Stay ConnectedWelcome to City Ballet The Podcast, an exploration of New York City Ballet where we’ll journey through our history, delve into our new and existing repertory, and reveal insider tidbits.
Each season of City Ballet The Podcast features episodes that span three topics: New Combinations hosted by Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan, Hear the Dance hosted by dance educator and former NYCB dancer Silas Farley, and See the Music hosted by Music Director Andrew Litton.
Copyright: © 2019 New York City Ballet, Inc.
In this week's New Combinations episode, Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan sat down with Jennifer Archibald ahead of the world premiere of her debut commission for New York City Ballet. Archibald shares how she found her choreographic calling at a young age, what it means to create a work for the Fall Fashion Gala, how she approached casting, and matching the strength of the score with the power of movement. (20:03) Music: "Sisyphus" by Andrew Wegman Bird Wixen Music Publishing, Inc. as agent for Muffet Music Co Edited by Emilie Silvestri
Alysa Pires' new ballet premieres October 1 at the 2026 Fall Fashion Gala and, as she discusses with Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan in our latest podcast episode, the work is a manifestation of maternal themes ignited by the music of late Canadian composer Jocelyn Morlock. For the piece, Pires knew she wanted to work with Amsterdam-based fashion house Viktor&Rolf, whose fashion shows stood out to her as particularly theatrical and perfectly suited for the music. Listen as Pires shares her perspectives on the unique process of mounting a work for the Gala and the incredible collaborative effort that goes into bringing all the elements together. (22:10)
Music: "Sisyphus" by Andrew Wegman Bird Wixen Music Publishing, Inc. as agent for Muffet Music Co
Edited by Emilie Silvestri
As our 25-26 Season comes to a close, Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan reminisce over some of the year's most memorable moments. From welcoming former dancers to the front of the room and guest musicians into the orchestra pit, to choreographers returning to create in our studios and a wave of well-deserved promotions, this season was filled with artistry, growth, and unforgettable milestones. (51:10)
Music: Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra (1929) by Igor Stravinsky
Symphony No. 3 in D major, Op. 29 (1875) by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky
Edited by Emilie Silvestri
Associate Artistic Director and host Wendy Whelan is back for a New Combinations conversation with Principal Dancer Tiler Peck as she prepares for the May 7 premiere of Symphonie Espagnole, her second choreographic commission for the company. Peck dives into the granularities of her process—from music selection to costumes to casting the 40-person ballet—and reflects on the unexpected ways in which choreographing has uncovered new facets of her own dancing and artistry. (35:24) Music: "Sisyphus" by Andrew Wegman Bird Wixen Music Publishing, Inc. as agent for Muffet Music Co
Edited by Emilie Silvestri
New Combinations Host and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan is joined by choreographer Christopher Wheeldon this week, whose ballet Continuum will have its NYCB premiere on May 1. It's part of a trilogy of leotard ballets, including Polyphonia and Morphoses, set to a score by György Ligeti—a composer whose music Wheeldon was "really intrigued by," but also "terrified" by. Wheeldon and Whelan discuss unlocking and understanding the mysteries of Ligeti's works, setting this piece on the company, and the positive impact fear can have on one's creative process. (35:39)
Music: "Sisyphus" by Andrew Wegman Bird Wixen Music Publishing, Inc. as agent for Muffet Music Co
Edited by Emilie Silvestri
The topic du jour around The Rosin Box this week is the driving force behind ballet: music. For this conversation, hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Soloist Aarón Sanz are joined by Corps de Ballet Member Maya Milić and Soloist Sebastián Villarini-Vélez, two company members whose connections to music extend far beyond the studio and stage. Maya is a classically trained pianist who graduated with honors from the Manhattan School of Music's Precollege Division, which she attended while also a student at the School of American Ballet; Sebastián was raised in a musical household—his father was a percussionist with an expansive collection of tapes, and Sebastián played the guitar throughout childhood. These formative early exposures to music have influenced their dancing in countless ways: "Developing a taste is the most important thing you can do as an artist," says Sebastián. "That will allow you to shape your approach towards what you're doing. Distinguishing what works for you musically will allow you to find sort of a unique voice to approach the steps." (40:12) Edited by Gus Reed
