MSP 153: Margaret Beals

The Art of Improvisation with Margaret Beals

For today’s guest, dancing without inhibitions is what has fed her soul for more than 8 decades.  Joining us on Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast is the incredible dance improvisation innovator Margaret Beals to tell us all about her years of dancing and her new documentary, Dancing Without Steps. Tuning in, you’ll hear all about our guest’s privileged upbringing, her longing to be free, dancing in her home and the streets of New York City, and why she always stood out as a dancer. She walks us through her early adulthood, dance classes, club and cabaret days, and teaching before explaining how she dealt with being so different. With an amazing ability to perform improvised solo concerts that combined dance, text, music, and humor, she tells us how she realized she was so unlike others in her generation. Finally, Margaret shares her experience of creating her film with us. So to hear all about improvisation and to be inspired to embrace your authentic self, tune in now!

Key Points From This Episode:

·       Margaret tells us about her upbringing and how she started dancing.

·       How she knew her lifestyle was different and why she wanted to be free. 

·       Her experience of dancing in her front hall, moving to New York, and dancing in the streets. 

·       She tells us her opinion of the definition of ‘talent’ and why she always stood out. 

·       What Margaret wanted to do when she was in her 20s and her time doing cabarets and clubs.

·       Margaret tells us about how she got started with teaching. 

·       She shares the secret to moving and talking at the same time.

·       How she navigated the challenge of feeling like she doesn’t belong. 

·       Getting the rights to Sylvia Plath’s works and performing poetry in an original play.  

·       How Margaret shares her methodologies with dancers.

·       Margaret shares what she is working on in her field now. 

·       How her movie, Dancing Without Steps, became a reality.

·       The importance of accepting your unapologetically unique self. 

“I don’t think I danced to please. I danced the way I danced and hoped everybody would see it.” — Margaret Beals

During her 50 year career, Margaret Beals pioneered the use of improvisation in dance performance, often using her speaking voice.  In her new film, Dancing Without Steps: The Art of Improvisation with Margaret Beals, audiences are offered glimpses of Ms. Beals’ work along with insights into her philosophies on improvisation across artistic genres. 

Learn more about Margaret Beals HERE and the film Dancing Without Steps

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More info links from this episode: Movers & Shapers 

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