Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast

Some creative partnerships do more than grow over time; they help shape an entire artistic landscape. In this episode of The Movers and Shapers Podcast, we meet Sara Coffin and Susanne Chui, co-artistic directors of Mocean Dance, whose long shared history and collaborative vision have transformed contemporary dance in Nova Scotia. Sara begins by tracing her path from early choreography to training across Canada and the United States, and how returning home eventually led her into a leadership role with Mocean Dance. Susanne shares her parallel journey, from a childhood in community dance to professional training in Toronto and the decision to return to Halifax, where she built an independent career before joining the company. Together, they reflect on the evolution of Mocean Dance from a dancer-centered company to a community-focused hub for creation, training, and sector-wide collaboration. They discuss how their friendship, complementary strengths, and improvisational ethos shape their working relationship, and they offer a look at the ambitious interdisciplinary and land-based projects that will define their next chapter. Listen in for a thoughtful conversation about collaboration, place-based artistry, and what it takes to sustain a thriving dance ecosystem outside major centers. Key Points From This Episode: Sara's early pull toward dance and her first experiences in choreographing. Training across Canada and finding her voice through somatics and collaboration. Forming the SiNS (Sometimes in Nova Scotia) collective: building an early artistic community. Returning to Halifax and stepping into leadership at Mocean Dance. Completing her MFA at Smith College in the United States to deepen her artistic practice. Susanne's community-based dance beginnings and discovery of professional training. Moving to Toronto for conservatory study and early company work. Returning home to build an independent career supported by grants and local networks. Joining Mocean Dance and forming a co-artistic partnership with Sara. Learning the administrative demands of running a company. Shifting Mocean from dancer-centered work to community-focused programming. Expanding professional development offerings, labs, and training programs. Building interdisciplinary partnerships across art, ecology, architecture, and design. Developing land-based and relational works with Indigenous collaborators. Reflections on sustaining a long-term creative partnership rooted in trust and improvisation. Looking ahead to large regional initiatives and reimagined touring models. For more on Sara and Susanne and Show Notes & Links: The Moving Architects Follow the podcast on Instagram & Facebook Donate to The Moving Architects today and support this podcast! Support The Moving Architects

A dancer's career is often shorter than many others, and for the most part, there comes a time when the performer must pivot and find other ways to find value and joy in their craft. Joining us today is Danielle Guillermo, a former dancer turned dance consultant, as well as brand strategist and web designer. We begin with Danielle's background and how she got into the world of dance before learning how her home and school support structures gave her the confidence needed to excel in performance. Then, we examine how her career goals have evolved since high school, how being rejected from Juilliard was a blessing in disguise, her role at the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, and other early-career experiences, and everything that happened to instigate the second phase of her career. We also discover how Danielle began building websites, her journey as a brand strategist, why she chose the teaching route, and why it's possible (and healthy) for artists to have financial aspirations without compromising their art. To end, Danielle walks us through Dance News Daily — the news hub she built for the entire dance community — and we discover what she has planned for the near future as well as how to connect with her and her work.  Key Points From This Episode: Danielle Guillermo describes who she is and how she got into the world of dance. What drew her to ballet, and a journey through her time at dance school. How her support structures gave her confidence that she previously had to fake.  The goals she had when growing up in dance school and how they've evolved. Rejected from Juilliard: The ups and downs of her dancing education after high school.     The start of her career and her experience at Dayton Contemporary Dance Company.  Her European adventure, and everything that happened post-DCDC 2.  How Danielle's performance career ended and why she chose to focus full-time on teaching.  Breaking Glass: How she approached a career crossroads at the age of 31.  How artists can also have aspirations of financial freedom without compromising their art. Danielle's website-building career and how it's transformed her and her client's lives.   The importance of building a personal brand and making it visible to the right people.   Unpacking Dance News Daily – a news hub for the entire dance community.  Danielle's upcoming projects and what she's focused on moving forward.   How to connect with Danielle Guillermo and her work. "It looks like you're taking the focus off of the art and you're talking about money. For me, it's not one or the other. We as artists need to survive. And not just survive, let's look at thriving." — Danielle Guillermo For more on Danielle and Show Notes & Links: The Moving Architects Follow the podcast on Instagram & Facebook Donate to The Moving Architects today and support this podcast! Support The Moving Architects  

