Conversations on Dance

Latest Episodes:

(236) Rebecca and Michael catch up Jul 26, 2021

Show notes

We have been off this month, but on Thursday we head to Vail for the Vail Dance Festival. So we hopped on our last zoom before we are back together in person recording episodes and live podcast recordings at the festival, just for a check in.

Links:

Tickets for live events July 30 – August 10

Master Classes August 2 & 3

This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com).

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Re-Release: Michael Langlois, Author and Former ABT Dancer Jul 15, 2021

Show notes

We are off this week as we work to prepare for our live podcast events at the 2021 Vail Dance Festival later this month, so we are taking this opportunity to re-release an old episode. As we continue to highlight great summer dance reads, enjoy this chat with former American Ballet Theatre dancer and author Michael Langlois from May 2019. (Fortunately, as you will be able to tell, our technology and sound quality has improved over the past 2 years.)

Today we are joined by Michael Langlois. Michael began studying ballet at the age of 10 and once he began getting more serious with his training, attended the North Carolina School of the Arts, and the School of American Ballet in New York. He was offered a job at American Ballet Theatre by Mikhail Baryshnikov the year he took over the company. In his 16 years as a professional dancer, he went on to dance with Feld Ballet and Ballet du Nord. In 2018 he wrote a memoir, “B Plus: Dancing for Mikhail Baryshnikov at American Ballet Theatre,” where he gives an intimate look at the upper echelons of the dance world.

In our conversation with Michael, we talk about his training at SAB, being hired into Baryshnikov’s ABT, the unique challenges of being in the corps de ballet, and he talks openly and honestly about struggling with an eating disorder.

The Vail Dance Festival is returning to live performances and we will be there to cover all the action. From July 30 – August 9th, 2021, we will be conducting live podcast events with incredible festival artists, getting an inside look at their careers and the works they will be a part of during the festival. If you will be in Vail for the festival, we hope you will join us for these live events. Tickets are available now at valiance.org. If you will not be there in person, be sure to subscribe to Conversations on Dance through your favorite podcast app, and follow us on social media, so you don’t miss a moment from Vail.

This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com).

Links:

Join our email list: https://bit.ly/3basX5g

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twitter.com/convoondance

conversationsondancepod.com

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COD July Update + Come see us at Vail Dance Festival! Jul 07, 2021

Show notes

Rebecca pops in today to share some COD updates, including live events and master classes at Vail Dance Festival, and publishing schedule this month.

Links:

Live events: https://vaildance.org/festival-forums-2021/

Master classes: https://vaildance.org/master-class-series-2021/

Thank you to Yumiko for their continued support of COD. Shop online at Yumiko.com.

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(235) Emily Meisner, Director of National Dance Institute Collaborative for Teaching & Learning Jul 01, 2021

Show notes

Today we are joined by Emily Meisner, the Director of National Dance Institute Collaborative for Teaching & Learning. We have a wonderful chat with Emily about the beginnings of National Dance Institute, founder Jacques d’Amboise’s vision for NDI, how she became involved in the organization, and the amazing work that NDI Collaborative is doing.

NDI Collaborative is a professional development program for teaching artists, dance educators, musicians, and organizations worldwide. Their incredible offerings are now available online and can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Learn more about NDI and NDI Collaborative at nationaldance.org.

This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com).

Links:

Join our email list: https://bit.ly/3basX5g

instagram.com/conversationsondance

facebook.com/conversationsondance

twitter.com/convoondance

conversationsondancepod.com

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(234) Joffrey Ballet’s Company Artist Partner Program with April Daly and Annie Lyonswright Jun 23, 2021

Show notes

As we all know, over the past year businesses and organizations have had to get creative in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Arts organizations are no exception. Today we get to hear about how Joffrey Ballet found a unique way to get their dancers involved in the company’s day-to-day operations. We speak with Joffrey Company Artist, April Daly, and Annie Lyonswright, Joffrey’s Director of Annual Giving about their new initiative, Company Artist Partner Program. Annie spearheaded this program, working closely with April. We chat with the pair about what the last year was like from the artist side and the administration side, and about how they all came together for a common goal.

This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com) and Gavin Larsen’s ‘Being a Ballerina’ (gavinlarsen.com).

Links:

Join our email list: https://bit.ly/3basX5g

instagram.com/conversationsondance

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conversationsondancepod.com

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(233) Jose Sebastian, dancer with American Ballet Theatre and Director of ABT Incubator Jun 17, 2021

Show notes

This week we are joined by Jose Sebastian, dancer with American Ballet Theatre and Director of ABT Incubator. Jose, a native of New York City, started his dance training at age 8 with the School of American Ballet and continued training there for nearly 10 years. He joined ABT Studio Company in 2006 and American Ballet Theatre as an apprentice in January 2009 and became a member of the corps de ballet in January 2010. In 2020, Sebastian was appointed director of ABT Incubator, ABT’s choreographic workshop program for inspiring the creation of new work.

To learn more about ABT Incubator, visit abt.org, and to watch some of the films from this year’s program, visit American Ballet Theatre’s YouTube Channel.

