In this moving episode of the Dance Maker podcast, host Michele Painter speaks with choreographer and movement educator Judy Kurjan-Frank about her deeply personal solo work, Birth Plan / Dear Child, performed at the 2024 Small Plates Choreography Festival. Judy shares how becoming a mother of three—especially the birth of her third child—inspired the movement, themes, and emotional layers of her choreography. Through collaborative creation, recorded poetry, and embodied memory, she explores how dance can serve as both expression and healing during transformative life experiences. The conversation touches on unlearning ballet habits, reconnecting with selfhood in postpartum life, and the universality of love conveyed through movement.

You can find out more about Judy on IG @judeschmoods.

The recorded poetry was written by Claire Taylor.

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Photos: Matt Kelley (Judy Kurjan-Frank) and Brian Wolfe www.instagram.com/brianarmoured212

Music: Foundations, Shimmer, Matthew Wigton, A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION