Conversations on Dance

The dance world has a complicated relationship with food. Plagued with pervasive body dysmorphia, our culture is often riddled with myths and negativity regarding our diets. We spoke with dietitian Suzanne Fisher about the dance world’s unique problems with diet and what can be done to overcome them and maintain a healthy relationship with the food that fuels our art. Suzanne’s website: fishernutritionsystems.com. Mention Conversations on Dance for a special 15% discount. Guidelines for Professional Dance Companies on Healthy Nutrition  

On today’s episode of Conversations On Dance, we are joined by Devon Teuscher, principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. In 2006, after completing her training at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, Devon was invited to join ABT’s studio company. Consistent soloist work led to her first promotion in 2014, and following a triumphant turn as Odette/Odile in the full length ‘Swan Lake’, she was promoted to principal in 2017. We sat down at the Vail Dance Festival with Devon to discuss how she pushed through difficult early years in the corps de ballet, the hours of hard work and thought that went into shaping her ‘Swan Lake’, and what she wants next from her career. Photo: Sarah Kehoe

Join us for another live Festival Forum panel discussion with Damian Woetzel and Claudia Schreier.  Damian Woetzel is the Artistic Director of The Vail Dance Festival and Claudia Schreier is back creating work at the festival for a third time.  We talk about Damian’s beginnings at the festival and how he developed it’s mission.  We talk with Claudia about her roots in the Vail Dance Festival as a young intern that grew into a burgeoning career as a choreographer noticed by major companies and critics alike.  (Note: This episode was recorded on August 5th, 2018.) Photo: Dandara Veiga and Chris Bloom in “Contra” at the 2018 Vail Dance Festival.  Choreography by Claudia Schreier.  Photo by Erin Baiano

Today we talk with New York City Ballet Principal, Lauren Lovette.  The last time we chatted with her was last year at the Vail Dance Festival, so this year we catch up with her, talk about her guesting gig with Royal Danish Ballet, and hear about her new work “Papillons” that premiered on August 6th, 2018 at the Vail Dance Festival.  (Note: This episode was recorded on August 6th, 2018.) Photo: Unity Phelan and cast in “Papillons” at the 2018 Vail Dance Festival.  Choreography by Lauren Lovette.  Photo by Erin Baiano

Roman Mejia is one of the newest members of the New York City Ballet, having burst onto the scene at the Vail Dance Festival fresh out of the School of American Ballet. In just his first year at the company, he’s garnered critical acclaim for numerous solo roles, and is quickly gathering momentum as a dancer to be seen. We talk with Roman about the pressures of being thrust into the spotlight so soon into his career, how he prepares for these challenges, and how coming from a ballet family has prepared him in his career. (Note: This episode was recorded on August 4th, 2018)   Photo: Roman Mejia in “Pas de Deux from William Tell” at the 2018 Vail Dance Festival.  Photo by Erin Baiano  

Merce Cunningham is one of the greatest and most influential choreographers of the 20th century. In honor of the Merce Cunningham centennial, we were pleased to host Melissa Toogood, a dancer of his works and Abi Sebaly, a Cunningham scholar.  We discuss Merce’s work methods, collaborations with artists like John Cage and Robert Rauschenberg, broad influence in the avant-garde in dance and beyond, and his “Scenario,” excerpts of which were performed at the Vail Dance Festival on August 3, 2018.  (Note: This episode was recorded on August 3rd.) Photo: “Scenario (an excerpt)”, International Evenings of Dance I, Vail Dance Festival, Friday, August 3, 2018, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. Credit Photo: Erin Baiano

We sit down in Vail to catch up with The New York Times Chief Dance Critic Alastair Macaulay and discuss the Vail Dance Festival.  We discuss what makes the festival so special, how it has evolved, dancers who he has watched flourish in Vail, and what makes him keep coming back for more.  (Note: This episode was recorded on August 3, 2018.) Photo: Erin Baiano

Welcome to our first episode from the 2018 Vail Dance Festival.  For our first live event we spoke with Justin Peck and Caroline Shaw.  Justin Peck, one of the world’s most sought after and celebrated working ballet choreographers, and fresh off a Tony nomination for his work on the Broadway musical ‘Carousel’, will be premiering his first work at the Vail Dance Festival. Caroline Shaw, composer-in-residence at VDF, has been commissioned to create the score for this work. In conversation together with these artists, we will explore the possibilities of such a collaboration, from the first moments of mutual inspiration to bringing the premiere to the stage. This episode is brought to you by the Town of Vail, a sponsor helping to host the Vail Dance Festival in our community.

