Body and Soul: Vicky Shick: The refuge we take in trust

Vicky Shick (photo: Alan Mandell)

 

Describing this photo, Vicky Shick writes:

I am sitting on a gray bench with a bunch of green leaves behind me. My hair is loosely piled.on top of my head. I am wearing a dark gray sweater - a light green collar is sticking out and around my neck is a colorful gray, red and pink scarf.

In this episode of Body and Soul podcast, the respected, award-winning artist and educator Vicky Shick discusses the challenge and "universal necessity" of trust in a time of widespread distrust and anxiety. As an artist, she sources trust in "the innate intelligence in our bodies" and "in the vulnerable practice of creation."

Listen to Vicky's episode here. And scroll down to learn more about her work!

Vicky Shick has been involved in the New York dance community for four decades--teaching, performing, and making pieces. She feels grateful to all the incredible people with whom she has worked. She was a member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company and staged several of Brown’s dances, including in her hometown, Budapest. Previously, she was a member of the Sara Rudner Performance Ensemble. Vicky has developed student pieces at Barnard, The New School and Yale, among other institutions. Her last two works were at Arts on Site, and a collaborative performance at Roulette with choreographer/artist Jon Kinzel. In New York City, she teaches at Movement Research, for the Trisha Brown Dance Company and has taught for 15 years at Hunter College. She was a Movement Research Artist-in-Residence (twice), a Bessie recipient (twice), a grant recipient from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, a Gibney DiP grantee, and a Guggenheim Fellow.

BODY AND SOUL: Heather Robles: Reclaiming aliveness

Heather Robles (photo: AK47 Division)

In this headshot of Heather, she smiles while facing the camera, her brown hair pulled back in a bun, while wearing red lipstick, red dangly earrings, and a black suit jacket with white shirt underneath.

Heather Robles gently beckons us out of the numbness we might have slipped into as the world feels so hard right now. What do we desire and how can desire and curiosity awaken and guide us forward towards joy?

You'll notice this episode has no background music. I didn't need or want that sound to cover Frijolito's snoring!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN!

Heather Robles (photo: by Keith A Manning)

Black and white photo shows Heather in a full body position back arched up, arms above head and hands furled like a plant about to unfold, her legs standing with one knee bent and foot forced arch. She is in front of a window with city lights showing through, the floor wooden. She is wearing a long asymmetrical sleeveless top and black leggings while barefoot.

Heather Robles is a nondisabled queer Latinx cis woman of Indigenous Mexican descent who lives on the stolen land of the Lenape and Canarsie peoples in what is colonially called Brooklyn. She is Founder and Artistic Executive Director of Alma Dance Company. As a choreographer and performer, she has worked with many artists including Yvonne Rainer, Sidra Bell, Pavel Zuštiak, Nathan Trice, DANCENOISE, André M. Zachery, Buglisi Dance Theater, Fredrick Earl Mosley, Suzzanne Ponomarenko Dance, The Equus Projects. She is also the Executive Director of the New York Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, and a certified birth doula at Our Birth Doula. Heather is also a dance educator, teaching artist, producer, and advocate for mental health in the dance field. https://www.almadanceco.com