Kinetic Conversations with the Fort Wayne Ballet

En Avant is a five minute ballet segment, hosted by Karen Gibbons-Brown, which airs during Rob Nylund's Classical Connection Review, every Saturday evening on Fort Wayne's 89.1 WBOI. This version has been modified from its broadcast edition to accommodate musical copyright. This episode first aired on October 26, 2024, and discusses the trademarks of the Romantic Era of ballet.

En Avant is a five minute ballet segment, hosted by Karen Gibbons-Brown, which airs during Rob Nylund's Classical Connection Review, every Saturday evening on Fort Wayne's 89.1 WBOI. This episode first aired on October 19, 2024, and discusses the early French roots of the ballet and its terminology.

En Avant is a five minute ballet segment, hosted by Karen Gibbons-Brown, which airs during Rob Nylund's Classical Connection Review, every Saturday evening on Fort Wayne's 89.1 WBOI. This episode first aired on October 12, 2024, and continues the discussion on Fort Wayne Ballet's latest staging of Don Quixote.

Jim Sparrow and Karen Gibbons-Brown discuss what they agree can be called Ballet's best-beloved romantic comedy, as Fort Wayne Ballet prepares to perform Don Quixote, this weekend at the brand new Pearl Street Arts. Jim and Karen review the characters and synopsis of the show and the challenges and opportunities of staging in a non-traditional new space.

En Avant is a five minute ballet segment, hosted by Karen Gibbons-Brown, which airs during Rob Nylund's Classical Connection Review, every Saturday evening on Fort Wayne's 89.1 WBOI. This episode first aired on October 5th, 2024, and introduces audiences to Don Quixote - described as ballet's favorite Rom-Com.

In this episode, Jim and Karen take a look at our exciting new season, complete with world premieres and brand-new venues. Welcome to Fort Wayne Ballet's sixty-eighth season!

Welcome to the Kinetic Conversations series on pre-professional dance programs, featuring the Fort Wayne Ballet Summer Intensive program. Over three episodes, Artistic Director Karen Gibbons-Brown sits down with professional dancers Talbot Rue, Jessica Humphrey, and Abby Zinsser, and graduating pre-professional GiGi McDowell to discuss this all-important phase in a young dancer’s training.   Part...

Welcome to the Kinetic Conversations series on pre-professional dance programs, featuring the Fort Wayne Ballet Summer Intensive program. Over three episodes, Artistic Director Karen Gibbons-Brown sits down with professional dancers Talbot Rue, Jessica Humphrey, and Abby Zinsser, and graduating pre-professional GiGi McDowell to discuss this all-important phase in a young dancer’s training. Followi...

Welcome to the Kinetic Conversations series on pre-professional dance programs, featuring the Fort Wayne Ballet Summer Intensive program. Over three episodes, Artistic Director Karen Gibbons-Brown sits down with professional dancers Talbot Rue, Jessica Humphrey, and Abby Zinsser, and graduating pre-professional GiGi McDowell to discuss this all-important phase in a young dancer’s training. In this...

Artistic Director Karen Gibbons-Brown hosts this special episode of Kinetic Conversations, as she pulls in Academy instructors Avalou Burns and Schuyler Kechely, to discuss the fun and magic that is Fort Wayne Ballet’s summer camps. Register now for our July camps! No dance experience necessary for ages 3-10. Register online at fortwayneballet.org or call us at 260-484-9646. Kinetic Conversations...

In our final Romeo & Juliet podcast, Jim Sparrow sits down with our own Romeo and Juliet, as Thomas Caleb Roberts and Brittany Focht tell us of their individual journeys in developing their characters for the stage. Along the way, we discuss a dancer’s quest to maintain good physical and mental health and the joys of performing with a live orchestra.

In part two of our discussion of Fort Wayne Ballet’s upcoming production of Romeo & Juliet, Jim Sparrow sits down with two former Romeos to discuss what is often thought of as a “man’s ballet.” Choreographers Robert La Fosse and David Ingram break down strenuous male roles that include multiple pas de deux and sword fighting. Meanwhile, Jim continues his quest to understand the “pillow dance.”...

In this first part of our discussion on the ballet, Romeo & Juliet, Jim sits down with Karen Gibbons-Brown to review Prokofiev's near-perfect score and the history of his adaptation of the Shakespearean tale of woeful romance. The composer dreamed of a happy ending for his version of the luckless lovers' tale, but Fate could not be deterred. Fort Wayne Ballet presents Romeo & Juliet on Apr...