Music: "Je ne t'aime plus" by Pink Martini Courtesy of Pink Martini & Heinz Records
This week around The Rosin Box, Hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Soloist Aarón Sanz are talking all things adult ballet with Sloane Bratter, NYCB's Associate Director, Public Programs, and Soloist Ashley Hod. The company's Education department has been hosting adult movement workshops since 2014, taught by current and former dancers—an opportunity Claire calls "a real life-giving experience." Structured similarly to a standard company class, the workshops usually consist of a ballet barre and center, followed by learning a few phrases from NYCB's repertory and a holding a brief Q&A. For Ashley, leading these workshops has become a true highlight of each season: "It's not just what I'm giving to these dancers—it's what I'm getting in return. (36:57)
Edited by Gus Reed
Music: "Je ne t'aime plus" by Pink Martini Courtesy of Pink Martini & Heinz Records
We're back around The Rosin Box, with Soloist Aarón Sanz pulling double hosting duty this episode. He's joined by Principal Dancer Chun Wai Chan for a conversation on the singular experience of joining an American ballet company as an international dancer. Chan, who is originally from China, and Sanz, who came to America by way of Spain, discuss navigating homesickness, the things that surprised them most about NYCB, and how, sometimes, "knowing a little less allows you to be more comfortable—which is often what you need." (44:23)
Edited by Emilie Silvestri
Music: "Je ne t'aime plus" by Pink Martini Courtesy of Pink Martini & Heinz Records
Host Silas Farley is back with another fascinating Hear the Dance conversation, joined this week by Kay Mazzo, Christine Redpath, and Jean-Pierre Frohlich to discuss Jerome Robbins' masterpiece Dances at a Gathering. In this wide-ranging and intimate conversation, they share memories of the ballet's momentous 1969 premiere as well as time spent with Robbins in the rehearsal studio. As they discuss the various sections of Dances, they reflect on moments when Robbins' humor emerges; the "freedom" and even suspense of certain passages; and the ways in which the ballet is a gift from the choreographer as much to the dancers, who share in its rich sense of community, as to the audience. (1:09:57)
Written by Silas Farley Edited by Emilie Silvestri
Music: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1931) by Igor Stravinsky
Mazurka, op. 63, no. 3; Waltz, op. 69, no. 2; Mazurka, op. 33, no. 3; Mazurkas, op. 6, nos. 2 and 4, op. 7, nos. 4 and 5, op. 24, no. 2; Waltz, op. 24; Waltz, op. 34, no. 2; Mazurka, op. 56, no. 2; Etude, op. 25, no. 4; Waltz, op. 34, no. 1; Waltz, op. 70, no. 2; Etude, op. 25, no. 5; Etude, op. 10, no. 2; Scherzo, op. 20, no. 1; Nocturne, op. 15, no. 1 All music performed by New York City Ballet Orchestra
Reading List: Somewhere: The Life of Jerome Robbins by Amanda Vaill Jerome Robbins, by Himself: Selections from His Letters, Journals, Drawings, Photographs, and an Unfinished Memoir Edited and with Commentary by Amanda Vaill Life of Chopin by Franz Liszt Chopin: Prince of the Romantics by Adam Zamoyski Thirty Years: Lincoln Kirstein's The New York City Ballet by Lincoln Kirstein Repertory in Review: 40 Years of the New York City Ballet by Nancy Reynolds, with an Introduction by Lincoln Kirstein
New Combinations Host and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan is joined by Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky this week as the countdown to the choreographer's next world premiere—and the 500th work created on the company—continues. Commissioned by Serge Lifar in 1935, the score, by the little-known neoclassical composer Jean Françaix, adapts Hans Christian Andersen's "The Emperor's New Clothes" for the stage. Among the ballet's unique challenges was the casting of the title character, which Ratmansky shares requires a "fearless" dancer with "charisma and a sense of humor." (23:53)
Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: "Sisyphus" by Andrew Wegman Bird Wixen Music Publishing, Inc. as agent for Muffet Music Co
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