This Episode:
    ·       We delve into the who behind Kathy Dunn Hamrick and learn about how she got into dance.
    ·       The wonderful mentors Kathy has had and how they shaped her career. 
    ·       Kathy tells us about her move to New York and why she decided to get her MFA. 
    ·       Transitioning into the role of dance teacher and founding namesake company; Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance.  
    ·       How Kathy balances her family and business while keeping her career interesting for herself. 
    ·       The incredible dance piece that was choreographed by Kathy and performed on a lake.
    ·       The modern dance culture in Austin and why Kathy started her dance festival. 
    ·       How COVID affected Kathy’s business and festival. 
    ·       Kathy’s diagnosis with stage four cancer and what’s next for her and the organization. 
    ·       Why finances have always been Kathy’s biggest business struggle. 
    ·       The highlights of Kathy’s career and the wonderful dance community she’s built. 
    “From a very young age I knew I wanted a family and I knew I wanted to dance and I’ve achieved both of those [things] so I’m living my best life honestly.” — Kathy Dunn Hamrick 
    Kathy Dunn Hamrick is the Artistic Director of Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company and the Founder and Executive Producer of Austin Dance Festival.
    For more on this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast
    Check us out on Instagram and Facebook for more!

    • 30 min
    MSP 169: Julie Lemberger

    MSP 169: Julie Lemberger

    Enjoying the Art, Expression, and Freedom of Dance with Julie Lemberger
    Welcome to the latest episode of the Movers and Shapers podcast, where today we're delighted to welcome our guest, Julie Lemberger. Julie is a multifaceted individual — she's had a life as a dancer, dance photographer, and educator. She has dedicated over 15 years to capturing the ephemeral beauty of concert dance. Her lens has encapsulated the essence of New York City's dance scene at the turn of the 21st century. Julie's stunning dance photography has graced the pages of prestigious publications like The New York Times, Dance Magazine, and numerous national and international journals and websites since 1993. Join the conversation to hear about what sparked her interest in dance, why she was initially turned off of modern dance, and how her ballet journey led her to places like The Netherlands, Germany, and New York.  We delve into her diverse dance ventures and then pivot to hear about her transition to Plan B: starting college. Julie shares the fascinating intersection of her worlds; photography and dance, and articulates the emotions she experiences when capturing dance through her camera. Don't miss out on this intriguing discussion! Tune in now to hear all this and much more. Thanks for listening! 
    Key Points From This Episode:
    ·       We discover how The Nutcracker sparked Julie’s interest in dance.
    ·       Her thoughts on being more of an artist and enjoying ballet for the artistry of it. 
    ·       Why she decided to stick to the discipline of ballet while growing up.
    ·       Julie shares a turning point, and realization, in her dance career.
    ·       She delves into her time in Europe (The Netherlands, Germany, England).
    ·       We are transported forward, back to New York, and her other endeavors at the Graham School, Jacob’s Pillow, and more. 
    ·       Her Plan B: starting college.
    ·       Why starting college was the saddest day of her life.
    ·       She recalls the time she got her first camera, at age 23.
    ·       When the two worlds collide: dance and photography.
    ·       What Julie enjoyed most about dance photography: her master’s degree experience.
    ·       She expresses what taking photos of dance makes her feel. 
    ·       Julie highlights what she’s excited about, and what gives her energy, these days.
    “I realized that having my photographs judged was so much easier than having my body and my dancing judged.” — Julie Lemberger
    A former dancer, Julie Lemberger photographs dance in New York City for 30 years, and whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Dance Magazine and many other journals, books and digital platforms. Check out her coloring book Modern Women: 21st Century Dance.
    More on this Episode: Movers & Shapers
    Follow Movers & Shapers: Instagram and Facebook

