Conversations on Dance

This week we are pleased to bring you a special behind the scenes look at some of the Works & Process creation that has been happening safely throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic. Today we are joined by Ephrat Asherie, New York City-based b-girl, and Duke Dang, General Manager of Works & Process. We hear about Ephrat's career and her recent work developed at a Works and Process Bubble Residenc...

Welcome to the second part of our interview with Balanchine Ballerina, Gloria Govrin. If you are tuning in and haven't heard part one, we hope that you will go back in your feed to episode 212 for our chat with Gloria about her career. Today in Part II, Gloria tells us about where her career took her after retiring from the stage. She has since gone on to a prolific teaching career, being consider...

Today we are joined by Balanchine Ballerina, Gloria Govrin. Gloria danced with New York City Ballet from 1959 to 1974 and was promoted to soloist in 1963. An unusually tall dancer, she inspired Balanchine to choreograph several distinctive roles on her. Roles such as Hippolyta in  A Midsummer's Night Dream , Coffee in  Nutcracker , the Princess in  Firebird , and La Bonne Fee in  Harlequinade  wer...

Happy New Year and welcome to our first episode of 2021! Today we are joined by a very special co-host and friend, Evelyn Kocak, to chat about the Disney+ series streaming now, ‘On Pointe.' Evelyn is a former NYCB dancer, Staatsballett Berlin dancer, and former soloist with Pennsylvania Ballet. Links: instagram.com/conversationsondance facebook.com/conversationsondance twitter.com/convoondan...

This week we are joined by Laurie Kanyok, founder of the Kanyok Arts Initiative. Laurie has performed on Broadway, television and film. She played the lead roles in Twyla Tharp's COME FLY AWAY and MOVIN OUT. Her other Broadway credits include FOSSE, SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, and IN YOUR ARMS. She was the ballet casting consultant for Tony Award winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon's An AMERICAN...

Today we are joined by choreographer Andreas Heise. Born in Germany, Andreas began his formal ballet training at the age of 16. In 1998, he joined his first company, Leipziger Ballett, and in 2003, he joined the Norwegian National Ballet in Oslo where he performed many leading roles. In 2006 Andreas started to choreograph regularly for the Norwegian National Ballet and has since choreographed for...

Today we sit down with BalletCollective's Artistic Director, Troy Schumacher. Troy first came on the podcast in episode 17, back in 2016, where we chat with him about his career at New York City Ballet, his choreography, and his company, BalletCollective. Today, Troy returns to the pod to tell us about his current project, ‘The Nutcracker at Wethersfield.' In the age of COVID, Troy has taken...

We are back! It's been a minute, but unfortunately some work obligations took us away from the pod last month. Now, we are back and ready to get back to it! Today we catch up and go through our Conversations on Dance Best of 2020. Brought to you by Yumiko (Yumiko.com.) “YUMIKO’s holiday collection, comprised of festive ready-to-wear options, will be available in-stores and online this month! ...

Today we are joined by Leslie Andrea Williams, chorus dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company. Leslie was born in Newport News, Virginia and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. She received her BFA from The Juilliard School. Ms Williams has danced in the Martha Graham Dance Company for six seasons. She performs numerous featured roles in iconic Graham ballets such as The Woman in White in  Div...

This week we are joined by one of our former colleagues, Jennifer Carlynn Kronenberg. Jennifer is a former Principal Dancer with the Miami City Ballet and is now the co-artistic director of Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami. Jennifer began her dance training in her hometown of Queens, New York, before going on to study at the School of American Ballet. From there, she was spotted by Edward Villell...

This week we talk with American Ballet Theatre's newest soloist dancer, Gabe Stone Shayer. Gabe was born in Philadelphia, where he began his dance training. At 14, he began training full time at the Rock School for Dance Education, before going on to move to Russia to continue his studies at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. Shayer is the first African-American male to graduate from the Bolsho...

Today, we welcome our first conductor to the podcast, Ming Luke. Ming holds a Master of Fine Arts in Conducting from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Piano Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College of Rider University. With a background in ballet himself, Ming has conducted for ballet performances around the world. He is currently serving as Music Director fo...

