The Dance Union

Mar 30 2025 137 ep. 75 mins 176
The Dance Union Podcast artwork

A place to share ideas. A place to voice concerns. A place to demand change. A space of resistance. A space to unify. A podcast.

  Arts
RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


What Is Happening to Dance Funding?

Mar 30 2025 62 mins  
This week, we are grateful to be joined by Bex Ferrell (they/she), Assistant Professor in Arts Management at the College of Charleston, and Candace Thompson-Zachery (she/her), the Co-Executive Director for Dance/NYC! What is happening to dance funding right now, both in the micro- and macrosphere? Where is there funding still? While the funding from the NEA is a concern for many in

Identifying Cults and Grooming in Dance

Mar 18 2025 97 mins  
TRIGGER WARNINGS: CULTS AND GROOMING In what ways can we identify dance and entertainment industries as cults? How do these industries groom us to accept a specific type of abuse or neglect while working in those industries? Veronica and j. discuss what constitutes a cult and grooming, their own experiences with it in and outside of these industries, and the importance of also a

Resilient Dance Industries

Mar 11 2025 73 mins  
In this episode, j. and Veronica are joined by Stacey Badgett Jr. to talk about funding and community in the arts. With funding being rescinded for the arts, how will the structures that the dancers in the dance industry, having some of the smallest amounts of funding, be adapted to other sectors of the arts and entertainment industries? In what ways has the dance community been th

Can We Televise The Revolution?

Feb 20 2025 85 mins  
Recorded the day after the Super Bowl, Veronica and j. share their own definitions and experiences of community, building on the work done by others long before the January inauguration, in response to the fear expressed and the calls for community that have spread across social media. They then analyze Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance, immediately posing the critical ques

Dismantling the Master’s House

Feb 11 2025 96 mins  
We passed the mic to Mario Ismael Espinoza (they/them), who is part of the Entertainment Community Fund, and David Herrera (he/him), who discussed the creation and evolution of Herrera’s Latinx Hispanic Dancers over the last 20 years. Through this discussion, they unravel how Herrera’s perspective of his future career evolved as he began to envision the inception of Latinx Hisp

Town Hall - Surviving Fascism

Jan 30 2025 66 mins  
Town Hall - Surviving Fascism by J. Bouey Dance Projects

Fires, Inauguration, and AI

Jan 21 2025 45 mins  
From fires signifying the acceleration of the climate disaster to Trump’s inauguration and subsequent executive orders, 2025 is already giving us a premonition of what is to come. Join V and j. as they unpack what this might mean for our near future and how we can rely on community to keep a sound mind. Most of all, with how quickly AI becomes integrated into our everyday lives,

Defying Gravity and the Haters

Dec 10 2024 122 mins  
THERE ARE WICKED SPOILERS IN THIS EPISODE BEGINNING AT 21:30 AND CONTINUING UNTIL THE END OF THE EPISODE. In this episode, j. and Veronica analyze the lyrics of “Defying Gravity”, reflecting on their experiences as and understanding with Elphaba and Glinda. From scrutinizing the memes that are being made about Nessarose as a disabled character to discussing their own experien

Wicked

Dec 03 2024 67 mins  
j. and Veronica geek out over Wicked (spoiler free), and use inspiration from the movie’s themes and release to dive into the beauty of trying new things throughout adulthood, Veronica’s experience being signed (congrats!!!), and their vulnerable moments they have experienced in the dance studio. How has Qigong helped Veronica through her journey with depression? What is the em

To Cast, Or Not To Cast...

Nov 26 2024 87 mins  
Veronica is joined by guest Jonathan Smith (he/him) to scrutinize the modes of gatekeeping enacted by sign up sheet culture for open call auditions, union access, and casting directors. How can casting directors who are unknowledgeable about the dance forms they are casting in become gatekeepers, despite good intentions? In the age of technology, are casting directors even needed a