Amber Sloan's life in dance has unfolded through curiosity, community, and constant reinvention. Growing up in Virginia, her early exposure to improvisation and composition in high school sparked not just a love of movement but a way of thinking that would shape her future. Her time at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign deepened that foundation and connected her with the people and places that helped her put down artistic roots. From piecing together income through unexpected jobs, to choreographing for the Joyce SoHo and seeking to scale her work in the years leading up to the pandemic, Amber has never shied away from the uncomfortable or the uncertain. She's navigated performance anxiety, surgery and recovery, and the challenge of being involved in many facets of the dance world, from performing with David Parker to presenting work through platforms like Women in Motion. Today, with recent pieces like her show at Kestrels (set to return next year), she continues to build a career that defies the assumptions people often make about a life in dance. At the heart of it all is a simple, lasting dream: to keep exploring alongside the dancers who move her work forward. Thanks for listening. Key Points From This Episode: Amber Sloan's upbringing in Virginia and her introduction to dance.  How early experiences of improv and composition in high school shaped her career. Continuing her dance journey at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. How the connections she made while studying helped her develop roots in dance. Working various jobs to pay the bills, including a role for Harvey Keitel's wife. Choreographing for the Joyce SoHo.  Making an effort to do her work in a bigger way pre-pandemic.  Navigating performance anxiety and doing what is uncomfortable.  Being involved in many different areas of dance.  How a 2015 surgery and recovery impacted Amber's career.  Dancing for David Parker: rehearsals, footwork, and more.  Amber's presenting work, including Women in Motion and more.  Recent work including a show at Kestrels which will show again next year.  Why a life in dance is often not what you might expect.  Her ultimate dream for her work. Amber Sloan is a choreographer, performer, teacher, and producer based in Jersey City and the New York City area. For more on Amber and Show Notes & Links: The Moving Architects Follow the podcast on Instagram & Facebook Check out The Moving Architects on State of the Arts on PBS  

MSP 188: Attuning to the Beauty of Passion with Sara Veale The incredible beauty of passion lies in the relentless dedication of one's entire being, a force that radiates outward to inspire and elevate others. Today on the Movers & Shapers podcast, Erin is joined by author and dance critic Sara Veale. A North Carolina native, dancer turned dance writer, currently living in London, UK. Tune into the conversation as they dance into what inspired Sara into a lifelong journey in dance, how dance became an integral part of her identity, and what sparked her journey to shift into one that centers around her writing. They discuss her transition from the US to London, UK, the differences in the dance world, and she unpacks the responsibility of writing dance reviews and why she ultimately finds the Stars system to be fundamentally flawed. They then dive into an in-depth discussion on her book, Wild Grace: The Untamed Women of Modern Dance, breaking down what inspired the writing, how she approached the structure of the book, incorporating advice from her editor, delving deeply into the research, and the timeline from beginning to end. She shares how the book ultimately led her to a new attuning of the very beauty of passion itself! Be sure not to miss out on all this, and as always, much more. Thanks for listening, enjoy! Key Points From This Episode: Sara reveals how a two-year-old girl's fascination with movement blossomed into a lifelong journey in dance. Sara explains what about dance made it such an integral part of her identity. The journey of her writing career. Sara unpacks how she got into writing as a dance critic.  We discuss her transition from the US to London, UK, and how it shaped her dance writing. Finding her voice in the dance critic world. Why you've got to be reading when you want to be writing, according to Sara. The responsibility behind writing dance reviews.  She shares why she believes the idea of the Stars system, when writing reviews, is fundamentally flawed.  We delve into a discussion on her book, Wild Grace: The Untamed Women of Modern Dance. How she approached the structure of her book, finding the women, taking advice from her editor, and making tough decisions. Sara explains the research journey she undertook for her book and the women she writes about. "The coolest thing ever is to be good at something and be passionate about it and to throw your whole body and soul into it." — Sara Veale For more on Sara and Show Notes & Links: The Moving Architects Follow the podcast on Instagram & Facebook Check out The Moving Architects on State of the Arts on PBS

The Curiosity That Moves Us with Ann Carlson At the heart of every great artistic work is the exploration of curiosity and a commitment to the process of creation. Today on Movers & Shapers, Ann Carlson joins us to discuss her illustrious career in interdisciplinary arts and shares the deep curiosity she possesses about movement, meaning, and the human experience, with work borrowing from the disciplines of dance and performance as well as visual, conceptual, and social art practices. In this conversation, Ann reflects on how she first discovered her love of dance, how working with Meredith Monk and exploring performance art shaped her creativity, and the thriving performance scenes in NYC in the 90s that opened doors for experimentation. She shares the inspiration behind her work with animals, the reality of supporting herself financially as an artist, and how she navigated motherhood and her dance career. She also dives into the delicate marriage between process and product in creation before discussing her dance project, The Symphonic Body. Finally, Ann reveals what is piquing her interest today and shares a glimpse of what the future will hold for her in her career. Thanks for listening!  Key Points From This Episode: A brief overview of today's guest, Ann Carlson, and how she found her love of dance.   How performance art and working with Meredith Monk inspired Ann's own creations.  Cross-connecting dance with other performance scenes during her time in NYC.  What inspired Ann's animal series and how she managed to support herself.  How Ann's dance career pivoted when she started a family. The beautiful amalgamation of process and product in dance creation. What Ann learned about art from the poet Allen Ginsberg.  Ann looks back on her career and some of the most meaningful projects she did.  Ann tells us what she is curious about today and what her next project will be. Ann is the recipient of numerous awards for her artistic work, including a Creative Capital Award, a Doris Duke Award for Performing Artists, a National Dance Project Award, two American Masters awards, a USA Artist Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, a Fellowship from the Foundation for Contemporary Art, and more! For more on Ann and Show Notes & Links: The Moving Architects Follow the podcast on Instagram & Facebook