About The American Spectacle: Dance, Art & Culture Podcast
The American Spectacle is a dance and arts podcast hosted by author and artist Tom Flagg, featuring in-depth conversations with dancers, choreographers, and cultural leaders.
Each episode explores dance, artistic identity, and the role of art in shaping culture, with insights from professionals working across contemporary dance, musical theater, and performance.
From dance history and creative process to mentorship, representation, and the politics of art, the series offers a behind-the-scenes look at the artists shaping today’s cultural landscape.
Guests include Peter Chu, Michelle Audet, Jamal Story, Marcus Smith, Alexandra Wells, and Shaun Taylor-Corbett.
Marcus Smith on Community Revitalization Through Arts and Leadership
Marcus Smith joins Thomas King Flagg to discuss how arts programming can strengthen communities, support young people, and create real local momentum. The conversation focuses on Brevard and Melbourne but offers a broader framework: culture grows through consistent platforms, safe spaces, committed leadership, and sustainable models. Smith is a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, financial advisor, and community organizer focused on arts, culture, and entertainment as tools for civic r...
11 Apr 2026
Jamal Story on Dance, Identity, and Arts Education
Jamal Story joins Thomas King Flagg for a conversation on dance, identity, and why arts education matters far beyond the stage. Episode 3 connects personal story with practical leadership: how artists grow, how communities benefit, and how institutions build lasting cultural impact. For dancers, educators, and arts leaders, the focus is clear: rigorous training, public engagement, and long-term investment in young people. Story is a performer, choreographer, and educator whose work spans conc...
11 Apr 2026
Michelle Audet on Building Dance Audiences Through Education
Michelle Audet joins Thomas King Flagg for a conversation about what actually builds the future of dance: education, producing, and intentional audience development. Episode 2 moves beyond headlines and into systems. Through decades of work at the highest levels of the arts, including founding leadership in education at New York City Ballet, Audet has focused on one central question: how do you design access to live performance in a way that lasts? Her career began with an early realization t...
11 Apr 2026
Rafael Xavier on Breaking, Storytelling, and Mentorship
Rafael Xavier joins Thomas King Flagg for a conversation on breaking, creativity, and what it takes to build a durable artistic life. The episode traces Xavier’s path from early hip hop influence to choreography, theater, filmmaking, and youth mentorship. For artists and educators, it offers practical lessons on discipline, curiosity, and meeting young people where they are. Xavier is a breaker, choreographer, and interdisciplinary artist known for blending hip hop movement with theater, visu...
11 Apr 2026
Peter Chu on Finding the Rhythm Within (Dance & Leadership)
Choreographer and director Peter Chu joins Thomas King Flagg for a conversation on craft, identity, and the belief that movement education should be accessible to every child. From the Bronx to Cocoa Beach, and from a late pivot in training to Juilliard School, Chu’s journey is anything but linear. His path reflects a mix of discipline, adaptability, and creative range shaped by breaking, martial arts, athletics, and formal dance. In this episode, Chu shares how those influences formed his mo...
11 Apr 2026
Elka Samuels Smith on Tap Dance, Culture, and Arts Advocacy
Elka Samuels Smith joins Thomas King Flagg for a conversation about dance as family legacy, cultural language, and public responsibility. The episode explores tap history, dance management, arts funding, and what it takes to rebuild dance ecosystems in local communities. For artists, educators, and presenters, it offers a practical view of how dance sustains itself: intergenerational mentorship, credible business support, and long-term advocacy. Smith is a producer, manager, and dance advocat...
30 Dec 2025
Ruthie Rosenfeld on Preserving American Dance History and Legacy
Ruthie Rosenfeld joins Thomas King Flagg to discuss American dance legacy, archival responsibility, and the importance of preserving artistic history before it disappears. The episode centers on the life and influence of Zachary Solov and the broader ecosystems that shaped American dance. For artists, scholars, and institutions, it reinforces a clear idea: preservation is active work, not passive remembrance. Rosenfeld is a cultural steward and advocate involved in dance-lineage preservation ...
16 Dec 2025
Bill Shipley on Arts Funding, Community Spaces, and Cultural Access
Bill Shipley joins Thomas King Flagg for a conversation about the practical side of building arts culture: funding, infrastructure, and sustained local support. The episode examines how dance and creative programs can be integrated into everyday civic life. For organizers and advocates, the message is clear: if communities want arts to grow, they need spaces, systems, and long-term commitment. Shipley is a community-focused leader whose work centers on local engagement, educational opportunit...
5 Dec 2025
Carol Cusack on Irish Dance, Community, and Cultural Continuity
Carol Cusack joins Thomas King Flagg to discuss Irish dance, community traditions, and the social role of performance culture. The conversation explores how dance lives both on formal stages and in everyday spaces. For artists and organizers, the takeaway is clear: dance remains strongest where participation is active and intergenerational. Cusack brings lived experience from Irish cultural contexts where dance, music, and community gathering are closely connected. She reflects on influences ...
18 Nov 2025
Anna Morgan on Dance Research, Training, and the Thinking Dancer
Anna Morgan joins Thomas King Flagg to discuss dance education through the lens of research, pedagogy, and studio practice. The episode centers on a key question: what kind of dancer are we training for today’s landscape? Morgan’s answer is clear: technical capacity matters, but so do agency, creativity, and critical thinking. Morgan is a dance researcher and educator working across studio training, curriculum development, and broader arts discourse. Her work bridges practical teaching and an...
4 Nov 2025
Shaun Taylor-Corbett on Broadway, Indigenous Storytelling, and Dance
Shaun Taylor-Corbett joins Thomas King Flagg for a conversation on performance, cultural storytelling, and what it takes to sustain excellence on major stages. For performers and producers, the episode offers a practical model for combining commercial excellence with cultural integrity. Taylor-Corbett is a stage and screen performer with Broadway credits and a background shaped by dance, theater, and choreography influences at home. He reflects on training across movement styles and the deman...
22 Oct 2025
Alexandra Wells on Ballet Legacy, Reinvention, and Dance Leadership
Alexandra Wells joins Thomas King Flagg for a conversation about ballet legacy, artistic resilience, and leadership across performance and direction. The episode traces a career shaped by family influence, elite companies, and repeated reinvention. For dancers and arts leaders, it offers a practical perspective on longevity: train deeply, adapt quickly, and continue evolving your role. Wells is a ballet artist and arts leader whose career spans high-level performance and directorial work acro...
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