Conversations on Dance

This week we are joined by our friend, Damien Johnson, faculty member of the Washington School of Ballet. Originally from Dallas, Texas, Damien started dancing at 13, eventually going on to study at The Rock School and The School of American Ballet. As a professional dancer, Damien has been a member of American Repertory Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, New Chamber Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, and London based Ballet Black where he was a principal dancer for 10 seasons. Since returning to the states in 2017, Johnson has performed with Madison Ballet, The Ashley Bouder Project, and The Suzanne Farrell Ballet. We talk to Damien via Zoom, while he is currently in Lake Tahoe, guest teaching for Lake Tahoe Dance Collective. He shares with us his experiences in Lake Tahoe as a teacher during these times, but also as a mainstay of the annual Lake Tahoe Dance Festival. This episode is brought to you by Yumiko and the Lake Tahoe Dance Festival. Save the date because this year, the Lake Tahoe Dance Festival is coming to you! The 8th annual Lake Tahoe Dance Festival, online edition, takes place July 22-24, 2020. Enjoy Tahoe in your living room over three unique nights, each with a variety of works around a common theme, with artist interviews and introductions around the works being performed. Special guests include Ashley Bouder (NYCB), Adrian Danchig Waring (NYCB), Lloyd Knight (Martha Graham Dance),  Stephen Hanna (Broadway), and many more. This year’s performances will be available on their website, laketahoedancecollective.org, with a suggested donation of $25. Be sure to connect with them via social media: on Facebook and Instagram at laketahoedancecollective.

This week, friend of the pod Patricia Delgado, makes another appearance on Conversations on Dance, to discuss Zoom ballet class. Patricia is a former Principal Dancer with Miami City Ballet and is now a faculty member of the Juilliard Dance Division. Join us for a chat about what it’s like to teach dance digitally, troubleshooting some of the technical glitches with Zoom, and what tricks we have developed during this time as teachers. This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com)

Today we are joined by Phil Chan, a co-founder of Final Bow for Yellowface. Phil is a graduate of Carleton College and an alumnus of the Ailey School and is now an arts administrator and educator. Phil was the founding General Manager of the Buck Hill Skytop Music Festival, and was the General Manager for Armitage Gone! Dance and Youth America Grand Prix. He served multiple years on the National Endowment for the Arts dance panel and the Jadin Wong Award panel presented by the Asian American Arts Alliance, and is on the advisory committee for the Parsons Dance Company. In 2017, he teamed up with NYCB dancer, and friend of the pod, Georgina Pazcoguin, to found “Final Bow for Yellowface.” Phil tells us about how this initiative came about, what work he is currently doing as a part of this organization, and tells us about his new book, “Final Bow for Yellowface: Dancing between Intention and Impact. ” You can access Phil’s e-book online at yellowface.org. This episode is brought to you by Yumiko.

This week we are continuing our conversation about teaching ballet classes online during the COVID-19 pandemic. We talk with Gavin Larsen, a former principal dancer with Oregon Ballet Theatre, now living in Asheville, NC, where she teaches and writes about dance. After training at the School of American Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet School, she danced with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Alberta Ballet, and the Suzanne Farrell Ballet before joining OBT. For the first half of this episode, we get to know Gavin by chatting about her extensive career. Starting around 35 minutes in, we dive into how she is adapting to teaching online, how she is articulating corrections, how to combat challenges for specific students, and what positives we can take from this time. ALSO: along the theme of Zoom classes, we know that ballet students and professionals alike are feeling a huge sense of missing out as we navigate this pandemic. Summer courses are being cancelled across the country, and here on Conversations on Dance, we often discuss how important summer courses are for dancer development. This is why we are exploring offering Conversations on Dance Zoom classes as a way to supplement your current training regimen, in an affordable way. We want to test the waters and see what kind of interest there might be. So, this Thursday, May 21st, 2020 at 4pm EST, we will be offering a FREE Zoom Intermediate/Advanced ballet class for the first 10 people who email us. Sign up now to take class with Rebecca and Michael, by emailing info@conversationsondancepod.com and we will send you the Zoom info! Get in touch now! This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com).

