For this episode of “Inside Contemporary Dance”, I sat down to chat with the wonderful  Natalie Wagner.

As a dancer, Natalie worked with and for choreographers such as Jérôme Bel, Katja Grässli, Charlotta Övferholm, Adi Salant, Lior Lev, and Noa Zuk. She also danced for Zaccho Dance-Theater, was employed full-time at the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater in Görlitz, and was a guest at the Stadttheater Giessen, Stadttheater Biel/Solothurn and at the Zurich Opera House.

This choreographer, dance teacher, and mentor has been working internationally since 2000 and she has created and directed numerous short and full-length productions. From 2006 - 2017 Natalie directed her own dance company, called the "naway company." By founding a junior company, she made it possible for young dancers to gain some initial experience and jumpstart their professional dance career.

Natalie completed her master's degree in dance pedagogy at the Zurich University of the Arts  (2009-2011). She later completed her master's degree in choreography at the Palucca Hochschule für Tanz in Dresden (2018-2020). Natalie then received a two-year full-time scholarship from the state of Saxony and completed a meister’s degree focused on professional identity in dance.

Natalie has trained numerous professional dancers at the University of Contemporary and Urban Dance and works regularly as a  guest artist, teaching master classes and professional dance classes at various educational institutions in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Poland.

Natalie isn’t only active as a performer, choreographer, and dance teacher though. Throughout this interview, you’ll hear us talking about her activism in the dance community and the strong connection she has with Dancersconnect - a movement striving for better work practices for dance artists. In fact, Natalie was instrumental in including both the contemporary and the commercial freelance dance scenes in Germany in this movement which allowed these dancers to fight for their rights alongside their colleagues who are employed full-time in German theatres. More on this later.

Currently, Natalie is the artistic director and head choreographer of the Landesbühnen Sachsen dance company.

Please enjoy!

Follow Natalie here:
Website: https://www.nataliewagner.ch/
Instagram: @nawaydance

***Want to watch Natalie’s lecture on professional identity in dance?
All you need to do is e-mail Natalie at: nw@nataliewagner.ch. She will then send you a link with a password, in exchange for a donation payment of your choice.

Follow “Inside Contemporary Dance”:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insidecontemporarydance/
Website: https://www.insidecontemporarydance.com/

If you enjoyed this podcast, please spread the love! Like, subscribe, share it with your friends - and most importantly, please leave a rating or review, on whatever platform you’re listening from. The more positive ratings this show has, the more it will get promoted, and that means more beautiful listeners!

My many thanks go to:
Naomi Gibson - Texts editor, general consultor & dear friend
Marco Dray - Original music
Dagmara Śliwińska - Podcast cover photo
Moritz Wright - Podcast cover photo design
Thomas Bewernick -  Sound, recording, & being there every step of the way
My dear family - Because I love you
Last but not least - YOU. My dear listeners. You are the life and spirit behind the podcast. THANK YOU!

Welcome to another solo episode of Inside Contemporary Dance! In these mini-episodes, I’ll be sharing some stories, tips, hacks, strategies, and lessons I have collected over the course of my professional career. Hopefully, some of these can give you an edge in your own dance journey.  In today’s new year’s special episode, I want to bring a different topic to the table, one that has been neglected and shoved aside for a long time in our dance community, which is- our health. For the first time on this podcast, I am also sharing some personal challenges I experienced with my health. As we stand on the brink of a new year, my wish is for our dance community to be more forgiving and kind when it comes to our health. but this change has to start in each and every one of us. First, we have to learn how to be more forgiving towards ourselves, and through that, find more compassion for each other’s struggles as well.
Please enjoy!

Follow “Inside Contemporary Dance”:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insidecontemporarydance/
Website: https://www.insidecontemporarydance.com/

If you enjoyed this podcast, please spread the love! Like, subscribe, share it with your friends - and most importantly, please leave a rating or review, on whatever platform you’re listening from. The more positive ratings this show has, the more it will get promoted, and that means more beautiful listeners!

