THESE LEGS MUST DANCE

I'll be taking a break for a few weeks, I'll be back next year. If you would like to be a guest in the new year, apply HERE If you would like to be on the email list about the podcast and other offerings from THESE LEGS MUST DANCE you can do so HERE If you would like to be on the Small Plates Choreography Festival mailing list you can join HERE To request a session with me, use THIS LINK Call (845) 418-6185 to leave a voice mail for this podcast and let us know what you think.

A native from Seattle, Mariah Eastman graduated in 2017 with a degree in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University Mariah danced in Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble’s production of A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer February 2018. She presented a Chicago debut at J e l l o: Let’s Get Technical (Live from Chicago!) in April 2018. In June she was selected as a choreographer for Project Bound Dance’s One Hour Project. Mariah’s solo “Tidbits and Beginnings” was premiered at Built On Stilts Dance Festival in Martha’s Vineyard. Another of one of her solos “Efforts of Contemplation” was presented at “The Performance Party” at Arts On Site in August 2018. Her piece “Live From Chicago!” was chosen to be performed at Small Plates Choreography Festival in Brooklyn, NY in October 2018. In late October, her solo “A Look in the Mirror” was chosen for the BUILT production at Links Hall in Chicago. This January, her piece “Gesturing Steps” was selected for the Trifecta Dance Collective’s A New Light Choreography Showcase. “Efforts of Contemplation” was chosen through an adjudication process to be performed at Baltimore Dance Invitational in February 2019. It was also selected for the 17th Annual Mid-Atlantic Choreographers Showcase in Richmond, VA. Eastman was also selected to participate as a choreographer for Simantikos 2nd Annual Choreo Kick-off in August 2019. She premiered her first evening length work “Patternalia” in September 2020, a virtual performance exploring the process of dreaming through live dance, dance film and projections. Then in June 2021, she presented Café Cortado, a collaboration with local Chicago coffee shops using live stream dance, recorded interviews and dance film. Her most current project is the Holiday Dance Carol, in conjunction with Dovetail Dance Studios, Dance on Broadway and Intrigue Dance all in Chicago, IL. Read more HERE and HERE and look for Mariah and dancers to come knocking on your door this holiday season. Find Mariah online HERE Instagram @mariahdchoreography Facebook @mariahdchoreography ------- Book a six session package of healing sessions with Beth McKee Elliott, Somatic Practitioner before December 31, 2021.

Jessie Levey is the Founder and Director of Barefoot Dance Center in West Park NY She was recently awared "Outstanding Dance Educator" by the New York State Dance Education Association Barefoot Dance Company will be holding a performance on December 11 at the Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck. This unique company of young dancers will perform several innovative modern dance pieces in a delightful concert.  Bring your kids as the event is family friendly. Audience members of all ages will find the variety of work exciting and inspiring. Part of The CENTER's Saturday Morning Family Series. Find Barefoot Dance Cennter online Facebook: @barefootdancecenter  Instagram: @barefootdancecenter Twitter: @BarefootDanceNY

Rain Ross is an artist and educator who recognizes that art brings people together to develop and maintain community and give voice. Art is about sharing, communicating, and connecting. Her work has been presented nationally and internationally, and she helped to found and run the International Dance Day Festival in Lebanon which ran for over a decade. She is currently an Associate Professor of Dance at Stockton University. Instagram: @rainrossdance ------------------ Request a 1:1 Somatic Session with Beth Elliott HERE

Shannon K. Maria aka Shanz is a cultural practitioner of Hawaiian dance and a member of the Halau (Hula School) Kiawe kūpono O Ka Ua Hula drives him by helping him reconnect to his roots and Hawaiian culture, much of which was lost and/or taken away during the illegal overthrow and occupation of Hawai‘i by the United States. He is passionate about bringing awareness to all that has been forgotten and steadfast in his responsibility to perpetuate, protect, and preserve the culture of the Hawaiian people and bring it back to life. TikTok: Shanz808  IG: Shanz808_

Shannon K. Maria aka Shanz is a cultural practitioners of Hawaiian dance and a member of the Halau (Hula School) Kiawe kūpono O Ka Ua Hula drives him by helping him reconnect to his roots and Hawaiian culture, much of which was lost and/or taken away during the illegal overthrow and occupation of Hawai‘i by the United States. He is passionate about bringing awareness to all that has been forgotten and steadfast in his responsibility to perpetuate, protect, and preserve the culture of the Hawaiian people and bring it back to life. TikTok: Shanz808  IG: Shanz808_