This week we talk with Nancy Richer, founder of Richer Movement. Nancy Richer was born and raised in New York City and danced with The Royal Danish Ballet, The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, The Los Angeles Ballet, and Twyla Tharp Dance. By founding Richer Movement, she developed her movement method based on the warm ups and cross training she did during her career as a professional ballerina. Nancy was ahead of the curve, teaching ballet and movement classes online before COVID-19 shifted dance training online for the rest of us. We talk with her about tips and tricks to navigating this time as a student and a teacher, online teaching practices, and how to shift your perspective when you aren’t able to be in the studio. Train with Nancy and get 25% off when you use promocode COD2020 at richermovement.com. Catch Nancy on Yumiko’s Instagram Live for Wellness Wednesdays. Join in every Wednesday and stay moving at home! This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com).

This week, we are joined by Mikko Nissinen, Boston Ballet Artistic Director. Born in Helsinki, Mikko began his dance training at age ten with The Finnish National Ballet School, and launched his professional dance career at age 15 with The Finnish National Ballet.  He went on to continue his dance training at The Kirov Ballet School in St. Petersburg, Russia. He danced professionally for 19 years, with Dutch National Ballet, Basel Ballet and as a principal dancer with San Francisco Ballet. In 2001 he was appointed Artistic Director of Boston Ballet. Now nearly 20 years into his tenure as director, we talk with Mikko about his training and early career, his ambition to always be learning more about ballet, his aspirations to run a large company, and how he landed with his position at Boston Ballet. Mikko also talks with us about leading the organization through numerous crises, including navigating the current COVID-19 pandemic. This episode is brought to you by Yumiko.

This week on the pod, Rebecca and Michael fill out a Balanchine masterwork tournament bracket to crown the ultimate Balanchine ballet. In March, two students at Indiana University sent us an email: they were missing March Madness and decided to create a bracket for Balanchine Masterworks as a fun activity for the dance department. They were kind enough to share their bracket with us. So today, we each fill out our bracket, share our results, and defend our choices. Our bracket discussion starts at time marker 16:00. Follow along with us (file below and on conversationsondancepod.com) and be sure to share your winner with us! Share your bracket on social media and tag us: @conversationsondance. This episode is brought to you by Yumiko. (yumiko.com). Introducing Yumiko at home. Post a picture or video wearing your favorite yumiko  and be entered to win a free piece. Just follow them on Instagram, @Yumiko, tag them in your post, and use #yumikoathome. They are choosing a winner every Friday, so be sure to click over to their Instagram for all the details. Remember you can shop online anytime at yumiko.com. 

This week we are joined by our friend, Tricia Albertson, Principal dancer with Miami City Ballet. Raised in Santa Cruz, CA, she began her ballet training at The Studio School of Classical Ballet. She attended summer programs at San Francisco Ballet School and the School of American Ballet (SAB) before joining SAB for the year-round program in 1995. In 1997 she joined Miami City Ballet as a corps member and was promoted to Principal in 2006. In her 22 years with Miami City Ballet, Tricia has danced most of the corps, soloist and principal roles in the company’s repertoire. We talk with Tricia about her time at SAB, her early years at Miami City Ballet, how the company has changed in 22 years, and even as she has now been with the company longer than any member in Miami City Ballet history, she is still being pushed and growing as an artist. This episode is sponsored by Yumiko. (yumiko.com) A special note: We are working to put together an episode dedicated to the challenges of Zoom ballet/dance classes in our current climate. We want to hear from teachers how they are coping with issues like correcting without a full picture (or correcting in 2D), keeping focus from students (particularly younger ones), trying to instill musicality with timing issues on the app, etc. If you are a student, we want to hear from you some of the challenges you are facing and some of the things you need from your teachers. If you have any questions you would like to see us answer, or would like to contribute to any of that latter topics, please get in touch with us. You can email us at info@conversationsondancepod.com or send us a DM on Facebook or Instagram, @conversationsondance. Subscribe to this podcast through your favorite app to be automatically notified when this new episode is released.

