nccakron podcast

Jesse Factor's (Slippery Rock, PA) growing repertoire of solo work combines a speculative view of queer histories and the archive with contemporary composition practices. He has created Mommie Queerest, presented at Queers in Revolt at Sam Houston University in 2019, Kween Kong presented at the Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival in 2017, and Marthagany: the Spectre-Acle series, which continues to tour at dance festivals, performance events, and nightclubs. Jesse Factor’s studied channeling of divas in exile--from time and body--hauntingly reflects the impressions they’ve left behind.

Awards include the Twin Cities Arts Reader Critics Pick and Minnesota Fringe Staff Pick for RELIC at the Minnesota Fringe Festival and Outstanding Dance Performance for Marthagany at the Fresh Fruit Festival-NYC. Jesse received the Kelly Strayhorn Alloy Studios Freshworks residency grant (Pittsburgh, PA) for a collaborative work with multimedia artist Scott Andrew.

Factor’s work has been presented in many American and international venues including TQ Live! at the Andy Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh), OUTsider Festival (Austin), Milton Art Bank (Milton), RADfest (Kalamazoo), St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery (NYC), Fresh Fruit Festival (NYC), House of Yes, (NYC), and Fierce Queer Burlesque (Toronto).

Factor received the Iowa Arts Fellowship (2015-2016) and an Obermann Graduate Institute Fellowship (2017) at the University of Iowa. Jesse danced professionally with the Martha Graham Dance Company and Graham II, received a BFA in Drama with honors from Tisch/NYU, and an MFA in Dance from the University of Iowa.

EPISODE LINKS

• jessefactor.com
• blackcube.art/blog/chimera

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Bebe Miller (Columbus, OH), an American choreographer, dancer, and director, first performed her work at NYC’s Dance Theater Workshop in 1978. Interested in “finding a physical language for the human condition,” she formed Bebe Miller Company in 1985. The Company has performed extensively in the UK, Europe, Africa, and throughout the US. Miller's choreography, noted for its mix of virtuosic, athletic speed, and fragile humanity, has been commissioned by Oregon Ballet Theatre, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Boston Ballet, Philadanco, the UK’s Phoenix Dance Company, and PACT Dance Company of Johannesburg, South Africa. She was named a Master of African American Choreography by the Kennedy Center, has received four Bessie awards, United States Artists and Guggenheim Fellowships, honorary doctorates from Ursinus College and Franklin & Marshall College, and is one of the inaugural class of Doris Duke Artist Award recipients.

EPISODE LINKS 

• bebemillercompany.org
• bebemillercompany.org/projects/dancefort
• themakingroom.org
• Bebe's E-book How Dancing is Built: The Making of In A Rhythm
  bebemillercompany.org/projects/in-a-rhythm-e-book
• Dancer Darrell Drive in a solo from A History (2012)
  vimeo.com/399322591

Join our mailing list - nccakron.org/engage
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Follow NCCAkron on Instagram - instagram.com/nccakron