This week it’s just Rebecca and Michael to celebrate our 100th episode.  We take the time to reflect on the past two years of Conversations on Dance by counting down our top 10 favorite episodes.  We have had so many incredible guests that it was hard to narrow it down, so a few other favorite moments come up.  Thank you to all of our listeners who have made these past two years of podcasting such a wonderful journey and thank you to each and every one of our guests who took the time to talk with us a spread the good word of ballet! We are heading to Vail on Tuesday, July 31st, so stay tuned for lots of content coming at you live from The Vail Dance Festival.  Subscribe now on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts to receive notifications when a new episode has been published.  For more information on what we will be up to in Vail click here: https://conversationsondancepod.com/vail-dance-festival

This we we are delighted to welcome Michael Novak,  the Artistic Director Designate of the Paul Taylor Dance Foundation. Raised in Rolling Meadows, IL, Michael began studying dance at age ten.  In 2001, he was offered a Presidential Scholarship to attend The University of the Arts in Philadelphia to pursue training in jazz and ballet. The following year, he undertook an apprenticeship at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet Society, where he remained until 2004.  After moving to New York City, Michael was admitted to Columbia University’s School of General Studies where he was awarded scholarships for academic excellence.  After being a freelance dancer in New York City for many years, Michael joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 2010. This past May, Paul Taylor chose Michael as a successor, naming him artistic director-designate of the Paul Taylor Dance Foundation.  Michael is 35 and will continue on with the company as a dancer.  Today we talk with Michael about what brought him to dance, finding Paul Taylor and his choreography, and what has happened since Paul called him in March with some big news.

This week on Conversations On Dance, our guest is Houston Ballet Artistic Director and acclaimed choreographer Stanton Welch. Born in Australia to two prominent ballet dancers, Welch expressed an interest in choreography almost immediately after beginning his dance training. Soon after joining the Australian Ballet as a dancer he received his first choreographic commission, and five years later he was named resident choreographer. Following major commissions at companies around the globe, Welch was appointed artistic director of the Houston Ballet. We talk to Welch about coming from a family of dancers, his choreographic inspirations, and the challenges of directing a company.

This week we are joined by Ana Sophia Scheller, San Francisco Ballet Principal Dancer. The Argentinian-born dancer moved to New York at the age of 13 to study at the School of American Ballet, and later joined NYCB as a corps member in 2004 after a brief time with ABT’s Studio company. In her 13 years with NYCB, she worked her way up to the title of Principal dancing featured roles in all of the classics and originating roles in several new works.  In the summer of 2017 she announced that she would make the move to join San Francisco Ballet as a Principal for the following season.  We talk with Ana about her beginnings with ballet, how she joined the New York City Ballet, and what ultimately took her to San Francisco Ballet.

Today on Conversations On Dance, we speak with Dwight Rhoden, founding artistic director and resident choreographer of Complexions Dance Company. Despite a late start in dance, Rhoden danced for numerous major companies, including as a principal with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Partnering with acclaimed performer Desmond Richardson, Rhoden co-founded Complexions in 1994, a company often cited as America’s original multi-cultural dance company. With its profound commitment to diversity and new contemporary work, Complexions has achieved international acclaim. Rhoden has choreographed over 80 works for Complexions, in addition to works created for the Mariinsky Ballet, the New York City Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, and many others. Today we talk to Dwight about his beginnings as a dancer, what’s next for Complexions and the work he most recently created at San Francisco Ballet’s Unbound festival.

This week we are joined by Mathilde Froustey, Principal Dancer with San Francisco Ballet.  Mathilde started dancing at the age of 9 in the South of France before going on to study at the Paris Opera Ballet School in 1999.  In 2002 she joined The Paris Opera Ballet where she would dance numerous Principal roles for over a decade.  In January 2013 she accepted an offer from Helgi Tommasson to join the San Francisco Ballet as a Principal.  News of her leaving Paris Opera made waves, as she was the first top-notch dancer to leave the company in years.  Today we talk with Mathilde about her career and her time dancing with both Paris Opera and San Francisco Ballet.  She offers us especially interesting insight into Paris Opera and how the company is run, which is a stark contrast to companies in the United States.  

This week we are joined by Katita Waldo, Ballet Master with San Francisco Ballet. Katita trained at San Francisco Ballet School, prior to joining the company in 1988 and becoming a Principal dancer in 1994.  She  performed Principal roles in a diverse repertory of works by acclaimed choreographers including George Balanchine, William Forsythe, Lar Lubovitch, Helgi Tomasson, and Christopher Wheeldon before retiring from the stage in 2010. In 2008, SFB Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson asked Katita to serve as Ballet Master for 2 world premiers.  These experiences ultimately lead to her full-time appointment to the position upon her retirement. Today we talk with Katita about her career, he first experiences in the front of the room setting ballets, adjusting to her new role as Ballet Master, her process for learning ballets before coming into the studio, and her role in the ‘Unbound’ festival. This episode is sponsored by San Francisco Ballet and Body Wrappers/Angelo Luzio.