Conversations on Dance

This week we are joined by filmmaker, Ezra Hurwitz.  Following a seven year career with Miami City Ballet, Ezra retired from the stage to study film and business strategy at Columbia University.  Since beginning his work as a dance filmmaker following his time at Columbia, he has created viral videos for numerous clients including San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theater, The Kennedy Center, and most recently the New York Times.  Ezra’s work has been featured in publications such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly, and the Huffington Post to name a few.  Be sure to follow our social media accounts this week as we share some of Ezra’s amazing work.  Today we talk with Ezra about his decision to leave ballet, his time at Columbia, how he got his start in film, and what’s next for him.

This week we present our first episode recorded on our Conversations on Dance New York Tour sponsored by DanceWear Corner.  Today we start with the first of three installments with Edward Villella, Balanchine Dancer & Miami City Ballet Founding Artistic Director.  Edward was hired into the New York City Ballet by George Balanchine in 1957 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 1970.  Balanchine created many famous roles on Edward including Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Rubies section of Jewels, Tarentella, and many others (tune into Episode Two to hear him speak more in depth on these specific ballets.)  Edward became quite famous, not only for his dancing, but his innumerable TV appearances during his career including “The Ed Sullivan Show” and an appearance on “The Odd Couple.”  After his dancing career, Villella founded the Miami City Ballet in 1985 and would remain at the helm for 27 years, developing it into a world renowned company (which we will discuss with him in Episode Three.)  Today we talk about his start in ballet, his time at the New York Maritime Academy, how he came back to ballet, and his early years in the company.

This week we are publishing our very first podcast that was recorded live with an audience.  This episode was recorded in March following our full day of master classes in Columbus, Ohio presented by Ballet in the City.  This particular “Conversation on Dance” is directed at the students in the room who we had just taught for 3 hours, and their parents who wanted to sit in on our recording.  These young and hungry students were a huge source of inspiration for us that day, and we felt so lucky to talk to them about our careers and experiences and to share our love of ballet with them.  In the end it was quite a long episode, so we have edited the content down for time.

This week we are joined by Karolina Kuras, Photographer for the National Ballet of Canada. Karolina was born in Poland where she spent her early years before her family moved to a small town outside of Toronto.  As a child, Karolina was always surrounded by art, as her mother is a painter, and her father a musician.  Kuras began ballet classes which she loved, but found her shyness kept her from enjoying the stage.  After playing around with a camera, she found a new source of artistic expression, and by the time she was 19 she had started her own photography business.  She shot weddings and babies, but found she wanted something more.  Now residing in Toronto, she decided to pursue a passion project of photographing ballet.  The National Ballet of Canada soon got wind of her work, and now employs her as the company’s photographer.  We talk with Karolina today about her upbringing surrounded by art, her time spent dancing, how she came to find photography, and what defines her aesthetic.

This week we are joined by Miami City Ballet dancer Adriana Pierce. After training at the School of American Ballet and dancing as an Apprentice with The New York City Ballet, she joined Miami City Ballet in 2010.  Throughout her schooling, Pierce directed and choreographed numerous musical theater productions for a local theater group in New Jersey and first premiered her balletic choreography when she created two pieces for the School of American Ballet’s Annual Student Choreography Workshop under the guidance of Peter Martins.  In past years she has created works for the O, Miami Poetry Festival, Miami Chamber Music Society, the Knight Concert Hall, and for a collaboration with The New World Symphony. In November 2014, Pierce was chosen to participate in New York Choreographic Institute’s fall session, and in 2015 was selected to participate in the Resident Fellows program with the Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University. Pierce created a new work for  The Ashley Bouder Project which debuted at New York’s The Joyce Theater in August 2015. Today we speak with Adriana about her choreography, launching a choreographic career, the challenges women in choreography are facing, and the recent New York Times article on the subject.

This week Rebecca and Michael wanted to take an opportunity to discuss retirement from the stage.  On April 9th Michael performed for the last time on a Miami City Ballet stage, closing out a more than decade long career with the company.  Today Rebecca catches up with Michael to talk about how he made his decision, what the final shows were like, and what comes next.  Because as Martha Graham says, “A dancer dies twice.  Once when they stop dancing, and the first death is the more painful.”

This week we are pleased to welcome, Joaquin De Luz, Principal Dancer with The New York City Ballet.  Joaquin was born in Spain and recieved his training at the Victor Ullate School of Ballet.  In August 1996 he came to the US and joined the Pennsylvania Ballet as a soloist and a year later he joined American Ballet Theater.  At ABT Joaquin joined the rank of soloist and danced a variety of leading roles.  In 2003, he moved across Lincoln Center to The New York City Ballet and became a Principal in 2005.  After recovering from a  serious back injury, De Luz, understanding the importance of cross training for healthy dancing, became a certified personal trainer.  He is now working with City Ballet’s Physical Therapists to develop a Dancer Fit program, catered specifically to each dancer’s needs.  Today we speak with Joaquin about his early training, coming to the US, dealing with injury, and looking to the future to expand his Dancer Fit program.  If you would like more information on Joaquin’s Dancer Fit program, we highly suggest you follow his Instagram: @joaquindeluz_dancerfit.

