Dan Safer is artistic director of the dance-theater company Witness Relocation. WR questions the assumptions of the modern day experience through intensely physical, outrageous, and poetic performance. Dan’s work has been presented in the US and abroad; he is a 2007-9 recipient of the Six Points Fellowship (Performance) from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture, and the winner of two NY Innovative Theater Awards.

In this interview Dan talks about Witness Relocation’s dance residency with the Patravadi Theater in Bangkok, their most recent work, Panic Show, and his stint choreographing the Miss Air Hostess Beauty Pageant in Thailand.

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Swedish acoustic folk icons Väsen have been touring the US in support of their recently released album Väsen Street.

We spoke with nyckelharpa player Olov Johansson about the origins of the music, the emotional connection with their audiences, and why fans from the Lotus Festival in Bloomington, Indiana are naming a street after the trio.

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Composer/percussionist Lukas Ligeti’s music is a unique fusion of acoustic and electronic music, incorporating musical influences from around the world. He has received numerous awards, grants, and composition commissions from multiple organizations, including the Vienna Festwochen, the Kronos Quartet and the Festival of New American Music. In the Fall of 2009 Ligeti and his band Burkina Electric will collaborate with choreographer Karole Armitage in an evening-length performance at BAM’s Next Wave Festival.

In this interview Lukas talks about how he incorporated electronics into his music, the vitality of cultural exchange, and his more recent collaborations.

Photo Credit: Chris Woltmann

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Jazz musician and composer Miguel Zenón was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He studied classical saxophone in high school, and later jazz at the Berklee School of Music and Manhattan School of Music. He is a founding member of the SF Jazz Collective and has released five recordings as a Leader. In 2008 Miguel was awarded both a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship and a MacArthur Grant. His new recording, titled Esta Plena, will be available in stores October 20, 2009.

In this podcast Miguel talks about the folkloric tradition of plena music, how he incorporated it into compositions, and why he likes to teach.

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