Conversations on Dance

Welcome to the brand new Conversations on Dance! We are pleased to announce we are now a part of the Acast Creator Network. Check out what else is new: New website: conversationsondancepod.com Merch: https://bit.ly/cod-merch YouTube: https://bit.ly/youtube-COD Spotify Playlists: COD Fave Ballets Program A and Program B Join our email list:   https://bit.ly/mail-COD This episode's sponsor: Dim...

On today's episode of 'Conversations On Dance', we are joined by Ted Brandsen and Rachel Beaujean, Director and Associate Artistic Director of Dutch National Ballet. We are speaking to them in advance of the company's first tour to the United States in 40 years, which is to take place at the Ballet Sun Valley festival in Sun Valley, Idaho. First, we talk with Ted briefly about his career and his d...

On today's episode of ‘Conversations On Dance', we are joined by Gregory Maqoma, founder of Vuyani Dance Theater. Gregory tells us about how he first came to discover and fall in love with dance in South Africa, his artistic journey from performer to choreographer and creator and his latest work ‘Cion: Requiem Of Ravel's Bolero', which is currently on tour and will take the stage at Pe...

On today's episode of ‘Conversations On Dance', we have celebrated choreographer Cathy Marston on to discuss her upcoming premiere for Houston Ballet, ‘Summer and Smoke'. Cathy tells us what drew her to Tennesse Williams' play as source material for a new ballet, her casting process and creating to composer Michael Daugherty's original score for the work. If you are in the Houston area...

Today we are thrilled to welcome back to the pod, the ladies of Ragamala Dance Company. Today we talk with company’s founder and co-artistic director, Ranee Ramaswamy, and her daughter, co-artistic director Aparna Ramaswamy. We first had Ranee and Aparna on the podcast about a year ago, with Aparna's sister, Ashwini, in episode 275 . If you haven't heard that episode yet, we hope you will go back...

On today's episode of ‘Conversations On Dance' we are joined by Dance Theater Of Harlem ballerina Amanda Smith. Amanda tells us about how her early extracurricular activities led to greater versatility, how her education at SUNY Purchase shaped her career, and the importance of persistence in achieving one's goals. Visit  dancetheaterofharlem.org  to see the company's tour dat...

Today on Conversations On Dance we are thrilled to talk about a special children's programming co-production between Miami City Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet, ‘Rita Finds Home'. We are joined by the choreographer Amy Hall Garner and Miami City Ballet Director Of Community Engagement Monica Stephenson to talk about how ‘Rita' relates to children today, why it was important to create something entir...

It's just Michael and Rebecca this week. We start by catch up after Michael's live events at Works & Process at the Guggenheim and Inside NYCB. Michael tells us about seeing Justin Peck's newest work at New York City Ballet, ‘Copland Dance Episodes,' then about his work on ‘The Night Falls' with Troy Schumacher and BalletCollective. See ‘The Night Falls' February 9th through...

On today's episode of Conversations On Dance, we are joined by Kati Hanlon Mayo, Associate Director of Charlotte Ballet Academy. We talk to Kati about how she reoriented her career goals as a teenager, working with Patricia McBride on Balanchine classics, her beginnings as a teacher while still having a demanding performing career and how she sets short and long term goals for her students as indi...

Today's episode of ‘Conversations On Dance' is a live podcast from the Guggenheim's Works & Process series. We explore the creation of a new dance driven music theater production ‘The Night Falls', which is set to run February 9th through 12th at Montclair State University. ‘The Night Falls' is a new myth for our fractured era, depicting the metamorphosis of atomized individuals into a true co...

On today's episode of ‘Conversations On Dance', we are joined by New York City Ballet soloist Mira Nadon. Mira joins us for a special bonus episode discussing her role as the central ballerina in Justin Peck's upcoming premiere ‘Copland Dance Episodes'. She gives us an inside view of NYCB's first non-narrative full length premiere since George Balanchine's ‘Jewels', discussing th...

On today's episode of Conversations On Dance, we are joined by principal ballerina with the Royal Danish Ballet, Holly Dorger. Holly shares her experience growing up as a highland dancer, accepting a contract with Royal Danish straight out of SAB, the change in style and technique that accompanied her new job and how she continues to grow and adapt in full length roles she revisits. If you are in...

