Conversations on Dance

This week happy to welcome back Doug Fullington, assistant to the artistic director at Pacific Northwest Ballet and the company’s education program’s manager. Mr. Fullington is a lauded dance historian, capable of reading Stepanov notation, a classical ballet notation system developed in Russia. He’s contributed to the reconstruction of many 19th century works, including ‘The Daughter of Pharaoh’, ‘Le Corsaire’, and recently, PNB’s ‘Giselle’. In 2000, he was named principal researcher for the George Balanchine Foundation’s  project entitled ’Popular Balanchine’.  A few weeks after the recording of this episode, Alexei Ratmansky, Lourdes Lopez, and a small group of Miami City Ballet Dancers joined Doug at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City for their Works and Process performing arts series.  Doug was the moderator for this event which delved deeper into Alexei Ratmansky’s World Premiere for Miami City Ballet, “The Fairy’s Kiss,”  set to the Stravinsky score, entitled “Le Baiser de la Fée.” Today we chat with Doug, who offers us a behind the scenes look into the Works and Process event and provides a fascinating examination of the history of this score that has challeneged choreographers since it’s inception. For a link to the full video of the Works and Process event at the Guggenheim with Doug, Alexei, and Miami City Ballet, check out our Facebook page facebook.com/conversationsondance.

Today we are thrilled to welcome Misty Copeland.  Born in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in San Pedro California, Misty began her training at the age of 13.  In 2000, she joined American Ballet Theater’s Studio Company, and was promoted to the Corps de Ballet a year later.  In June 2015, Misty made history when she became the first African American woman at ABT to join the rank of Principal Dancer.  Misty Copeland has become a household name with dozens of appearances in the mainstream media and is the face of major brands such as Under Armour.  We had the honor of speaking with her about her career, her position as a role model, and the work she is doing to give back and inspire a new generation of dancers. Be sure to check out our new website, at conversationsondancepod.com.

This week we welcome Miami City Ballet soloist, Lauren Fadeley.  After completing a year of training at SAB, Lauren was asked by Peter Martins to join New York City Ballet at the age of 16.  After two years with the company, Lauren decided to pursue a higher education at Indiana University.  She danced throughout college and graduated  with a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an outside field in Kinesiology.  In 2007, Lauren went on the join the Pennsylvania Ballet where she rose through the ranks to Principal.  In 2016, she made another career change and joined Miami City Ballet as a Soloist.  Today we talk with Lauren about her unique career path, her college education, especially her time working with Balanchine Ballerina, Violet Verdy, and ask her advice for young dancers looking to choose between college and a professional career in dance.  As Lauren proves, sometimes you don’t have to choose.

Today we have the distinct pleasure of welcoming New York Times Chief Dance Critic, Alastair Macaulay. Alastair has been the Chief Dance critic with the Times since 2007.  Before that time, he worked as the Chief Theater Critic of the Financial Times in London, was the Chief Dance Critic for The Literary Supplement, the founding editor of the British Quarterly Dance Theater Journal, and a guest dance critic for The New Yorker.   For the past 30 years Alastair has been researching George Balanchine’s ’Serenade’ and has recently complied his work into a Symposium  at the New York Public Library entitled “Balanchine’s Serenade: An Evening of Films, Commentary, and Memories.” For a list of supplemental information to accompany this episode, visit us on Facebook, at Facebook.com/conversationsondance.

This week we have the distinct pleasure of welcoming Patricia McBride, beloved Balanchine Ballerina.  Patricia McBride is one of the most treasured ballerinas of the 20th century. In a career that spanned nearly 3 decades, she performed dozens of leading roles in the repertoire of the New York City Ballet. In 1961, she was promoted to principal dancer, the youngest in the company’s history at that point. George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins both created signature works with McBride as their muse, in works like ‘Dances At a Gathering’, ‘Who Cares?’ and ‘Rubies’. McBride was named a Kennedy Center Honors recipient in 2014. She is presently the associate artistic director and master teacher of the Charlotte Ballet.

Francis Veyette danced with Pennsylvania Ballet for 17 years, retiring in 2016. He performed a repertoire that ranged from the lead in Balanchine roles like ‘Square Dance’ and ‘Theme and Variations’, to Siegfried in ‘Swan Lake’, to many original works by resident choreographer Matthew Neenan. While still dancing with the company, Francis was asked to lead Pennsylvania Ballet II, where he was tasked with shepherding young dancers through the transition from student to professional. During his career as a dancer, Francis was regularly teaching students for 6 years before retiring from the stage last year. Most recently, Francis has relocated to Miami with his wife, and soloist with MCB, Lauren Fadeley, where he has joined the MCB school faculty. Today we are excited to welcome Fran to get his advice and insight into the world of Summer Intensive auditions. He shares some amazing tips, and offers a positive perspective for dancers and parents alike.

