Jennifer Backhaus is the founder and artistic director of Backhausdance, a contemporary dance company based in Orange County, CA. Backhausdance has an eclectic and dynamic vocabulary that is physically demanding, yet fluid and graceful. They have performed extensively at venues and festivals throughout California and will be making their East Coast debut at the Joyce SoHo in New York City March 5-6.

In this interview Jennifer talks about how she came to form the company in 2003, how she was able to fund the Joyce SoHo appearance through Kickstarter, and why it is important to make dance a part of every young person’s education.

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Irene Sazer is a violinist, composer, arranger and singer. She is the founder of the Real Vocal String Quartet, an ensemble that bends and mixes genres and combines vocal and string sounds into beautiful compositions.

In this interview Irene talks about how the group came together, why it’s important that every member have room to create their own music and what musical influences you’ll hear in their debut album.

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Paste Magazine has grown to become one of the most prominent rock magazines in the world, with coverage of music, film, books, games and television. Paste is leveraging its entertainment connections to raise money for Haiti earthquake relief through Songs for Haiti.

In this podcast we talk with Paste Magazine Publisher Nick Purdy about how Songs for Haiti works and how you can contribute.

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Catherine Filloux is a playwright who focuses on human rights and genocide, telling the stories of individuals and families affected by conflict. She has written several plays about the Cambodian genocide including Where Elephants Weep and Eyes of the Heart. She has been honored with numerous awards, including the Peace Writing Award, the Eric Kocher Playwrights Award, and the New Generations-Future Collaborations Award. Her most recent work, Dog and Wolf, is about a political refugee seeking asylum in the U.S. and her wheelchair-bound lawyer. It is premiering at 59E59 Theaters from February 5 – 21st.

In this interview Catherine talks about how she came to the subject matter of genocide, the sometimes unexpected turns her plays take, and the joy of collaborating with extraordinary people.

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