Our friend, Kate Penner, returns to the pod this week as our special guest host to talk all things Summer Intensives. We talk about our personal stories with summer training, how to choose the school that's right for you, why you should cast a wide net, and some tips and tricks for auditioning. This Episode’s Sponsors: • Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School is training the next generation of professio...

On today's episode of ‘Conversations On Dance', we are joined by choreographer and incoming Artistic Director of Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) Robert Garland. Robert began his dance training in Philadelphia where he first saw DTH perform as a child. He continued his training at Juilliard before joining DTH as a company member. He eventually reached the rank of principal and began work in var...

It's just us this week for our annual year-end wrap up. What a year 2022 has been! We list our favorite episodes from this year, our favorite performances we saw, our FOMO list of what we didn't get to see but wished we had, and we share what we learned this year. Check out our COD Reading List for some last minute gift ideas for the dance lover in your life: https://conversationsondancepod.com/co...

Today on Conversations on Dance we are delving into the research and advocacy of the Dance Data Project. We are joined by DDP President and Founder, Elizabeth Yntema, and Senior Research Consultant, Junyla Silmon. The pair tell us about DDP and it's mission, they break down their recent Artistic Director/Executive Director Compensation report, tell us about their First Look report that came out th...

On today's episode of ‘Conversations On Dance' we are joined by author, Jennifer Homans. Jennifer received critical acclaim for her 2011 book ‘Apollo's Angels', a historical documentation of ballet from its creation to the present day. She has spent the past ten years working on ‘Mr. B', a biography of George Balanchine that was published this November. We talk to Jennifer about...

On today's episode of ‘Conversations On Dance', we are joined by choreographer, visual artist and experimental theater director Dimitris Papaioannou. Dimitris' life as an artist began with a natural gift for visual arts at a very young age before eventually venturing into theater and dance. He founded his own company, Edofos Dance Theatre, leading to critical acclaim and a devoted fanbase. D...

You know her as @laurynjohnson20 on Instagram. On today's episode of ‘Conversations On Dance', our guest is Lauryn Johnson, a dancer and New York City Ballet usher who has captivated the dance world with her documentation of historic NYCB photography via her social media. We talk to Lauryn about how she fell in love with the company, grew her collection of dance books to nearly 1,000, where...

This week on ‘Conversations On Dance' we are joined by Viki Bromberg Psihoyos, former New York City Ballet dancer and repetiteur with the Balanchine Trust. Viki takes us on a journey through her experiences working with Balanchine from her childhood to her professional career, how she became a repetiteur and what it is like working in companies who have never previously danced Balanchine's w...

This week on ‘Conversations On Dance' we are joined by Mai Lê Hô, the founder of LayeRhythm Productions a NYC-based non-profit dedicated to highlighting freestyle voices in performance art. Mai Lê takes us through her artistic journey of falling in love with house music and dance while growing up in France, the emotional release she discovered in shared dance experiences, her exploration of...

On today's episode of ‘Conversations On Dance' we are joined by choreographer Jodi Melnick . (Listen to our most recent conversation with Jodi in episode 300). Jodi has been featured on the podcast several times to explore the range of her experiences as both choreographer and dancer, but today we focus  specifically on how Jodi defines and explores the collaborative process. Jodi's latest c...

Today we are joined by Michele Byrd-McPhee, founder of Ladies of Hip-Hop. Ladies of Hip-Hop Dance Collective is an all female intergenerational dance collective that creates dance works illuminating the strength, power and diversity of women in Hip-Hop. Michele founded the company in 2004 and continues to lead the organization. On November 3rd, join Ladies of Hip-Hop for “The Black Dancing Bodies...

Today we are joined by global artist, Stefanie Batten Bland, founder of Company SBB. Child of a jazz composer/producer father and writer mother, and raised in Soho, Stefanie was clearly destined for a future in the arts. She situates her work at the intersection of dance-theatre, film, and installation, with a focus on the interrogation of contemporary and historical culture. This November 1-5, St...

It's just us this week on Conversations on Dance. Michael is in Denmark setting a ballet for choreographer Justin Peck at Royal Danish Ballet, so he fills us in on how it's going, 3 weeks in. Rebecca fills us in on how everything is going with her new baby. Links: Rate and Review us on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3RwJqWc Join our email list: https://bit.ly/3USVfcp Instagram: instagram.com/con...