Don't wait until the holidays are over to reach out for support and help. Start your somatic practice through one-on-one sessions with me now, and stay centered, grounded, and present this holiday season. Six session packages, good for six months, are currently $700. DM me on Instagram @theselegsdance, request a session on Facebook, or reach out to bethmcelliott@gmail.com to schedule. ----------------------- Shilpa Darivemula is a former creative director and board member of the Aseemkala Initiative, a group of artists, scientists, and physicians who use our traditional dances to perform stories of healthcare inequity. We are activists who believe that diversity in healthcare stories should be represented by diverse women through diverse traditional dances, empowering unique women while reminding the medical community about the shared goal of improving the human condition equitably. She is also the creator of the Reimagining Medicine Festival which is in its second year. This festival uses the arts and dance to address issues around bias and racism in medicine. This was well received at its inaugural festival locale at Geisel Medical School. Shilpa was instrumental in creating the American Medical Women’s Association Dance and Theater Task Force. As co-chair, she was able to bring dance into the forefront in this organization and elevate other dancer-healthcare provider voices and experiences. Her passion is this blend and creating space for other artists to bring their creativity to medical settings. They publish their dance related work in several major medical journals. Please see the conference and publications over the years here:  https://aseemkala.org/portfolio-3/  https://www.amwa-doc.org/dance-theater-and-medicine/ Facebook: aseemkalainitiative Instagram: the_aseemkala_initiative

clyde forth is a performer and choreographer whose primary interest is the exploration of infinite connections. The mission of Lokasparśa Dance Projects is to dismantle barriers through experiences in dance performance and somatic education, and to serve people by bringing them together with a sense of intimacy, wonder and self-knowing. Her previous performance company, Clyde Forth Visual Theatre, was active for 10 full seasons; from 2003 to 2013 and presented in NYC, Woodstock NY, Baltimore MD, Washington DC, Troy, NY, Bethlehem, NH and Edinburgh, Scotland over the years. In 2013, she entered a year of residential Zen training at Zen Mountain Monastery in Mount Tremper, NY and then a second year that ended on September 25, 2016. That experience and my continued practice there since 2007 deeply informed the founding of Lokasparśa Dance Projects, and continues to be the underpinning of my work. LDP has presented work in NYC, Woodstock NY, and Kingston NY so far. We are hoping to do a larger tour of our current piece next year. Awards Mount Tremper Arts fully supported residency ASK for Arts Production Residency at Arts Society of Kingston Dance Omi International Choreographers' Residency, Ghent NY Artward Bound Residency, The Field, NYC Commission, Latitude 53 Art Space, Edmonton Alberta Lokasparśa Dance Projects on Instagram: @clyde.forth on Facebook: lokasparsadance website: lokasparsadance.org email: clydeforth@gmail.com Movement from Center on Instagram: @movementfromcenter on Facebook: movementfromcenter website: movementfromcenter.com email: clyde@movementfromcenter.com

Sarah Renny is a dancer, choreographer, an entrepreneur, a nurse, and a mom. She is a co-founder of Haven Movement Company and creator/teacher at Blooming Buds Enrichment, a nature and movement-based educational program for young children and their parents. Also follow Stonegate Farms and WildSide Hudson Valley

Kista Tucker, Director of Kista Tucker Insights and a woman of many hats - dancer, choreographer, writer, movie maker, performer, former university professor of dance, and cartwheeling septegenarian.  “Off the Marley” Discussions for the Curious October 17, 24 at 2pm (ET)  https://kistatucker.com/off-the-marley A gathering for people intrigued in examining a plethora of aspects of the arts and of life. For those rapt in Movement Arts, Writing, Theater, Music, Visual Arts, and more. We will draw lines, find connections,  refine and broaden understandings. We will contemplate, kick around, and  chew on topics such as: techniques, style, composition, perspective,  approach, and more… We may trace where topics migrate.   

Lucia Gagliardone is Vermont-born, Washington DC based choreographer and dance artist. In her work, she deals with themes of healing and community, relationships with the earth and water, disintegration and wholeness, and various iterations of the self. Her work and performance are grounded in modern dance and improvisation, with a fascination for quotidian life as a foundation for choreography. Lucia is interested in storytelling and sees creating dance as a process of empathy. www.luciagagliardone.com Instagram: @lucia.gagliardone.dance Lucia's upcoming work, The Hollow, is being premiered both virtually and live in Washington DC in November.  On November 5th at 8pm, The Hollow will  be presented virtually as part of Coalescence, a visual and performing  arts showing. On November 14th at 3 pm, a full length, live version of The Hollow will  premiere as part of a pop-up show in a DC park, also produced and  created by Lucia. Finally, on November 20th at 7 pm in Fairfax, VA, The Hollow will  be performed as part of Transformations, produced by DanceArtTheater.   All information and links to join can be found using the link in Lucia's instagram bio.