Our guest today is Janie Taylor, a former principal ballerina with the New York City Ballet, present day dancer with LA Dance Project, repetiteur for the works of Benjamin Millepied, costume designer, and creator of the art newspaper Quarter Marks. At the New York City Ballet, Janie amassed a broad rep that showcased the full depth and range of her talents in ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome R...

Today we check in with listener favorite, Alastair Macaulay. We last spoke with Alastair in 2018 as he was preparing to step down from his post as chief dance critic at the New York Times. We catch up on what he has been working on over the past couple of years, including his research for his book on Merce Cunningham. He tells us about his virtual series for New York City Center that has been exce...

It's our 200th episode of Conversations on Dance! To celebrate, Rebecca and Michael get together to chat about the beginnings of COD, some favorite memories, and catch up on what they have been up to recently. If you would like to give to the Miami City Ballet dancer relief fund, you can do so here: https://tickets.miamicityballet.org/donate/q/dsf Thank you as always to our amazing sponsor, Yumiko...

Today we chat with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's newly appointed Artistic Director, Susan Jaffe. Susan was a Principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre for 22 years, appearing prominently in the international dance scene and frequently dancing with Mikhail Baryshnikov. She retired from the stage in 2002 at age 40 and went on to serve as an adviser to the chairman of the board of American Ballet T...

Today we are joined by Megan LeCrone, soloist with the New York City Ballet. Megan was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and at age 14, began studying with Melissa Hayden and Duncan Noble at the North Carolina School of the Arts. Megan entered the School of American Ballet full-time in the fall of 2001, and in November 2001 she became an apprentice with New York City Ballet.  She joined the Co...

This week we welcome Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director, Peter Boal, back to the podcast. We first spoke with Peter in March of 2017, for a fantastic conversation surrounding his career and directorship. (Tune into episode 36 with Peter ). Today, we catch up with Peter to hear about his experience leading PNB through the COVID-19 pandemic, how the dancers are safely and creatively returnin...

Today, on the Conversations on Dance podcast, we are sharing our chat with American Ballet Theatre Soloist, Calvin Royal III, that was recorded as a part of the 2020 Vail Dance Festival: Digital Edition. Through August 15th, you can watch our Zoom chat with Calvin on the Vail Dance Festival Facebook page or on their YouTube Channel. While you are there, we encourage you to explore the incredible 8...

Today, on the Conversations on Dance podcast, we are sharing our chat with American Ballet Theatre Principal Dancers, Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside, that was recorded as a part of the 2020 Vail Dance Festival: Digital Edition. Through August 15th, you can watch our Zoom chat with James and Bella on the Vail Dance Festival Facebook page or on their YouTube Channel. While you are there, we e...

Today we are joined by choreographer, Trey McIntyre. Yesterday, on August 4th, 2020, Trey announced the reimagining of his Trey McIntyre Project, as a way to adapt dance to the COVID era. He has dubbed this new project, FLTPK (flatpack) which is an online subscription service that gives viewers access to one-of-a-kind, original dance works by some of the greatest dance makers on the planet. Access...

Today we chat with Vail Dance Festival Artistic Director Damian Woetzel to get a preview of what is in store for their eight night digital festival, July 31 – August 7, 2020. Damian tells us what it was like to have to decide to cancel the in person festival and move to a digital format, how they have chosen what the audience will get to see, offers us some previews of different pieces, and...

While all performing arts organizations are shifting their content to a digital format, so are we. Today's episode is meant to act like a pre-performance talk for the Lake Tahoe Dance Festival, which is presented by the Lake Tahoe Dance Collective. We chat with Artistic Director Christin Hanna about their digital festival which will be shown on their website this Wednesday – Friday, July 22-...

Today we are joined by Lloyd Knight, Principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company. Born in England and raised in Miami, Lloyd trained at Miami Conservatory of Ballet and New World School of the Arts. He joined Martha Graham Dance Company in 2005 and performs the major male roles of the Graham repertory including in  Appalachian Spring ,  Embattled Garden ,  Night Journey  and many others....

Today we speak with Austin Hartel, Oklahoma International Dance Festival Artistic Director. Austin was a soloist and co-choreographer with Pilobolus Dance Theater, making appearances worldwide and on television. After his dance career, he joined the faculty of University of Oklahoma's School of Dance where he has coordinated the Modern Dance Program for nearly 20 years. This year was meant to welc...