Robert Pranzatelli on Pilobolus: twists, tumbling, and transformative dance

We take a deep dive into a single dance company – the tumbling, twisty, transporting Pilobolus – through the eyes of Robert Pranzatelli, who has written a wonderfully involving book about the company and its work. Pilobolus began in 1971, at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. It grew out of dance classes held at the then all-male university, and soon found a following in the US and beyond – one early description of their work was Dr Seuss meets Monty Python. Seeing them perform also changed Robert Pranzatelli’s life, as he tells us.Robert Pranzatelli is the author of a number of essays published by the Paris Review and other literary journals, and a longtime staff member of Yale University Press. His book Pilobolus: A Story of Dance and Life is published by the University Press of Florida.Robert’s book: https://www.ubcpress.ca/pilobolusPilobolus in New York: https://pilobolus.org/tour-dates/2025/the-joyce"Why Dance Matters" is a dance podcast featuring inspiring conversations with extraordinary people from the world of dance and beyond. Hosted by David Jays, editor of Dance Gazette, this podcast explores how dance shapes lives and why it matters to us all. Brought to you by the RAD, which inspires the world to dance, these insightful stories will surprise and delight. Tune in and discover more on our website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jun 19, 2025

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We take a deep dive into a single dance company – the tumbling, twisty, transporting Pilobolus – through the eyes of Robert Pranzatelli, who has written a wonderfully involving book about the company and its work. Pilobolus began in 1971, at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. It grew out of dance classes held at the then all-male university, and soon found a following in the US and beyond – one early description of their work was Dr Seuss meets Monty Python. Seeing them perform also changed Robert Pranzatelli’s life, as he tells us.Robert Pranzatelli is the author of a number of essays published by the Paris Review and other literary journals, and a longtime staff member of Yale University Press. His book Pilobolus: A Story of Dance and Life is published by the University Press of Florida.Robert’s book: https://www.ubcpress.ca/pilobolusPilobolus in New York: https://pilobolus.org/tour-dates/2025/the-joyce"Why Dance Matters" is a dance podcast featuring inspiring conversations with extraordinary people from the world of dance and beyond. Hosted by David Jays, editor of Dance Gazette, this podcast explores how dance shapes lives and why it matters to us all. Brought to you by the RAD, which inspires the world to dance, these insightful stories will surprise and delight. Tune in and discover more on our website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Robert Pranzatelli on Pilobolus: twists, tumbling, and transformative dance

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