My many thanks go to:
Naomi Gibson - Texts editor, general consultor & dear friend
Marco Dray - Original music
Dagmara Śliwińska - Podcast cover photo
Moritz Wright - Podcast cover photo design
Thomas Bewernick -  Sound, recording, & being there every step of the way
My dear family - Because I love you
Last but not least - YOU. My dear listeners. You are the life and spirit behind the podcast. THANK YOU!

Welcome to the very first solo episode of Inside Contemporary Dance! In these mini-episodes, I’ll be sharing some stories, tips, hacks, strategies, and lessons I have collected over the course of my professional career. Hopefully, some of these can give you an edge in your own dance journey. In today’s episode, I am going to share a small “life hack” I recently discovered that could help you complete some tasks you have been postponing for a while. Tune in to hear more about my “get-to-do list” and transform your tasks from obligations to a source of abundance & gratitude.
Please enjoy!

Follow “Inside Contemporary Dance”:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insidecontemporarydance/
Website: https://www.insidecontemporarydance.com/

If you enjoyed this podcast, please spread the love! Like, subscribe, share it with your friends - and most importantly, please leave a rating or review, on whatever platform you’re listening from. The more positive ratings this show has, the more it will get promoted, and that means more beautiful listeners!

My many thanks go to:
Naomi Gibson - Texts editor, general consultor & dear friend
Marco Dray - Original music
Dagmara Śliwińska - Podcast cover photo
Moritz Wright - Podcast cover photo design
Thomas Bewernick -  Sound, recording, & being there every step of the way
My dear family - Because I love you
Last but not least - YOU. My dear listeners. You are the life and spirit behind the podcast. THANK YOU!

For this episode of “Inside Contemporary Dance”, I sat down to chat with the incredibly talented, deeply inspiring, Carlos González and Seth Buckley, who founded the contemporary dance company EYAS Dance Project.
 
Since its foundation in 2018, EYAS has presented works around the world, taken part in international dance Festivals, and received various awards from prestigious choreographic competitions. As part of the company’s manifesto, Carlos and Seth describe EYAS dance project as a queer company that supports female, femme, and LGBTQ+ creators. EYAS dance project honors and values physical differences, and transparent communication, and focuses on humanity as the basis of work. We discussed how these values are manifested in their lives, both inside the studio and out in the world. We talked about their creative processes, what it actually means to create a company, their call for reformation in dance companies and dance institutions, their vision for the future of the company (which also involved a shamanic drum ceremony … stay tuned for that…) and so much more!

Book recommendation:
The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor.

Follow EYAS Dance Project here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eyasdanceproject/
Website: https://www.eyasdanceproject.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EYASDANCEPROJECT/?ref=bookmarks

Follow “Inside Contemporary Dance”:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insidecontemporarydance/
Website: https://www.insidecontemporarydance.com/

If you enjoyed this podcast, please spread the love! Like, subscribe, share it with your friends - and most importantly, please leave a rating or review, on whatever platform you’re listening from. The more positive ratings this show has, the more it will get promoted, and that means more beautiful listeners!

My many thanks go to:
Ariel Isakowitz - Texts editor, general consultor & dear friend 
Carl Albrecht - Mix and sound
Marco Dray - Original music
Dagmara Śliwińska - Podcast cover photo
Moritz Wright - Podcast cover photo design
Thomas Bewernick -  Sound, recording, & being there every step of the way
My dear family - Because I love you
Last but not least - YOU. My dear listeners. You are the life and spirit behind the podcast. THANK YOU!

For this episode of “Inside Contemporary Dance”, I sat down to chat with Ido Gidron.