Carlye and Beth talk about the inner thought world of the dancer and the relationship that dancers have with their own bodies. Carlye Eckert is a dance maker and artist and a founding partner at Chapman Steamer Arts in Newburgh, NY.  In this episode she talks about her history as an artist and dancer, how she survived the pandemic as a professional dancer, and her vision for post-pandemic artist support in her home community. @chapmansteamerarts Beth McKee Elliott is a dancer, a choreographer, a dance producer, and a somatic practitioner. She holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Hawai‘i and is certified in Laban/Bartinieff Movement Analysis, Core Energetics, Restorative Yoga, and energy healing modalities. She is the creator and director of Small Plates Choreography Festival, Haven Movement Company, and in private practice offering one-on-one somatic healing. She practices and promotes mindful creativity, and advocates for women with Lipedema. She lives a double life as crochet instructor Betty McKnit. @bethmcelliott @theselegsdance @smallplatesdance @havenmovement @bettymcknit

I can't tell my story without telling the story of how I found out I had Lipedema, and how it affected my dance career. For more information about Lipedema, visit The Lipedema Project. Beth McKee Elliott is a dancer, a choreographer, a dance producer, and a somatic practitioner. She holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Hawai‘i and is certified in Laban/Bartinieff Movement Analysis, Core Energetics, Restorative Yoga, and energy healing modalities. She is the creator and director of Small Plates Choreography Festival, Haven Movement Company, and in private practice offering one-on-one somatic healing. She practices and promotes mindful creativity, and advocates for women with Lipedema. She lives a double life as a crochet instructor named Betty McKnit. Upcoming in Newburgh, New York Newburgh Open Studios September 25/26 from 12:00 - 6:00 http://www.newburghopenstudios.org/ http://www.chapmansteamerarts.org/newburgh-open-studios Performances at 3pm and 7:30pm on Saturday 9/25 and Sunday 2/26 RSVP is required and there is limited capacity for each performance.

Carlye Eckert is a dance maker and artist and a founding partner at Chapman Steamer Arts in Newburgh, NY.  In this episode she talks about her history as an artist and dancer, how she survived the pandemic as a professional dancer, and her vision for post-pandemic artist support in her home community. Chapman Steamer Arts will be participating in Newburgh Open Studios on Saturday 9/25 and Sunday 2/26 Performances will take place at 3pm and 7:30pm. RSVP is required and there is limited capacity for each performance. RSVP here Instagram @chapmansteamerarts @newburghopenstudios

In this inaugural episode, I start off by telling the story of how I came to be a dance maker and why I started this podcast.  Beth McKee Elliott is a dancer, a choreographer, a dance producer, and a somatic practitioner. She holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Hawai‘i and is certified in Laban/Bartinieff Movement Analysis, Core Energetics, Restorative Yoga, and energy healing modalities. She is the creator and director of Small Plates Choreography Festival, Haven Movement Company, and in private practice offering one-on-one somatic healing. She practices and promotes mindful creativity, and advocates for women with Lipedema. She lives a double life as a crochet instructor named Betty McKnit.

Welcome to THESE LEGS MUST DANCE THESE LEGS MUST DANCE Podcast is about the power of dance to express, heal, transform, and to hold and tell our stories, and for having illuminating conversations about the creativity, passion, and resilience in dance making. I'm Beth McKee Elliott and I am a lifelong dancer, dance maker, educator, and producer, a somatic movement practitioner and healer, and a woman with Lipedema. Dance is my soul’s deepest expression and has been the keystone of my identity for as long as I can remember. I wanted to start this podcast to talk to dance makers about about the inspiration, the passion, the resilience, and the meaning behind the dances they make. We will hear from the dance makers, the joy makers, the the culture makers, the meaning makers, and learn what calls them to dance, and to discover their challenges, and their journeys to overcome them, and to learn where we can engage with their work and see their dances brought to life. Join me in conversations to uncover why THESE AND MANY OTHER LEGS MUST DANCE. If you would like to be interviewed as a guest, please join the mailing list and complete an application.