NCCAkron releases fourth season of Inside the Dancer’s Studio

The National Center for Choreography – Akron (NCCAkron) has launched the fourth season of Inside the Dancer’s Studio, a podcast that brings listeners into the process of creating dance. Through interviews with choreographers from across the United States, Inside the Dancer’s Studio dissolves the mystique of dance-making into engaging, fun, and deeply human conversation about what moves artists to express their truths through creation and performance.

Artists featured in Season 4 include Errin Weaver (Cleveland, OH), André M. Zachery (Brooklyn, NY), BRKFST Dance Company (Saint Paul, MN), Raphael Xavier (Philadelphia, PA), and slowdanger (anna thompson + taylor knight) (Pittsburgh, PA).

The podcast’s host, NCCAkron Executive/Artistic Director Christy Bolingbroke(Akron, OH), poses a series of questions about craft, process, and perseverance to each interviewee, including: how do they name a piece? What do they look for in collaborators? What do they do if they find themselves stuck, creatively?  

Each episode was recorded as part of a conversation series presented by NCCAkron, with support from The University of Akron. These short talks are perfect for budding dancers, dancemakers, creatives, or anyone who has ever built something from scratch.

This new season will also feature two bonus episodes from recent Dancing Conversations. The first from a Creative Residency with Big Dance Theater in April 2023, including New York-based choreographic collaborators Annie-B Parson, Tendayi Kuumba, and Donna Uchizono. The second from a panel discussion reflecting on artist Keith Haring’s work and the challenges of creating both inside and outside museum institutions at NCCAkron’s Creative Administration Research Summit Convening in June 2023 — with artist Brendan Fernandes (Chicago, IL) and Akron Art Museum Curator Dr. Jeffrey Katzin (Cleveland, OH).

“I’m thrilled to share these new episodes,” says Bolingbroke. “With each conversation we get yet another perspective on the choreographic process. The series represents the broad expanse and possibilities of dance making today.” 

Jennifer Edwards produces the podcast with editing by James Sleeman, theme music by Floco Torres, cover art by Micah Kraus, and transcription by Arushi Singh.

New episodes are released each Friday on most streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

For more information and to listen to episodes, visit nccakron.org/insidethedancersstudio.