Ido is an Israeli performance artist, dancer, choreographer, and certified instructor of Gaga, the movement language developed by Ohad Naharin. He was born and raised in the mountains of Jerusalem and began his dance training in high school at The Jerusalem Academy for Music and Dance (where we also met for the first time!) Ido went on to dance for Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company II and nearly a year later was accepted to the Batsheva Ensemble, where he danced for 3 seasons, performing pieces by Ohad Naharin, Sharon Eyal, and Danielle Agami. Under the platform of Batsheva Ensemble Dancers Create, Ido had the opportunity to create three different pieces, including a duet called Dualism, which won 3rd prize in the Machol Shalem Choreography Competition in Jerusalem. The Duet was later performed at the Lucky Trimmer Dance Festival in Berlin and toured Internationally. At that point, by the way, Ido had only just turned 23… I know…
His professional career continued to unfold as he went on to dance for the Israeli Opera, was a guest dancer for the Norwegian National Ballet, and worked with independent choreographer Idan Sharabi. Most recently, with support from the Israeli Institute, Ido was invited to Kennesaw State University as an Artist-in-Residence. Currently, Ido dances for choreographers Sharon Vazanna, Arkadi Zaides, and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. 
Please enjoy!

Follow Ido to learn more about him, his classes, and future projects here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ido.gidron
Instagram Ido: @idogidron
Instagram Ido Gidron Dance Projects: @idogidrondanceprojects
Website:https://www.idogidron.com/

Follow “Inside Contemporary Dance”:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insidecontemporarydance/
Website: https://www.insidecontemporarydance.com/

If you enjoyed this podcast, please spread the love! Like, subscribe, share it with your friends - and most importantly, please leave a rating or review, on whatever platform you’re listening from. The more positive ratings this show has, the more it will get promoted, and that means more beautiful listeners!

My many thanks go to:
Ariel Isakowitz - Texts editor, general consultor & dear friend 
Marco Dray - Original music
Dagmara Śliwińska - Podcast cover photo
Moritz Wright - Podcast cover photo design
Thomas Bewernick -  Sound, recording, & being there every step of the way
My dear family - Because I love you
Last but not least - YOU. My dear listeners. You are the life and spirit behind the podcast. THANK YOU!

For this episode of “Inside Contemporary Dance”, I sat down to chat with Fernando Balsera.

Originally from Madrid, Fernando completed his dance education with a Postgraduate in Contemporary Dance at The Place in London. He has worked for MotionHouse Dance Theatre in the UK and Gabriella Maiorino, Lilach Livne, and Simone Sandroni in Amsterdam and Munich. Since 2011 Fernando has lived in Berlin. He has worked for Toula Limnaios, Shangchi Sun, Wee Dance Company-Gerhart Hauptmann Theater Görlitz, Hagit Yakira Dance (London, Uk), PlanMee (Nürnberg, Germany), Ruben Reniers (Berlin, Germany), Canan Erek (Berlin, Germany), Junk Ensemble (Ireland), Meg-Stuart (Berlin, Germany), Ivo Dimchev (Berlin, Germany), Luis Lara Malvacías and Jeremy Nelson (Berlin, Germany) among others. Fernando is currently working as a performer for Sasha Waltz and Guests and SZENE 2WEI.

Fernando’s expertise reaches far beyond the realm of dance. He has a Masters in Business Administration, is a Sports Massage Therapist, as well as a certified teacher in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, and the Search Inside Yourself program. So as you can guess, we had so much to talk about!

Fernando’s Recommendations:

Books:
1) “Mini Habits” by Stephen Guise
2) “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz
3) “Full Catastrophe Living” by Jon Kabat-Zinn
4) “Wherever You Go, There You Are” by Jon Kabat-Zinn

Others:
1) Yoga App: Glo
2) Martin E. P. Seligman: positive psychology.
3) The work of the scientist Dr. Kristin Neff; a great starting point for people interested in tapping into compassion training, mindfulness, etc...
4) Ted talk by Brenen brown: The Power Of Vulnerability.