This week we are pleased to welcome Patricia Barker, Artistic Director of Grand Rapids Ballet and former Pacific Northwest Ballet Principal Dancer.  Patricia began her ballet training in Richland, WA and later studied at the Boston Ballet School and the Pacific Northwest Ballet School.  Patricia is regarded as one of the world’s most gifted ballerinas dancing with PNB for 25 years, and as a principal for two decades. After retiring from the stage in 2007, she took over the reigns at Grand Rapids Ballet in 2010  .  Today we talk with Patricia about what it was like to be PNB’s real homegrown star, how she aquired international recognition, who had the most impact on her career, and the work she is doing now at Grand Rapids Ballet.

This week we are happy to welcome, Patrick Corbin, Assistant Professor of Practice at USC’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance.  After starting his dance training with tap and jazz at a young age, he later enrolled in the School of American Ballet.  He went on to have a career in ballet with The Washington Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, ABT II and the Joffrey.  In 1989 Patrick joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company where he became one of their most celebrated artists, originating roles in many of Paul Taylor’s works.  Upon his retirement from the stage in 2005, he became a repetiteur for Taylor works.  He now currently serves as Assistant Professor of Paractice at USC’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance.

This week we are joined by Ashley Bouder, Principal Dancer with New York City Ballet. Ashley began her training at age 6 at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet with Marcia Dale Weary.  In 1999 she moved to New York City to attending the School of American Ballet full time.  She was named an apprentice the following June with the New York City Ballet and was promoted to Principal in 2005.   She is now the artistic director of The Ashley Bouder Project which had it’s most recent run last week in New York.  Today we talk with her about her career, how she works to make herself more versitle, how she returned to dancing after having a baby, and if a run for political office is in her future.

This week we are pleased to welcome Jessica Wallis, Ballet in the City founder.  If you are a regular listener, you have heard us talk about Ballet in the City in the past as they have been one of our sponsors from the very beginning.  We were so happy to sit down with Jessica in Miami a few weeks ago to hear more about how her organization come about.  Jessica studied ballet through highschool until an injury ended her dreams of becoming a professional dancer.  After attending college and becoming a school teacher, she realized she needed something more.  So she quit her job and created Ballet in Cleveland, an organization designed to present ballet in her home town, an area starved for classical ballet after the closing of San Jose Cleveland Ballet.  As her project grew, she decided to create Ballet in the City and implement this model in other locations across the country.  This Sunday she is presenting us for a live Conversations on Dance master class and the recording of a live podcast in Columbus Ohio.  If you are in the area, come dance with us!  Register now at balletinthecity.org/programs-and-events.html.

This week we are joined by Kathryn Morgan, former soloist with the New York City Ballet.  Born and raised in Mobile Alabama, Kathryn moved to New York City in 2004 to train at the School of American Ballet to continue her ballet education. In June 2006 she joined NYCB as an Apprentice and was promoted to Corps member the following year. In 2012 an autoimmune illness forced her to leave the company in order to regain her health.  After leaving, she built a wildly popular YouTube channel and has developed a loyal social media following.  Kathryn is back to dancing now and in addition is teaching master classes, speaking around the country, has her own podcast and app, and has more in the works.  Today we speak with Katie about her time with New York City Ballet, her meteoric rise, the difficult decision to leave the company, and what she loves about her career as it is today.

Today we are joined by Peter Boal, Artistic Director of Pacific Northwest Ballet.  After completing his training at the School of American Ballet, Peter became a member of the New York City Ballet in 1983 and was promoted in Principal in 1989. While still dancing with the companu dancing, from 1997-2005 Mr. Boal also served as a full-time teacher at SAB and was in fact one of Michael’s teachers during this time.  In 2005 he retired from New York City Ballet after 22-years, and immediately became Artistic Director of Pacific Northwest Ballet and Director of the Pacific Northwest Ballet School.   Join PNB on March 17th-26th for their Director’s Choice program, an evening designed by Mr. Boal to bring the audiences and the dancers new works each season.  For ticket information visit pnb.org.

This week we are delighted to welcome Fabrice Camels, Joffrey Ballet Principal Dancer.  Fabrice was born in France and began dancing at the age of three.  He completed his ballet training at the Paris Opera Ballet school before venturing the the United States where he trained at the Rock School and danced with Pennsylvania Ballet. In 2002, he joined the Joffrey Ballet under the direction of Gerald Arpino. Mr. Calmels holds the Guiness World Record for The Tallest Ballet Dancer in the world at 6’ 6”.  Today we talk with Fabrice about his decision to come dance in the states, the challenges that come with his impressive height, his outside projects, and how he came to be an IMG model.

This week we are happy to welcome José Mateo, Founder & Artistic Director of the José Mateo Ballet Theatre. José holds a BA in Art History from Princeton University where he began his formal training in ballet and modern techniques.  After a New York-based career as a dancer, Mateo moved to Boston where he worked as an administrator at Harvard University’s Fogg Art Museum and quickly gained a reputation as a teacher and choreographer.  In 1985 he founded his own company and school. For over 30 years José Mateo Ballet Theatre’s highly acclaimed Company has presented repertory work representing Mateo’s artistic achievement in choreography. Mateo is also widely respected for his civic contribution as innovator of community programs that broaden the reach of ballet and make dance an effective community building force.  Last week Mateo was awarded the esteemed Commonwealth Award for Achievement, the highest honor in arts, humanities, and sciences in the State of Massachusetts.  Today we talk with him about his time at Princeton, the process of building a company and school from the ground up, and about receiving this distinguished award.