MODPOD: Recent Episodes
Museum of Dance
Jesus Muñoz is has taken the beauty of artistry of Flamenco and evolved a uniquely transcontinental style. Based in New Mexico, Jesus has been instrumental in keeping Flamenco vibrant with a new set of students and fans. Join us as he talks about his background and his hopes for the art.
Paul Valdez, through the drag alter ego Marie Antoinette Du Barry, makes the 18th Century relevant to today. Paul’s performance art offers biting criticism of today’s society while channeling two controversial figures from 18th-century France. Join us as Paul talks about the development of the character and what is means for us all.
Amy Foley’s journey began in Alaska and continues in San Francisco. In a multi-decade career, Amy has become one of the most talked about artists in the Bay Area. In this episode, we will reminisce about her journey.
Dana Genshaft has spent a lifetime in dance, first training at the best conservatories and then as a principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet. And now, she is the Artistic Director of SF Danceworks. Today, she talks about her background, her journey, and her process.
ArVejon Jones has a passion for jazz dance and for documenting the contributions of the African Diaspora to the wider culture. This performer and dance educator talks about the influences in his practice and shares his thoughts on cultural appropriation and the erasure of some of the prime movers in contemporary dance. In this direct and unvarnished conversation, AJ pulls no punches in the service of his art.
Listen in on the honest journey of Irene Hsiao, a remarkable dance artist based in Chicago, Illinois. Hsaio tells the honest story of her dance career and where it started in San Francisco. Her curiosity for dance and what it became for her out of a life with little exposure or support is moving and encouraging.
Jodi Lomask has spent a career finding new ways of expression, with the goal of inspiring others to chart their own way. Whether is through her long-running dance company, Capacitor, mixing dance, science, and circus arts, or through her most recent endeavors, Sculptural Fitness (jodilomask.com) or Creative Journey, Jodi seeks to free everyone who comes into her life from the repression that denies their creative selves. Find out if Jodi Lomask’s journey is a reflection of your own.
Robert Moses is one of today's most ground-breaking choreographers. Follow us as Robert guides us on the journey that has informed his life as a dancer and his current work as Artistic Director of Robert Moses Kin. Listen as he opens up about his work and life with uncharacteristic candor.
Jessica Maria Recinos, Pedro Gomez, and Shireen Rahimi discuss the mission of Rising Rhythm - promoting body positivity, mental and physical health, inclusion, and self-empowerment. These three incredible artists and collaborators discuss their individual journeys in the performing arts world and how these paths combine to inform the Rising Rhythm mission and aesthetic.
For 50 years, Eiko and her husband Koma have been pushing the edges of how we define dance movement. Join Eiko as she talks about her beginnings, process, and philosophy for making her choreographic work. Eiko discusses the work she created with Koma, her emergence as a solo artist, and the challenges of making performance art in public or in a non-proscenium environment. She shares how her relationship with dance has changed as she has grown older.
Kristin Damrow shares her evolution as a dance artist, beginning in rural Wisconsin, studying in Chicago, to her present career as a dance educator and choreographer in San Francisco, California. She discusses the challenges and triumphs of following her love for dance and movement, and the mentors that helped pave her path. Damrow muses on the different influences that drive her current process and aesthetic.
Dance artist, community activist, and eloquent storyteller Rick Darnell shares his 30-year professional journey from the rural Southern United States to the northern coast of California. Follow Rick as he illustrates his diverse experiences, including dancing at Bennington College in the '70s to bringing healing and awareness to the AIDS crisis in San Francisco through his professional company's performances. Enjoy his detailed accounts of dance's ability to transform, uplift, and heal.
Scandinavian dance artist Anna Holter takes us on her journey to dance - through the exploding artistic world of the European contemporary dance scene of the 1990s, to today. She highlights her current international collaborative project Moving Isolation – a series of short films with dancers from all over the world, and a project born as a sudden response to the restrictions of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Jason Nious, artist in residence for the Museum of Dance, joins us to explore the social history of Stepping and Body Percussion and other folkloric dance forms of the African Diaspora, particularly of North America. He talks about his own journey, development, and creative process as he examines the roots and development of Stepping, and it's legacy for adding to the rich diversity and evolution of American dance.
Museum of Dance Artist in Residence, Antwan Davis, tells us about his path from playing the football gridiron, to performing as a dancer/stepper/body percussionist in Las Vegas, to acting as an ambassador for the art form of body percussion and Step Dance. He has taken these experiences to create a Step Dance crew that bridges the gaps between art forms and dance styles, and to imagining youth in education and community programs to enhance healing, personal expression, and universal human understanding.
Afro-Trinidadian immigrant and Museum of Dance Artist in Residence, Clyde Evans Jr, shares his challenges landing in the United States as a child, how Hip-Hop helped him weave into the fabric of American culture, and the doors dance opened for him. His journey allowed him to work with A-list celebrities like Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert Redford, Jay Leno, Mark Wahlberg, even at the beginning of his career. He also became a founding member of the groundbreaking Hip Hop company, Rennie Harris Pure Movement. From there, Clyde Evans became an educator and the founder of his own dance company, Chosen Dance, with the goal of spreading positivity.
Ready to be moved? Experience the incredible lives of award-winning choreographers, Janice Garrett and Charles Moulton. With 60 years of professional experience, spanning from New York to Europe to California, Garrett and Moulton retrace their contributions to the dance field. Listen in as they share their vision of dance as a transformative medium that fosters community.
Everyone can dance! Skeptical? Learn more about San Francisco’s Rhythm & Motion, founded in 1979 by acclaimed dancer, teacher, and choreographer, Consuelo Faust. For over 40 years, this Bay Area staple has cultivated a vibrant dance community — bringing health, wellness, and the joy of movement to all people regardless of age, ability, or background. Join Faust and Artistic Director, Dudley Flores for an inspiring dance conversation.
Ever wondered what life is really like for a professional ballet dancer? Get an inside look with San Francisco Ballet principal dancer, Sasha de Sola, as she eloquently articulates the joys, challenges, and triumphs of her day-to-day life. Learn what it takes to maintain one of the most prestigious careers in the dance world.
Hear the stories and life experiences of Carlos Carvajal, a first-generation Filipino American and dance professional who co-founded the Bay Area’s widely popular Ethnic Dance Festival. Join Carvajal on his life travels in dance, beginning in Folklore steps to wearing the Red Shoes, embracing Europe in the ’60s, and San Francisco’s Summer of Love in the ’70s. Share in Carvajal’s wisdom and learnings, whether persevering through a shattered ankle or the pandemic.