This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com) and Gavin Larsen’s ‘Being a Ballerina’ (gavinlarsen.com).

Links:

Join our email list: https://bit.ly/3basX5g

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conversationsondancepod.com

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(232) Ashley Bouder on The Lake Tahoe Dance Festival Jun 10, 2021

Show notes

This week we are joined by New York City Ballet Principal Dancer, Ashley Bouder. It has been over 4 years since we last had Ashley on the pod, so we have a lot of catch up on. We talk about what this last year has been like for her, about her college courses and teaching career, her advocacy efforts including her association with “Dancers Amplified,” and what she will be performing at this year’s Lake Tahoe Dance Festival.

The Lake Tahoe Dance Festival returns to in person performances this July 27 – 30. See Ashley and other world-renowned dancers, including friend of the pod, Christopher Charles McDaniel of Dance Theatre of Harlem, onstage in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Tickets and more information available here: https://bit.ly/3mGM51U.

This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com).

We will be returning to the Vail Dance Festival this year. From July 30th – August 9th we will be conducting nine live events with festival artists, recording bonus interviews, and teaching master classes. If you are planning on being in Vail for the festival, tickets for our live events go on sale on June 16th, 2021 at 11am Mountain Time.

Links:

Join our email list: https://bit.ly/3basX5g

instagram.com/conversationsondance

facebook.com/conversationsondance

twitter.com/convoondance

conversationsondancepod.com

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(231) Eugenia Zinovieva, Rhode Island Women’s Choreography Project Co-Director and dancer with Festival Ballet Providence Jun 03, 2021

Show notes

This week we are joined by Eugenia Zinovieva, Co-Director of Rhode Island Women’s Choreography Project and dancer with Festival Ballet Providence. Born in Moscow, Russia, Eugenia moved to the United States at a young age and began her classical ballet training at the Boston Ballet School while also competing as a rhythmic gymnast. She graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts’ high school program under the artistic direction of Ethan Stiefel. She spent a year coaching with SLK Ballet in New York City before coming to Festival Ballet Providence. Eugenia got her start in choreography through a unique program, which she now co-directs called, Rhode Island Women’s Choreography Project or RIWCP.

RIWCP returns on June 26st, 2021. This year’s digital production features six short dance films by up-and-coming women choreographers from New England and beyond. Enjoy inspired works filmed in settings such as mountains, sand dunes, a city apartment, and more. Each dance creator has also had the opportunity to connect with a personal mentor to deepen her creative process this year. For more information on the project and for tickets for their virtual event on June 26th, visit: riwomenschoreographyproject.com.

Eugenia got in touch with us after listening to episode 221, where we discussed our fantasy ballet company. She let us know about RIWCP, so we knew we had to have her on to share her work with our listeners.

This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com).

Links:

Join our email list: https://bit.ly/3basX5g

instagram.com/conversationsondance

facebook.com/conversationsondance

twitter.com/convoondance

conversationsondancepod.com

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(230) Alastair Macaulay on new installments of New York City Center’s ‘Studio 5’ May 26, 2021

Show notes

Listener favorite and former Chief Dance Critic at the New York Times, Alastair Macaulay returns to the podcast this week. We realize that we have never asked Alastair his origin story in dance, so he gives us background on how the love affair began. We take a few detours to discuss the late Jacques d’Amboise, ‘Dances at a Gathering’, Anthony Tudor, and stories of Balanchine Ballerinas.

Then, Alastair talks with us about the virtual return of City Center’s ‘Studio 5’ series that he hosts. This year, with ‘Studio 5 | Dancing Across Continents’ New York City Center brings us an intimate look at rare pairings of exceptional dance artists from around the world. To watch the films already available, and to be notified when new content goes live, subscribe to City Center’s YouTube Channel, or click here: https://bit.ly/3vqqZrZ. Read Alastair’s recent essays on dance on his website, alastairmacauly.com.

This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com).

Links:

Join our email list: https://bit.ly/3basX5g

instagram.com/conversationsondance

facebook.com/conversationsondance

twitter.com/convoondance

conversationsondancepod.com

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(229) Jessica Tong, Associate Artistic Director, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago May 20, 2021

Show notes

This week we are joined by Jessica Tong, Associate Artistic Director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Jessica received her formal training at The Ballet School in Salt Lake City and University of Utah. Tong danced with BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio, Eliot Feld’s Ballet Tech in New York, and Hubbard Street 2 before dancing with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago for 11 years.
Jessica was named one of Dance Magazine’s Top 25 to Watch in 2009. After retiring from the stage, she went on to become rehearsal director at Hubbard Street before recently being promoted to Associate Artistic Director.

We talk with Jessica about her career, her work ethic, making the unexpected transition to being in front of the studio, what Hubbard Street has been doing in this past year of COVID, and how she got involved in Final Bow For Yellow Face’s “10,000 Dreams: Virtual Choreography Festival.” More information at yellowface.org.

This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com).

Links:

Join our email list: https://bit.ly/3basX5g

instagram.com/conversationsondance

facebook.com/conversationsondance

twitter.com/convoondance

conversationsondancepod.com

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