This week we are joined by Brandon Stirling Baker, an american lighting designer for ballet, opera, and theater. His lighting can be seen in the repertory of New York City Ballet, Miami City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Paul Taylor, and many others. Mr. Baker’s designs have been presented by major theaters internationally including Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Theatre du Chatelet, Havana Ballet Festival Cuba, and Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain. Today we talk with him about how he got his start, his process, and how his collaborations with New York City Ballet Resident Choreographer Justin Peck catapulted him to the top of the dance scene.

As many of you are, we are taking a short break for the holidays: we will return on January 2nd with new content!  Subscribe now so you will automatically be notified of new content. In the meantime, you won’t want to miss the fun content we have planned for our social media. Follow us on Instagram, @conversationsondance, Facebook.com/conversationsondance, and Twitter, @convoondance. If you would like to suggest future content or offer feedback, email rebecca@tendusunderapalmtree.com.

Today we are joined by Sara & Leigh-Ann Esty of ‘An American in Paris’ Broadway Tour.  Sara danced with Miami City Ballet for 10 years before leaving in 2013 to join the original cast of ‘An American in Paris’ on Broadway.  During the show’s run in New York, Sara was an ensemble member, and the alternate for the show’s lead female role, Lise.  Leigh-Ann Esty left Miami City Ballet at the end of last season after 12 years with the company.  She has now joined Sara, her identical twin, on the nationwide tour of ‘An American in Paris.’  The pair are both staring in the lead role of Lise, and Leigh also is a member of the ensemble.  The show is choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, a prolific choreographer in the ballet world, who won a Tony award for the production.  This interview was recorded just after the tour’s opening in November, and since then the girls have performed over 50 shows.  They are currently touring around Florida, and are prepping for their Miami homecoming the week of December 26th.  For ticket info, please visit, www.anamericaninparisbroadway.com

Today we are joined by Sara Mearns, Principal Dancer with New York City Ballet. Ms. Mearns entered the School of American Ballet in 2001, became an apprentice with the New York City Ballet in 2003 and by 2008 she was a Principal.  Sara is one of today’s most celebrated classical ballerinas.  She has an extensive rep with the company, and has originated roles in work’s by renowned choreographers including Alexei Ratmansky, Justin Peck, and Christopher Wheeldon.  In addition to her busy dancing career, Sara serves on the advisory board of Dance NYC, is an Ambassador for Nigel Lythgoe’s Dizzy Feet foundation, and has a partnership with Cole Haan where she collaborates for a 3-year campaign designing ballet flats and handbags.

This week we are joined by Doug Fullington, assistant to the artistic director at Pacific Northwest Ballet and their education program’s manager. Mr. Fullington is a lauded dance historian, capable of reading Stepanov notation, a classical ballet notation system developed in Russia. He’s contributed to the reconstruction of many 19th century works, including ‘The Daughter of Pharaoh’, ‘Le Corsaire’, and recently, PNB’s ‘Giselle’. In 2000, he was named principal researcher for the George Balanchine Foundation’s  project entitled ’Popular Balanchine’.  We are thrilled today to talk to Doug about the compelling and perhaps little known history behind America’s most beloved holiday tradition, the Nutcracker.

This week we are joined by Julie Kent, Artistic Director of The Washington Ballet.  Ms Kent danced with American Ballet Theater for over 30 years, 22 of those as a Principal Dancer, and is one of the company’s most celebrated performers.  She retired from the stage in 2015 to a 23 minute standing ovation.  She then went on to head the ABT summer intensive until this past July when she was named Artistic Director of the Washington Ballet.

Today we are joined by Reid Bartleme and Harriet Jung, prolific costume designers working in New York City.  The pair met in classes at The Fashion Institute of Technology and founded Reid & Harriet designs in 2011.  Since then, they have designed costumes for some of the most sought after current choreographers, and costumed productions at American Ballet Theater, New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Miami City Ballet. (Reid & Harriet, Costume Designers)

This week we are pleased to welcome Sarah Hay, Actress and Ballerina.  She is a former dancer with the Semperoper Ballet in Dresden and the star of the Starz mini series “Flesh and Bone.”  Ms. Hay was nominated for a Golden Globe and a Critics choice award, and a winner of a Satellite award for her portrayal of Claire Robbins in the series.  She is now living in Los Angeles and has a reccurring role in a new comedy series “I’m Dying Up Here” coming in 2017.

This week we welcome Carling Talcott-Steenstra of the Royal Danish Ballet.  After starting her career at Miami City Ballet, Carling set her sights on Europe.  After transitioning to life overseas, she joined the cast of the Starz limited series, “Flesh and Bone.”  Ms. Talcott-Steenstra has been very open in past years about her struggles with anorexia and today she opens up to offer an honest and raw interview. (Carling Talcott-Steenstra, Royal Danish Ballet)