5.6.7.EIGHT

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews both Frances Chiaverini and Robyn Doty, co-founders of Whistle While You Work — an organization dedicated to raising awareness around sexual harassment, discrimination, and workers' rights in dance. Prior to COVID-19, Frances was a Fellow at the Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University, where she and Robyn held "messy talks" to discuss w...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Azizi Marshall — the Founder and CEO of the Center for Creative Arts Therapy , an art-based psychotherapy practice and training center in Chicago. The center has launched such programs and companies as Psychology Arts, Arts Playschool, Artful Wellness, and the Therapeutic Performance Initiative model. She has been featured in Oprah Magazine, Thrive...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Dr. Linda Bluestein, M.D., Founder at both Hypermobility MD and the Bendy Bodies Podcast . As a former ballet performer and instructor, Dr. Bluestein has a special interest in treating flexibility since athletes and artists are at increased risk of hypermobility disorders. Dr. Bluestein's unique approach to evaluation and treatment enables patients t...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Kevin Iega Jeff — Artistic Director, Executive Director and Cofounder at Chicago's Deeply Rooted Dance Theater . Throughout his career, Jeff has collaborated on a wide range of professional and community-based projects, including Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It ; The Academy Awards; and The Wiz on Broadway. Kevin has received countless accolades for...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Ingrid Silva, an internationally-recognized dancer and serial philanthropist who has founded two empowerment-centric organizations —  EmpowHer New York and Blacks in Ballet . Born in Rio de Janeiro, Ingrid's first exposure to ballet was actually at a social project in a nearby slum. Ingrid eventually found her way to New York City, where she's curren...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Ali Geraets of Just for Kix . You may remember Just for Kix from Episode 48 of the podcast, where Aleksandra interviewed the company's founder and executive director, Cindy Clough. Just for Kix is a youth dance organization that offers dance classes, summer camps, and special events to tens of thousands of youths around the country. Ali Geraets — Ci...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Kia Smith, founding Executive Artistic Director at the South Chicago Dance Theatre. Kia, a Chicago native, trained at various notable Chicago institutions such as Story Catchers Theatre, ETA Creative Arts Foundation, Hyde Park School of Dance, and the Joel Hall Dancers and Center. Her training launched her into national and international tours, inclu...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye, Ballet Master at the Oklahoma City Ballet . Originally from central Maine, Ryan began his training at the age of 16. During his run as a professional dancer, he danced for ballet companies across the continent and with some of the most sought-after choreographers in the industry. Most recently, Jolicoeur-Nye left his position as...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Damani Pompey, an NYC-based lighting designer, movement artist, and choreographer. Additionally, Damani has been involved in a great deal of TV and film work, and his credits include notable festivals like Sundance. Pompey is also the architect of Magnus Works — a continuous archive of his own creative and choreographic projects, which ultimately see...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Erica Hood, Chief Executive Officer at HoodFit , a fitness company that features Erica's signature method in live and online classes and is all about promoting strong women. In fact, the company boasts a tagline encouraging women to Rep Your Womanhood . With a background in professional dance, Erica builds her effective workouts by focusing on energ...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Charlotte Landreau, Lead Dancer at the Martha Graham Dance Company . Originally from France, Charlotte trained as a rhythmic gymnast for a full decade before transitioning into dance. She is a graduate of the Béjart School in Switzerland and the Martha Graham School. Charlotte is currently with the Martha Graham Dance Company in New York, where she h...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Mandy Yip, CEO and Founder of Acrobatic Arts, Inc. Yip's company runs training and certification courses for dance teachers in the art of AcroDance — a program that promotes flexibility, strength, balancing, limbering, and tumbling. Acrobatic Arts produces the most comprehensive, researched program available for AcroDance, which explains why the syl...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Dr. Tina J. Wang, President at Tupelo Pointe Healing Arts . Dr. Wang spends her days as an Osteopathic physician but is not focused solely on simply treating ailments; she is focused on delivering the best care possible by meeting the functional, nutritional, and individual needs of the person seeking better health. Dr. Wang is also heavily involved...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Jessica Chen, Artistic Director of the J CHEN PROJECT , a 501c3 nonprofit modern dance company based out of New York City that uses movement as a vehicle to heal wounds, share stories, and better understand our human existence. Chen is a seasoned dancer with a wide variety of dance and choreography credits. She has choreographed works for some of the...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Kathleen Breen Combes, Executive Director of the Festival Ballet Providence. Prior to her current role, Kathleen was Principal Dancer at the Boston Ballet and was once hailed by the New York Times as a "ballerina of colossal scale and boldness." During her run as a dancer, Kathleen garnered several awards and accolades, including being featured on th...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Alicia Albright — a New York-based Broadway performing artist, choreographer, creator, educator, avid traveler, and meditation advocate. Albright's dance resume is extensive, having appeared on Broadway with productions of Disney's Frozen the Musical , Wicked , Jesus Chris Superstar , and various other notable titles. Albright loves the arts but is...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Mollie Sansone, an award-winning veteran dancer, teacher, and choreographer who is currently embarking on her seventeenth season dancing with the Nashville Ballet. Over these 17 seasons, Mollie has performed primarily under the direction of Paul Vasterling and has been featured in several notable roles such as Lizzie Borden, Lady Macbeth, and Juliet...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Larissa Saveliev — Founder and Artistic Director at the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) — and Sergey Gordeev, who is the Founding Director of Communications and External Affairs at the Youth America Grand Prix. Larissa, who was trained at the Bolshoi Ballet, has received a mountain of accolades, including being named one of Dance Magazine 's top 25 m...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Miriam Barbosa, President and Artistic Director at Miriam Barbosa Dance . Miriam received Classical Ballet Training at the University of Fine Arts in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Barbosa is also an alumnus of the Martha Graham Dance Company and is a former Dance Professor with the University of South Carolina's Dance Program. In 2007, she founded Miriam Barbo...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Paul Vasterling — Artistic Director at Nashville Ballet . As a choreographer with a deep affinity for music, Paul has created over 40 works, ranging from classical, full-length story ballets to contemporary one-acts. Since becoming Nashville Ballet's Artistic Director in 1998, the company has commissioned 22 original scores for brand-new ballets unde...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Dr. Merritt Moore — an absolutely remarkable woman who is both a professional ballet dancer and a quantum physicist. Dr. Moore holds a degree in Physics from Harvard University and a PhD in Quantum Optics from the University of Oxford and combines her expertise as a quantum physicist and professional ballet dancer throughout her creative practice. D...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews LaMar Baylor, an award-winning dancer and Broadway performer who is also a Board Member and Cultural Ambassador for MindLeaps . LaMar holds a BFA from The University of the Arts and recently completed his Master of Science in Arts Administration from Drexel University. As mentioned, he is a performer with Disney's The Lion King on Broadway and is an...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Jim Cooney, a New Yorker who has collaborated with multiple Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award winners in his career as an award-winning director, choreographer, and educator. Jim's work spans both national and international audiences, and he has been praised by The New York Times for training performers with "audition must haves: character, motivation, an...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra welcomes Alex Svoboda, Founder at freedomDANCE and all-around renaissance man. Alex, who currently hails from London, has lived in three different countries, studied at five different universities, and holds a Ph. D. in history and sociology. Over the course of his career, he has worked as an analyst and manager at some of the world's leading consulting firms a...

This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Erica Hornthal,  a therapist that makes lasting changes in clients by harnessing the power of the body for improved mental health. Erica — otherwise known as "the therapist who moves you" — is the Founder and CEO of Chicago Dance Therapy . Her methods, which can be labeled as dance or movement therapy, are for those that are struggling with mental h...