MSP 189: A Life in Dance with Amber Sloan

Amber Sloan’s life in dance has unfolded through curiosity, community, and constant reinvention. Growing up in Virginia, her early exposure to improvisation and composition in high school sparked not just a love of movement but a way of thinking that would shape her future. Her time at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign deepened that foundation and connected her with the people and places that helped her put down artistic roots. From piecing together income through unexpected jobs, to choreographing for the Joyce SoHo and seeking to scale her work in the years leading up to the pandemic, Amber has never shied away from the uncomfortable or the uncertain. She’s navigated performance anxiety, surgery and recovery, and the challenge of being involved in many facets of the dance world, from performing with David Parker to presenting work through platforms like Women in Motion. Today, with recent pieces like her show at Kestrels (set to return next year), she continues to build a career that defies the assumptions people often make about a life in dance. At the heart of it all is a simple, lasting dream: to keep exploring alongside the dancers who move her work forward. Thanks for listening.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Amber Sloan’s upbringing in Virginia and her introduction to dance. 

• How early experiences of improv and composition in high school shaped her career.

• Continuing her dance journey at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

• How the connections she made while studying helped her develop roots in dance.

• Working various jobs to pay the bills, including a role for Harvey Keitel’s wife.

• Choreographing for the Joyce SoHo. 

• Making an effort to do her work in a bigger way pre-pandemic. 

• Navigating performance anxiety and doing what is uncomfortable. 

• Being involved in many different areas of dance. 

• How a 2015 surgery and recovery impacted Amber’s career. 

• Dancing for David Parker: rehearsals, footwork, and more. 

• Amber’s presenting work, including Women in Motion and more. 

• Recent work including a show at Kestrels which will show again next year. 

• Why a life in dance is often not what you might expect. 

• Her ultimate dream for her work.

Amber Sloan is a choreographer, performer, teacher, and producer based in Jersey City and the New York City area.

For more on Amber and Show Notes & Links: The Moving Architects

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Check out The Moving Architects on State of the Arts on PBS