Pushing Over the Box

Virginia Lensi quit ballet at eight years old. Her teacher had gotten strict, the pressure felt like too much, and she wanted to just be a kid — so she tried gymnastics, ice skating, horseback riding, and tennis, pretty much everything except ballet. Then one summer, something pulled her back. It was too late to audition for La Scala that year, so she trained privately, then spent a year at anothe...

Fangqi Li had just gone back to China after an injury during her first months in American Ballet Theatre's Studio Company, certain her time there was over, when her director asked for a Zoom call. She'd already started planning to find a new company at home. Instead, he told her she was being promoted into the main company. In this episode of Pushing Over the Box, Jasmine Jain sits down with Fangq...

Nathalia Arja was 15 years old when she waved goodbye to her mother at the airport in Rio de Janeiro and flew to Miami — alone, speaking no English, with a full scholarship and no room left for fear. Her mother was mortified. Nathalia just didn't make space for it. Years later, she was a principal dancer with the Miami City Ballet when an injury stopped her completely — and the doctors treating he...

Ashley Hod was a 17-year-old student at the School of American Ballet when Hurricane Sandy shut New York City down — and in the middle of it, sitting at her grandmother's house with the power out, she got the phone call that changed her life: she was being made an apprentice with New York City Ballet, starting the following Tuesday. In this episode of Pushing Over the Box, Jasmine Jain sits down w...

Jonathan Chmelensky was about to premiere the lead role in John Neumeier's Mahler's Third Symphony when the Danish prime minister announced the country was shutting down for COVID — eyeliner still on his face from rehearsal. The premiere got postponed. When it finally happened, his performance won him Denmark's Reumert Award for Dancer of the Year. In this episode of Pushing Over the Box, Jasmine...

Roni Mahler was three performances into her career at American Ballet Theatre when Cynthia Gregory sprained her ankle. She had 24 hours to learn Odette. In this episode of Pushing Over the Box, Jasmine Jain sits down with Roni Mahler — former corps dancer with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, principal dancer with the National Ballet of Washington, and soloist with American Ballet Theatre, celebrated...

Kathryn Morgan was a soloist at New York City Ballet, dancing Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, when her muscles started giving out on pointe and she couldn't understand why. Weeks later, she was diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Two years after that, she left the company. Seven years passed before she danced professionally again. In this episode of Pushing Over the Box, Jasmine Jain sits down with...

Deborah Ory went to college for dance. In her second semester, she got injured. Everyone had already registered for classes and she didn't know what to do — until she spotted her father's camera and talked her way into a photography class that was already full. That was the beginning of everything. In this episode of Pushing Over the Box, Jasmine Jain sits down with Deborah Ory — acclaimed dance p...

Emilie Gerrity was a competition kid. Star Power. Disney World. Hip hop, lyrical, tap, jazz — all of it. At 12, she walked away from competitions and decided she was going to try to get into New York City Ballet. Three years at SAB later, she did. In this episode of Pushing Over the Box, Jasmine Jain sits down with Emilie Gerrity — principal dancer at New York City Ballet and recipient of the 2009...

Emma Von Enck quit ballet when she was 12. She wanted to try acting. She hated it. She begged her mom to put her back in. A few years later, she was standing in the wings at New York City Ballet, still in her Rubies costume, being told she'd just been promoted to principal. In this episode of Pushing Over the Box, Jasmine Jain sits down with Emma Von Enck — principal dancer at New York City Ballet...

Darla Hoover started dancing in a barn. Her teacher took one look at her and told her parents: "You need to save your money — she's going to end up in New York." She did. In this episode of Pushing Over the Box, Jasmine Jain sits down with Darla Hoover — former New York City Ballet dancer, syllabus coordinator at Ballet Academy East, and one of ballet's most respected teachers and répétiteurs. The...

When Alexa Maxwell arrived at New York City Ballet as a brand new apprentice, she expected a few weeks to find her footing. Instead, on her very first day, she was emergency-cast in Nutcracker and told she was performing that night — in her SAB uniform, while every company member around her was in sweatpants and sneakers. In this episode of Pushing Over the Box, Jasmine Jain sits down with Alexa M...