This week we are joined by Mira Nadon, New York City Ballet Corps de Ballet dancer. Mira began her ballet training at the age of six at the Inland Pacific Ballet Academy in Montclair, California. She attended summer courses at the School of American Ballet (SAB), in 2014 and 2015, before entering SAB full-time for the 2015 winter term. In November 2017, Ms. Nadon became an apprentice with NYCB and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in November 2018. We talk with this rising star about her training, joining NYCB as an apprentice at just 16, and her career accomplishments at such a young age. This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com). Photo: Nadon in Peter Martins’ The Sleeping Beauty. Erin Baiano, Courtesy NYCB

This week we are joined by our friend, Jovani Furlan, soloist with New York City Ballet. Born in Joinville, Brazil, Jovani started dancing at the age of 11 at The Bolshoi Theater School in Brazil. In 2010 he participated in the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, and was offered a full scholarship to attend the Miami City Ballet School by Edward Villella. He began his training at the MCB School in 2011 and joined Miami City Ballet in 2012. He was promoted to soloist in 2015 and was named an MCB principal dancer in 2017. Jovani joined NYCB as a soloist in August 2019. We talk with Jovani, who we both danced with for many years in Miami, about his origins with ballet, why he had his eye on coming to dance in the US, joining MCB during the directorship transition, and how his new position at New York City Ballet came about. This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com)

In January and February we put together a higher education series to explore dance programs in schools across the country. Today we are adding to this distinguished list of programs as we talk with the Juilliard School’s Director of the Dance Division, Alicia Graf Mack. Alicia enjoyed a distinguished career as a leading dancer of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She has also been a principal dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem and Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and she has danced as a guest performer with Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet. She graduated from Columbia University and holds an MA in nonprofit management from Washington University in St. Louis. She began her inaugural season as director of the Juilliard Dance Division in the fall of 2018. Each year 24 new dancers are accepted into Juilliard’s four-year BFA program. In addition to the daily ballet and modern technique classes, every dancer participates in classical and contemporary, partnering, dance composition, anatomy, acting, dance history, stagecraft, production, music theory, repertory, and elements of performing. In today’s episode, Alicia tells us about her career, dealing with injuries, her personal experience with higher education, and what ultimately landed her at the Juilliard Dance Division. For information on admissions, please visit juilliard.edu/admissions. During this time of quarantine, Alicia has taught a beautiful online class that can be accessed on Juilliard’s website: https://www.juilliard.edu/school/news/media-gallery. Be sure to follow Juilliard on their social media channels for more content from faculty, current students, and alumni, as they unify all this creativity under #JuilliardThrives. Conversations on Dance is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com). Photo by Rachel Papo.