    • 55 min
    MSP 168: Betsy Miller

    MSP 168: Betsy Miller

    Being part of the global dance community can be deeply rewarding but it also has the potential to be exceptionally challenging and toxic. Not only are you competing for highly limited resources, but you also need to contend with how your self-worth can become contingent on the opinion of others. Today’s guest, Betsy Miller, has experienced many of the highs and lows familiar to almost any dancer but ultimately counts herself blessed and deeply fortunate to have found genuine places of community within the dance world. Join us as we talk with Betsy about her early love of dance (and fashion!), her studies at Connecticut College, and how she uncovered her love of teaching while earning her MFA at The Ohio State University. She shares how establishing a collective with her former cohort allowed her to work in the collaborative models that would come to define her later approach to dance and how she earned her position as the Associate Professor of Dance at Salem State University, where she still finds herself today. We also learn about her ongoing american / woman dance project, and the circumstances that inspired it, before discussing how she chose to reorient the fundamental relationship between choreographer and dancer. For an expansive conversation on creative research, the beauty of being part of a dance community, and much more, be sure to tune in!
    Key Points From This Episode:
    ·       Betsy’s early love of ballet and fashion and her discovery of modern dance.
    ·       The incredible faculty members and guest artists she studied under at Connecticut College
    ·       How she co-founded the Propel-her dance collective with her former cohort and friends.
    ·       How grad school helped her uncover her love of teaching.
    ·       How she became a tenured professor
    ·       The multitude of factors that led Betsy to start the american / woman project.
    ·       How she has used the american / woman project to interrogate the title subject matter and reorient the choreographer-dancer relationship.
    ·       Betsy shares the highs, lows, and biggest challenges of her career.
    “It's always about community and the places in which I find community in the dance world. Something about the way that we bring our bodies into the spaces and that we are allowing ourselves to be vulnerable because we are embodied, makes this community really special.” — Betsy Miller
    Based in Salem Massachusetts, Betsy Miller is a dance artist, educator and facilitator whose current mission is to collaborate with women-identifying dancers in every state of the country.
    More on this episode: Movers & Shapers
    Follow Movers & Shapers: Instagram and Facebook

    • 50 min
    MSP: Special Announcement from Erin Carlisle Norton

    MSP: Special Announcement from Erin Carlisle Norton

    Happy Holidays from Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast! Listen to a special announcement from Host and Artistic Director of The Moving Architects, Erin Carlisle Norton.
    Support this podcast with a tax-deductible donation! themovingarchitects.org/support
    Find Show Notes & More: themovingarchitects.org/podcasts
    Folow on Instagram and Facebook

    • 2 min
    MSP 167: Jeanne Ruddy

    MSP 167: Jeanne Ruddy

    While dance is often underfunded and under-recognized, leaders in the field acknowledge the incredible talent that lives within every dancer, reminding them that they are, in fact, ‘Acrobats of God’. Today’s guest embodies the purpose of the Movers and Shapers: A Dance Podcast; to share insights from those who shape the dance field, and create an archive that preserves rich, personal experiences across generations. During this episode, Jeanne Ruddy shares what it was like to be a member of the Martha Graham Dance Company, and to work with Martha herself. You’ll also hear how she forged her own unique role in dance, how she encourages other artists to flourish, and her passion for nurturing future generations of dancers in Philadelphia. Tuning in, you’ll learn all about Jeanne’s journey as a dancer, and finding her way to creative expression thereafter. Join us to hear all about the highs and lows of our guest’s incredible career today. 
    Key Points From This Episode:
    ·       Her first experiences of dance and her lifelong love of music.
    ·       The changing dance scene of the 1960s.
    ·       The pivotal period of time for a dancer between 16 and 21.
    ·       Her experience at North Carolina School of the Arts and Utah Repertory Dance Theatre. 
    ·       Traveling to New York and starting a company with no capital. 
    ·       Getting a huge break with Yuriko Kikuchi after auditioning with Getting to Know You. 
    ·       Being chosen to be in the Martha Graham Dance Company and enjoying a ten-year career. 
    ·       Why Martha would sit in the second wing, stage right, in a director’s chair, during performances.
    ·       The eventual decision to leave the company due to pain. 
    ·       The birth of the Performance Garage in Philadelphia.  
    ·       The program Jeanne currently facilitates for dancers. 
    ·       What Martha Graham taught: dancers are acrobats of God. 
    “I walked out of Deaths and Entrances, I was definitely a child of the 60s, and I didn’t like it. Seven years later, I was playing one of the sisters in that very piece in Lincoln Centre. I loved it.” — Jeanne Ruddy 
    Jeanne Ruddy is a former Principal Dancer with the Martha Graham Company where she performed throughout the World, on Broadway, served on the faculties of The Juilliard School, Alvin Ailey School, colleges and universities in the US and abroad, founded Jeanne Ruddy Dance, and a center for dance – the Performance Garage, in Philadelphia.
    More on the episode: Movere & Shapers
    Follow Movers & Shapers: Instagram and Facebook
    The organization behind the podcast: The Moving Architects presents "O my soul", where fierce femininity and intergenerational dance meet. Dec 1 in Montclair, NJ. For more info: The Moving Architects

    • 47 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
29 Ratings

29 Ratings

AlisonClancy ,

Community Building

Loved the episode with Art Bath producers. Both this podcast and that event are wonderful examples of building community through the arts.

DanceBoss ,

Love Everything Erin is About

Erin this is amazing podcast. I love that you archive stories of the dance community so needed. Thank you for showing up and creating this space.

Xo Erin ❤️

Kenneth Winfrey ,

Amazing

This podcast sounds so vivid and interesting! I am really grateful to be able to hear all these stories from all of these artists. This podcast is a work of art.

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