For this episode, we take a look back at some of the previous conversations we have had about The Nutcracker in the years we have been doing this podcast. Join us as we revisit discussions on the ballet's history and legacy with Karen Gibbons-Brown and an insightful discussion on the Tchaikovsky's music with the help of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic's Caleb Young.

In this episode, we've turned the tables on show host Jim Sparrow, as he takes a turn in the interview chair. In his roll as Fort Wayne Ballet's Executive Director, he gives us a glimpse into the structure and the day-to-day mechanics of operating a ballet company. Find out what goes into a production from a fiscal standpoint, with the behind-the-scenes costs of staging, costuming, sets, courting...

Fort Wayne Ballet is getting ready to stage its first big show of the 2023-24 season, entitled Opening Night! In this three part series, Kinetic Conversations looks at each of the three ballets the company will be perform in the show - each with a nod to New York City.   In our third installment of this miniseries, Jim Sparrow and Karen Gibbons-Brown discuss the Agnes de Mille  comic ballet, Three...

Fort Wayne Ballet is getting ready to stage it's first big show of the 2023-24 season, entitled Opening Night! . In this three part series, Kinetic Conversations looks at each of the three ballets the company will be perform in the show - each with a nod to New York City. In part two of our series, Jim interviews Robert LaFosse, repetiteur for Jerome Robbins' Fancy Free.  They discuss the history...

Fort Wayne Ballet is getting ready to stage it's first big show of the 2023-24 season, entitled Opening Night! . In this three part series, Kinetic Conversations looks at each of the three ballets the company will be perform in the show - each with a nod to New York City. In part one, Jim Sparrow sits down with Arpino Foundation repetiteur Cameron Basden to discuss Italian Suite , the work by Gera...

As we look ahead to the start of our fall semester at the Fort Wayne Ballet academy, we want to take a look at dance education in America in general and what it means to us at Fort Wayne Ballet to carry on this legacy in the fine arts. In the second half of our discussion, Jim and Karen discuss the different paths a student might take in the academy, and the benefits of a dance education.

As we look ahead to the start of our fall semester at the Fort Wayne Ballet academy, we want to take a look at dance education in America in general and what it means to us at Fort Wayne Ballet to carry on this legacy in the fine arts. In this first episode in a two-part discussion, Jim and Karen look at the deep past of dance education and how it has evolved into the modern American dance academy...

In our three-part miniseries, Kinetic Conversations looks at the life, career, and legacy of Eddie Stierle. In our third and final installment, we meet again with Eddie’s sister, Rose, to talk about the lasting impact, the international recognition, and the touching tribute from the dance world that all stand as part of the deserving legacy of Eddie Stierle.  Order your tickets today for Dancer’s...

Join us for Part 2 of our podcast miniseries on Stierle!   In our three-part miniseries, Kinetic Conversations looks at the life, career, and legacy of Eddie Stierle. In this heartfelt second episode, we talk to Kim Sagami, the repetiteur working with Fort Wayne Ballet to restage Eddie’s works. Kim shares with us what it meant to her to not only dance in Eddie’s ballets, but to be there as part of...

Fort Wayne Ballet is set to make history in May, as we perform three ballets by Edward Stierle together for the first time. A gifted young dancer and choreographer for the Joffrey Ballet, Eddie passed away in 1991 just after the premier of his last ballet. He was 23 years old.    In our three-part miniseries, Kinetic Conversations looks at the life, career, and legacy of Eddie Stierle. In this fir...

“I have been dancing since I was three..." In this special episode of Kinetic Conversations, we hear from trainers, educators, and the dancers themselves what it means to them to be a dancer. Join with us as we celebrate these wonderful people who are the heart and soul of our company. We take a look back at some past sound bites from Raymond Lukens and Kim Sagami, and a never-before-aired intervi...

In the final part of this miniseries, we Look at Fort Wayne Ballet’s upcoming production of Swan Lake and take a look at the plot and characters in Tchaikovsky’s famed tragic tale. Do you know who defied convention to dance in shorter skirts, paving the way to the tutu? When did ballets transition from tragedies to happy-ever-afters?  When did we start dancing on point? The Ballet 101 conversation...