Conversations on Dance

Latest Episodes:

(112) LIVE from the Kennedy Center: Helgi Tomasson, Artistic Director of San Francisco Ballet Oct 23, 2018

Show notes

This week’s episode of ‘Conversations On Dance’ was recorded live at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Our guest is former New York City Ballet principal and Artistic Director of the San Francisco Ballet, Helgi Tomasson. The San Francisco Ballet is performing at the Kennedy Center this week, from October 23 – 28, 2018. They will be performing six works that premiered earlier this year at the ‘Unbound’ festival in San Francisco. You can purchase tickets online at www.kennedy-center.org.

This episode is supported by the Kennedy Center and Yumiko. Watch the full video of this event now: https://youtu.be/N6FlxJV3mZc

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(111) Sarah Van Patten, San Francisco Ballet Principal Dancer Oct 15, 2018

Show notes

This week we are joined by Sarah Van Patten, Principal with San Francisco Ballet. Sarah trained at Ballet Workshop of New England, and danced with Massachusetts Youth Ballet. In 2000 at age 15, she joined the Royal Danish Ballet as an apprentice where John Neumeier cast her as Juliet in his Romeo and Juliet. Soon after, she was promoted to the rank of corps dancer, one of the youngest corps dancer ever invited to the Royal Danish Ballet in its 200-year history. Van Patten joined San Francisco Ballet as a soloist dancer in 2002 and was promoted to the rank of principal dancer in 2007. We talk with Sarah about her training, traveling so far from home at such a young age to join Royal Danish Ballet, what brought her to San Francisco Ballet, and about returning to dancing after the birth of her son. This episode was recorded in April during our time at San Francisco Ballet’s “Unbound Festival.”

This episode is supported by San Francisco Ballet, Yumiko, and The Kennedy Center. Get information about our live podcast recording with guest Helgi Tomasson, Artistic Director of San Francisco Ballet, on October 22, 2018 at 4pm.

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(110) Stella Abrera, Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre Oct 08, 2018

Show notes

This week on Conversations on Dance we are joined from the Vail Dance Festival by Stella Abrera, Principal with American Ballet Theatre. Stella began her training in her home town of Pasadena, California. Her family moved to Sydney, Australia where she spent three years studying the Royal Academy of Dancing (or RAD). After returning to the States, Abrera joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in 1996 and was appointed a Soloist in 2001. After almost 20 years with the company and returning to the stage after dealing with a severe injusry, she was promoted to Principal Dancer in August 2015. Today we talk with Stella about her early training, how she came to join American Ballet Theatre, and some of the challenges and triumphs of her 22 years with the company.

This episode is brought to you by Yumiko and The Vail Dance Festival.

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(109) Daniel Applebaum, dancer with the New York City Ballet Oct 01, 2018

Show notes

This week on Conversations On Dance, we talk to Daniel Applebaum, dancer with the New York City Ballet. Daniel joined the company in 2005, and quickly became one of the most depended upon dancers, regularly dancing triple bills, morphing into varied choreographic styles, and keeping dozens of ballets ready to go in his mind and body. Noted for his intelligence, elegance, musicality, and full out movement quality, Daniel continues to be an onstage force and promises to be a mind that will shape the dance world in the years to come.

This episode is sponsored by Yumiko and The Vail Dance Festival

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(108) Rashaun Mitchell and Silas Riener, Choreographic Duo Sep 24, 2018

Show notes

This week on ‘Conversations On Dance’, we are joined by the choreographic team sweeping the modern dance world, Rashaun Mitchell and Silas Riener. The duo performed together at Merce Cunningham Dance company where they discovered their choreographic compatibility and a similar willingness to explore the way abstraction and representation coincide in the body. Their works have been presented at MoMA PS1, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, NY Live Arts, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and many other prestigious venues throughout the country. They will premiere ‘Switch’ for the Joyce theater this Oct 2-6. Tickets may be purchased at www.Joyce.org .

This episode is sponsored by Yumiko, The Vail Dance Festival, and QuarterMarks.