Today, Rebecca and Michael connect via Skype from quarantine. We discuss some options of ballet related content to consume while the world is social distancing during the Coronavirus Pandemic. We list some online class options, resources for dancers who are out of work, and our favorite dance related books, movies, and much more. This list was put together based on internet research and content that we are familiar with. Pointe Magazine and Dance Magazine are also offering a lot of great up to date resources. Conversations on Dance is brought to you by Yumiko. (Yumiko.com) Remember to please follow CDC guidelines and the direction of your local officials during this time. We are hoping to be able to bring our listeners content to help take your mind off of everything, if just for a short time. During this time, we will not be following our regular publishing schedule, so follow us on social media to stay up to date on our new content. Below is a list that includes links to the items we discuss in this episode. ONLINE CLASSES: Kathryn Morgan YouTube Channel, World Ballet Day Videos, John Clifford Class with Portland Ballet, Miami City Ballet School Class via Dance Spirit, Men’s Class (PNB Summer Course 2018), PNB School Class (Summer 2016), Herman – Dance Live by Herman Cornejo on YouTube, and Ashley Bouder just launched a YouTube Channel. INSTAGRAM RESOURCES FOR CLASS: Martha Graham classes via @marziamem @lloydknight, Tiler Peck via @tilerpeck, Juilliard class available at @juilliardschool, and @vaildancefest is cataloging a lot of what your favorite dancers are doing during this time. PLACES TO TAKE BALLET CLASS ONLINE OUTSIDE OF INSTAGRAM OR YOUTUBE: Dancio (offering two free weeks of classes due to Coronavirus), Veyette Virtual Ballet School, 1on1 Ballet, and Ballet Beautiful. HOW CAN WE HELP DANCERS DIRECTLY DURING THIS TIME? If you are a dancer, get in touch with the Actor’s Fund or explore these freelance dancer resources. The Dance Union Podcast is starting a GoFundMe for NYC Based Dancers. Tell Congress to include displaced entertainment workers in relief package via Action Network. MOVIES: The Red Shoes (Amazon Prime), Billy Elliot (Netflix), Center Stage (Netflix), Turning Point (Amazon Prime), White Knights (Amazon Prime), Black Swan (Hulu, Amazon Prime), Oklahoma (Amazon Prime), Carousel (Amazon Prime), Singin’ In the Rain (iTunes), On The Town (iTunes), American In Paris (Amazon Prime), Top Hat (Netflix), West Side Story (Netflix), Fame (Netflix.)

In light of the impact that the Coronavirus is having on the arts community, not to mention the world, we are shining some light on one of the ways that you can stay in shape during these times of social distancing. Today we are talking with friends of the pod, Francis Veyette and Lauren Fadeley Veyette, founders of Veyette Virtual Ballet School. We catch up with them to hear about their personalized virtual training, coaching, and mentorship programs. They tell us about new offerings that they are putting together in order to serve the demand within the dance community during this time. If you are looking for ways to keep dancing during this quarantine, you will definitely want to hear more about what Fran and Lauren are doing. Listen to our first episode with Fran in episode 28 and Lauren in episode 30. Get in touch with them through their website: veyettevirtualballetschool.com. This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com).

This week we bring you our final episode from the 2019 Vail Dance Festival! Today we speak with Gil Boggs, Colorado Ballet Artistic Director. Gil began his dance career with the Atlanta Ballet and he joined American Ballet Theatre in 1982. In 1991 he was promoted to Principal Dancer and danced with the company for 17 years. Boggs also performed with the Twyla Tharp Dance Company, Baryshnikov and Company, Nureyev and Friends, and made several guest appearances around the world. Boggs accepted the position of Artistic Director with Colorado Ballet in the Spring of 2006. We talk with Gil about his distinguished career, his transition after retiring from the stage, how his directorship at Colorado Ballet came about, and some of the ways he has been able to grow the company. This episode is brought to you by The Town of Vail, Yumiko (yumiko.com), and The Veyette Virtual Ballet School (veyettevirtualballetschool.com).

This week on Conversations on Dance, we are joined by Michael Montgomery, dancer with Alonzo King LINES Ballet from the 2019 Vail Dance Festival. Michael was born in Long Beach, CA, trained at the Orange County High School of the Arts and studied at the Alvin Ailey School in the Certificate program. In 2011 he graduated from the Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA Program at Dominican University of California. In 2010, he joined LINES Ballet and was named to the list of “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine in 2013. We talk with Michael about his origins in dance, the BFA program at Dominican University, what a typical day is like as a member of LINES, and what it is like working in the studio with Alonzo during his creation process. This episode is brought to you by The Town of Vail, Yumiko (yumiko.com), and The Veyette Virtual Ballet School (veyettevirtualballetschool.com).