Seth and Sarah Orza danced at the top of their field — and then used everything they learned about the dancer's body to completely rethink the ballet flat. The story of how a plantar fascia injury and a Dr. Scholl's heel cup from Duane Reade turned into an entirely new ballet shoe company is one of the most unexpected and inspiring stories this podcast has told. In this episode of Pushing Over the...

Naomi Corti tore her ACL, both menisci, her MCL and PCL just one month after getting her corps contract at New York City Ballet — and she says she wouldn't trade that injury for anything. Her honesty about who she is without ballet, what it took to come back, and the moment her promotion finally hit her mid-bow is something every dancer needs to hear. In this episode of Pushing Over the Box, Jasmi...

Misty Copeland started ballet at 13, was the only Black dancer at ABT for the first 10 years of her career, and waited over 15 years to be promoted to principal — and through all of it, she says she never felt pressure, only responsibility. This conversation is everything you'd hope it would be and more. In this episode of Pushing Over the Box, Jasmine Jain sits down with Misty Copeland, the first...

Cassandra Trenary spent years dreaming of becoming a principal dancer at ABT — and then, at the height of her career, chose to leave it all behind and start over in Vienna. Her honesty about why she made that leap, what back-to-back injuries taught her about creativity, and the advice she'd give her younger self about caring too deeply is one of the most moving conversations on this podcast. In th...

Erika Mayall was a dancer who went to physical therapy as a teenager and thought — why isn't there someone who actually understands what we do? So she became that person. Her breakdown of why the "dance through pain" mentality still exists, and what dancers are doing right now that's quietly causing harm, is essential listening for every dancer and dance parent. In this episode of Pushing Over the...

Kyle Froman spent 14 years at New York City Ballet before walking away to become a photographer — and the moment he decided to leave came down to a single opportunity in Copenhagen and a rumor about firings that may never have even been true. His story about finding a second passion inside your first one is one of the most honest conversations this podcast has had. In this episode of Pushing Over...

Ingrid Thoms joined ABT's Corps de Ballet just months before the pandemic shut everything down — and somehow came out of it closer to her colleagues and more certain of her path than ever. Her honesty about self-doubt, comparison, and the power of positive affirmations even mid-performance is something every dancer needs to hear. In this episode of Pushing Over the Box, Jasmine Jain sits down with...

Skylar Brandt has danced Giselle, Swan Lake, and Don Quixote on the ABT stage — but behind the roles is a story of a herniated disc she tried to dance through, a promotion she almost didn't wait around for, and a lesson about perfectionism she wishes she'd learned at 13. This one is really special. In this episode of Pushing Over the Box, Jasmine Jain sits down with Skylar Brandt, Principal Dancer...

Erica Pereira has risen through the ranks at New York City Ballet, become a mother, and somehow made it all look graceful — but her honesty about perfectionism, loneliness at SAB, and what it really takes to stay in the game is a reminder that even the most successful dancers are still figuring it out. In this episode of Pushing Over the Box, Jasmine Jain sits down with Erica Pereira, Soloist at N...

Chiara Ajkun built a ballet company on one radical idea — that the way ballet has been taught for decades is broken, and she has the science to prove it. Her conversation with Jasmine about the Ajkun Methodology, toxic studio culture, and what it really means to nurture young dancers is one of the most thought-provoking this podcast has had. In this episode of Pushing Over the Box, Jasmine Jain si...

Miro Magloire didn't set out to start a ballet company — he just kept making work because no one would hire him. The founder of New Chamber Ballet's story is proof that rejection can accidentally build something extraordinary, and his advice for young dancers at the end of this conversation is not something you'll forget easily. In this episode of Pushing Over the Box, Jasmine Jain sits down with...

In this debut episode, Jasmine sits down with NYCB Principal Isabella LaFreniere to talk about the realities behind the spotlight — navigating pressure, building resilience, and finding purpose in the pursuit of perfection. TIMESTAMPS: [03:25] Transition to SAB and Auditions [11:04] Injury and Recovery [21:58] Mental Health and Avoiding Burnout ABOUT THE GUEST: Isabella LaFreniere is a Principal D...