Conversations on Dance

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(121) Frances Chung, Principal with San Francisco Ballet Jan 07, 2019

Show notes

Today we are returning to our time at San Francisco Ballet last April for the company’s Unbound Festival. This week we talk with Frances Chung, Principal Dancer with San Francisco Ballet. Frances was born in Vancouver, Canada and received her training at Goh Ballet Academy. She joined San Francisco Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2001 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2009. Frances has danced countless major roles in the company’s vast repertoire as she worked her way through the ranks. Frances received the Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Individual Performance for the 2013 Repertory Season and the silver medal at the 2000 Adeline Genée Awards. Today we talk with Frances about her training, how she became a bunhead later in life, some of the most challenging ballets she has danced, and about the company’s Unbound, a festival of new works.

This episode is brought to you by Yumiko and San Francisco Ballet.

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(120) Alastair Macaulay on Marius Petipa Dec 17, 2018

Show notes

This week on Conversations On Dance, we are joined by the chief dance critic of the New York Times, and one of our most frequent guests, Alastair Macaulay. Alastair, an expert on dance history, has previously guided us through histories of Balanchine’s classic ballet ‘Serenade’ and the work of Frederic Ashton. This week he delves into the true history of one of ballet’s most revered choreographers, Marius Petipa. We take a look at what works have been falsely attributed to Petipa, how he was perceived in his lifetime, and why his work still matters.

This is our last episode of 2018, and we want to personally thank every listener that tuned in this year. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season and that you join us again in the New Year.

Check out the Nikolai Sergeev dance notations and music scores from the Harvard Library that Alastair references. Notations on Snow from the Nutcracker can be found on pages 39-62. More information on Alastair’s upcoming presentation on Petipa at the New York Public Library on December 26th HERE.

This episode is brought to you by Yumiko.

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(119) Juliet Doherty, LIVE from Yumiko’s New York Flagship Boutique Dec 11, 2018

Show notes

This episode was recorded live on Saturday, December 8th, 2018 at the Yumiko New York Flagship Boutique. We sit down with dancer and actress, Juliet Doherty. Juliet comes from a family of dancers, spending her entire childhood in the studio. Always active in musical theater, Juliet toured the world playing the coveted role of Clara alongside the renowned Radio City Rockettes in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and would later go on to dance alongside Tiler Peck in Susan Stroman’s “Little Dancer” musical. Most recently she has stared in the film “On Pointe” and the movie “High Strung, Free Dance.” In her professional dance career she danced with San Francisco Ballet.

This episode is generously brought to you by Yumiko USA.

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(118) Cameron Grant, New York City Ballet Pianist Dec 03, 2018

Show notes

This week on Conversations On Dance we are joined by one of the ballet world’s most celebrated pianists, Cameron Grant. Cameron joined the New York City Ballet in 1984, where he was appointed pianist of the New York City Ballet orchestra four years later. He has played nearly every major piano ballet in the repertoire, including Balanchine masterworks like ‘Davidsbundlertanze’ and ‘Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2’, and Robbins ballets like ‘Dances At a Gathering’ and ‘Goldberg Variations’. We spoke with Cameron about how he came to work for the ballet, what working with Robbins was like, and the unique challenges of playing for ballet dancers.

This episode is sponsored by The Town of Vail, Yumiko, and The 2018 Dance Magazine Awards.

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(117) Eric Trope of Miami City Ballet on a dancer’s mental health Nov 26, 2018

Show notes

This week on Conversations On Dance, we are joined by Miami City Ballet dancer Eric Trope. While so much attention is understandably given to the physical health of dancers, Eric has been an outspoken advocate for supporting the mental health of dancers to the same extent. In this episode, we cover the difficulty of performing anxiety, dealing with body shaming and what can be done both individually and as a community to improve the mental health of our artists.

Eric’s article on Biscuit Ballerina’s blog and article on the Conversations on Dance blog. Episode sponsored by Yumiko and The 2018 Dance Magazine Awards.

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(116) Lourdes Lopez, Artistic Director of Miami City Ballet Nov 19, 2018

Show notes

Today we are joined by Miami City Ballet Artistic Director, Lourdes Lopez, and our former boss. Born in Havana, Cuba and raised in Miami, Lopez began taking ballet lessons at the age of five and continued her training full time at the School of American Ballet when she was 14. George Balanchine chose her to join the New York City Ballet corps de ballet shortly after her 16th birthday. She danced many featured roles with the company and was promoted by Balanchine to soloist in 1981, one of the last dancers he promoted. She became a Principal under the direction of Peter Martins in 1984 and she retired from the stage in 1997.

After retiring she joined WNBC-TV in New York as a cultural arts reporter. She later went on to become the Executive Director of The George Balanchine Foundation and then co-founded the dance company, Morphoses with Christopher Wheeldon in 2007. In 2012, she became the Artistic Director of Miami City Ballet. Lourdes has been named a Nominee at this year’s Dance Magazine Awards taking place in New York City on December 3^rd.

For more information on the Dance Magazine awards, visit dancemagazine.com. This episode is brought to you by Yumiko.

Note: Lourdes discusses the book entitled, Bravura!: Lucia Chase and the American Ballet Theatre.

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(115) Harper Watters, Houston Ballet Soloist Nov 12, 2018

Show notes

This week on Conversations On Dance, we spoke with Houston Ballet soloist Harper Watters. Though Harper’s talents led to prominent roles with the Houston Ballet and two promotions, he gained attention both within the dance community and in pop culture at large, in viral videos of himself dancing in towering pink heels. We talk to Harper about how he has leveraged his social media stardom into creating a platform where he can promote inclusivity in the dance world and provide a positive role model for dancers everywhere.

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(114) Arthur Pita, Choreographer Nov 06, 2018

Show notes

This week on Conversations On Dance, we are joined by choreographer Arthur Pita. Pita graduated with a master’s degree from London Contemporary Dance School, and has choreographed internationally in many different formats, including works for opera, musical theatre, plays and film. He has garnered attention for his imaginative and personal re-interpretations of classic narratives like Kafka’s ‘Metamorphosis’ and Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. This week at the Joyce Theater in New York City, his interpretation of Roland Topor’s ‘The Tenant’ will premiere, with American Ballet Theater principal James Whiteside as the lead.

This episode was recorded back in April 2018, when we were at San Francisco Ballet for their Unbound Festival, in which Arthur was one of the 12 choreographers who created a new work.

This episode is brought to you by Yumiko and The 2018 Dance Magazine Awards.

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(113) Sasha De Sola, Principal San Francisco Ballet Oct 30, 2018

Show notes

This week we are joined by San Francisco Ballet Principal Dancer, Sasha De Sola. Born in Winter Park, Florida, Sasha trained at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. on a full merit scholarship. In 2004, Ms. De Sola received a scholarship for studies at the Paris Opera Ballet School. At the age of 17, Sasha joined San Francisco Ballet where she rose through the ranks and was promoted to the rank of Principal Dancer in 2017. Today we talk with Sasha from the Kennedy Center in Washington DC while the company was there last week on tour.

This episode is brought to you by The Kennedy Center and Yumiko.

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BONUS: Natasha Sheehan, Dancer with San Francisco Ballet Oct 26, 2018

Show notes

In today’s bonus episode we are continuing our coverage of San Francisco Ballet at the Kennedy Center as they showcase 6 works from the company’s Unbound: a festival of new works. Today’s episode was recorded in April when we were in San Francisco as these works all premiered. We talk with new corps member, Natasha Sheehan about training at San Francisco Ballet School, joining the company, and her blog about healthy eating and wellness.

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