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BONUS: Alastair Macaulay on his departure from the New York Times Sep 21, 2018

Show notes

This week on ‘Conversations On Dance’, we are bringing you a special bonus episode, with one of of most frequent guests, Alastair Macaulay. Today, Alastair has announced his decision to step down from his post as chief dance critic of the New York Times. In his years writing for the Times, Alastair’s reviews became events unto themselves, illuminating the performances he saw for many avid readers. Today we talk to Alastair about the artists whose performances most inspired him, courting controversy with ‘Sugarplumgate’, and what he’ll miss most about the job that made him a hugely important figure in the dance world.

Episode sponsored by Yumiko, The Town of Vail, and Quarter Marks.

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(107) Misa Kuranaga, Boston Ballet Principal Sep 17, 2018

Show notes

On this week’s episode of ‘Conversations On Dance’, we are joined by Boston Ballet principal Misa Kuranaga. A native of Japan, Misa first came to dance professionally in America with the San Francisco Ballet, before additional training at the School of American Ballet. In 2003, she joined Boston Ballet, where was quickly handed major soloist and principal opportunities, ultimately rising to the rank of principal dancer in 2009. We talk to her about her path to Boston Ballet, fighting through periods of uncertainty and lack of motivation, and how she continues to develop her artistry after nearly ten years as a principal.

Support for this episode is brought to you by Yumiko, The Vail Dance Festival, and Quarter Marks.

Enter to win a Yumiko leotard now through September 22, 2018: instagram.com/conversationsondance.

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(106) Isabella Boylston, ABT Principal, from Vail Dance Festival Sep 10, 2018

Show notes

On this week’s episode of Conversations On Dance, we are thrilled to be joined once again by American Ballet Theatre principal Isabella Boylston. We caught up with her at the Vail Dance Festival, where we talked about her most recent season at the Met with ABT, how her second year running the Ballet Sun Valley Festival differed from the first, and her preparations for her first performances dancing Justin Peck’s ‘In Creases’.

This episode is sponsored by Yumiko (yumiko.com) and Quarter Marks (quartermarksquarterly.com)

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(105) Rebecca & Michael: Summer 2018 & NYCB Artistic Director Job Posting Sep 04, 2018

Show notes

This week, Rebecca & Michael sit down to discuss this past summer, what we are up to in the coming months, and to discuss the New York City Ballet Artistic Director job description. Here is the New York Times article by Michael Cooper which we reference.

We are thrilled to welcome Yumiko as our newest sponsor of Conversations on Dance. Visit their Flagship boutique in New York City featuring the all new interactive Color Bar.

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We recorded this episode before the devastating news came last week that the dance world lost two greats: Paul Taylor and Peter Frame. We did not feel it appropriate to publish this week’s episode without mentioning these two who impacted dance on a grand scale and who also impacted our careers directly.

Firstly, we never met Paul Taylor, but we both had the great pleasure of dancing quite a few of his works. These works offered up some of our most memorable and challenging onstage moments. We felt as if we got to know Paul through his dances and through his repetiteurs who staged the ballets on us. We will always treasure the memories of dancing these works.

As for Peter Frame, Rebecca only had a short experience with him when he came to Miami City Ballet to share his solo for ‘Episodes’ that Paul Taylor created on him. Michael had the pleasure of being his student. Whether you knew him just a short time, or came in contact with him on a regular basis, it was clear to everyone that Peter was a truly selfless, humble, beautiful human being. He truly wanted to bring joy to any person he touched. His legacy will live on through the audiences who watched him dance, and the students whom he mentored. Rest in Peace Paul Taylor and Peter Frame.

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(104) Margaret Tracey, Director of Boston Ballet School Aug 27, 2018

Show notes

Summer is almost over and many of our listeners are getting ready to head back to school. To help ease us into that transition, we sat down with the director of the Boston Ballet School, Margaret Tracey. Margaret had an illustrious 16 year career as a principal at the New York City Ballet, dancing a massive repertoire of works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Trey Mcintyre, William Forsythe and Peter Martins. Margaret began teaching at Boston Ballet School in 2005, and accepted her position as director in 2007. In today’s episode, we talk to Margaret from the Vail Dance Festival about how her years as a dancer inform her work as a teacher, how she tailors teaching methods to each individual student, and how she plans to continue to expand and enrich the programs offered at the Boston Ballet School.

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