Follow Fernando:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fernando.balsera
Instagram: @fernandobalsera
Website: https://www.fernandobalsera.com/

Follow “Inside Contemporary Dance”:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insidecontemporarydance/
Website: https://www.insidecontemporarydance.com/

If you enjoyed this podcast, please spread the love! Like, subscribe, share it with your friends - and most importantly, please leave a rating or review, on whatever platform you’re listening from. The more positive ratings this show has, the more it will get promoted, and that means more beautiful listeners!

My many thanks go to:
Ariel Isakowitz - Texts editor, general consultor & dear friend 
Carl Albrecht - Mix and sound
Marco Dray - Original music
Dagmara Śliwińska - Podcast cover photo
Moritz Wright - Podcast cover photo design
Thomas Bewernick -  Sound, recording, & being there every step of the way
My dear family - Because I love you
Last but not least - YOU. My dear listeners. You are the life and spirit behind the podcast. THANK YOU!

For this episode of “Inside Contemporary Dance”, I sat down to chat with my dear friend, and the beautiful dancer, Lisa Mariani.

Lisa was born in Cremona, Italy. Her professional education began at Scuola di Balletto Classico Cosi - Stefanescu, and was continued at Balletto di Toscana. She went on to receive a scholarship to train with the Peridance Capezio Center in New York City, where she graduated with Honors and Excellence in Contemporary Dance. Afterward, she apprenticed with Parsons Dance Company and began freelancing with companies and projects all around the world, working with choreographers such as Desmond Richardson, Robert Battle, and Igal Perry. In 2017, Lisa joined Balletto Teatro di Torino, where she has performed works by renowned choreographers such as Ella Rothschild, Andrea Costanzo Martini, Yin Yue, and Manfredi Perego.
Since 2019, she has also been a student of the Faculty of Motor Sciences, and she has been sharing her passion for physicality and the functional movement in various online projects.

During our conversation, we covered a variety of topics:
* Her brave decision to move to New York at 18 to pursue her career, and all the challenges along the way, including learning English from scratch, and having to spend a night sleeping in the streets.
* Her first experiences as a professional dancer in New York, the frenetic nature of freelance life, and the decision to pursue a career closer to her loved ones. 
* Her dedication to pursuing auditions and opportunities, doubts she’s had to overcome, the conviction that everything happens for a reason, and that every audition is an opportunity to learn and grow. 
* Putting together a video reel, audition applications, and choosing the “perfect outfits”. Is there a magic formula to get invited?
* Her experience dancing for Balletto Teatro di Torino.
* Rituals before performances.
* Her decision to start studying at the “University of Motor Sciences” in Turin, Italy, studying the mechanics of the body and working with non-dancers. 
* Her thoughts on a future after her professional performance career.
* How to balance work with private life and being with one’s partner. 
* Fighting the constant desire for more and “better,” and cultivating the art of happiness and gratitude for what is.

Lisa’s recommendations: 
1) “The thinking body” by Mabel Elsworth Todd.
2) Italian physician and coach: Filippo Ongaro.

Follow Lisa:
Facebook: @Lisa MarianiII
Instagram: @lisamariani7

Follow “Inside Contemporary Dance”:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insidecontemporarydance/
Website: https://www.insidecontemporarydance.com/

If you enjoyed this podcast, please spread the love! Like, subscribe, share it with your friends - and most importantly, please leave a rating or review, on whatever platform you’re listening from. The more positive ratings this show has, the more it will get promoted, and that means more beautiful listeners!

My many thanks go to:
Ariel Isakowitz - Texts editor, general consultor & dear friend 
Carl Albrecht - Mix and sound
Marco Dray - Original music
Dagmara Śliwińska - Podcast cover photo
Moritz Wright - Podcast cover photo design
Thomas Bewernick -  Sound, recording, & being there every step of the way
My dear family - Because I love you
Last but not least - YOU. My dear listeners. You are the life and spirit behind the podcast. THANK YOU!