Conversations on Dance

This week we are joined by Craig Hall, New York City Ballet Repertory Director. Craig was born in Maywood, Illinois. At age 14, he began studying at the Chicago Academy of the Arts and entered the School of American Ballet full time in the fall of 1997. In October 1999, Craig became an apprentice with New York City Ballet, and he joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in February 2000. In 2007, he was promoted to soloist. Craig is currently NYCB Repertory Director and assistant to world renowned New York City Ballet Resident-Choreographer Justin Peck. He’s also a guest teacher at Manhattan Movements Arts Center, coach, and has given master classes and seminars across the U.S. We talk with Craig about his career, reminisce on some important advice from teachers, talk about his transition to becoming a repetiteur (his first gig was with us at Miami City Ballet), and the work he is doing now. This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com). Links: Join our email list: https://bit.ly/3basX5g instagram.com/conversationsondance facebook.com/conversationsondance twitter.com/convoondance conversationsondancepod.com

Today we chat with our friend and former Miami City Ballet dancer, Adriana Pierce. We last spoke with Adriana in episode 44 from May 2017. Since that episode, she has since left Miami City Ballet and is now a freelance dancer and choreographer in New York City. She tells us about some of the projects she has been a part of since moving, what the pandemic has been like as a freelance artist, and about her new project with two American Ballet Theatre dancers, #QueerTheBallet, recently featured in the Guardian. This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com). Links: Join our email list: https://bit.ly/3basX5g instagram.com/conversationsondance facebook.com/conversationsondance twitter.com/convoondance conversationsondancepod.com

This week we are joined by celebrity ballet coach and former NYCB dancer, Kurt Froman. Kurt danced senior corps de ballet and soloist parts for over seven years at the New York City Ballet before venturing off to Broadway when he was cast in the leading role of James in the Twyla Tharp/Billy Joel show, Movin’ Out.  He amassed numerous Broadway credits before being presented with the opportunity to be Associate Choreographer for the film, Black Swan, where he was the responsible for training and coaching Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, and overseeing the Corps de Ballet. Since then, he has created a niche for himself as a celebrity ballet coach working on various projects. As a self-proclaimed bun-head, Kurt is a must follow on Instagram, where he shares incredible and rare videos of NYCB dancers and repertoire from his personal collection. Follow him now @kurtfroman or click the link in the description of this episode: https://www.instagram.com/kurtfroman. Join us for this wonderful chat with Kurt as we go through his expansive and varied career, including wonderful stories of working with celebrities including Natalie Portman and Jennifer Lawrence. This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com). Links: Join our email list: https://bit.ly/3basX5g instagram.com/conversationsondance facebook.com/conversationsondance twitter.com/convoondance conversationsondancepod.com

Today on the Conversations on Dance podcast, we are joined by Lorenzo Pagano, Soloist with the Martha Graham Dance Company. A native of Torino, Italy, Lorenzo moved to the US as a teenager and trained as a scholarship student at The School at Jacob’s Pillow and The Martha Graham School. He joined the Martha Graham Dance Company in 2012 and dances lead roles in a broad range of the company’s repertoire. We chat with Lorenzo about his beginnings in dance, coming to New York, his early years in the company dancing alongside dancers who had danced for Martha, and how things have changed for him since COVID hit. This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com). Links: Join our email list: https://bit.ly/3basX5g instagram.com/conversationsondance facebook.com/conversationsondance twitter.com/convoondance conversationsondancepod.com

This week we are pleased to bring you a special behind the scenes look at some of the Works & Process creation that has been happening safely throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic. Today we are joined by Ephrat Asherie, New York City-based b-girl, and Duke Dang, General Manager of Works & Process. We hear about Ephrat’s career and her recent work developed at a Works and Process Bubble Residency called, ‘UnderScored.’ Duke offers us an inside view into the arts administration side of this pandemic and how he and his team worked to get dancers and choreographers back to creating. A four-part docuseries called Isolation to Creation, follows the path of artists who participated in bubble residencies this summer as a part of Works & Process, including Ephrat. The series will stream nationwide on January 27, 2021, and February 3, 10, and 17, at 8pm ET. Access is free on the ALL ARTS app, available at allarts.org, and also will air in the New York metro area on the ALL ARTS TV channel. You won’t want to miss this fascinating look at how dance persevered during this monumental moment in history. Conversations on Dance is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com). Links: instagram.com/conversationsondance facebook.com/conversationsondance twitter.com/convoondance conversationsondancepod.com

Welcome to the second part of our interview with Balanchine Ballerina, Gloria Govrin. If you are tuning in and haven’t heard part one, we hope that you will go back in your feed to episode 212 for our chat with Gloria about her career. Today in Part II, Gloria tells us about where her career took her after retiring from the stage. She has since gone on to a prolific teaching career, being considered one of the leading masters of the Balanchine Technique. She is currently the Artistic Director of Eastern Connecticut Ballet. Thank you to Yumiko (yumiko.com) for their continued support of Conversations on Dance in 2021.

Today we are joined by Balanchine Ballerina, Gloria Govrin. Gloria danced with New York City Ballet from 1959 to 1974 and was promoted to soloist in 1963. An unusually tall dancer, she inspired Balanchine to choreograph several distinctive roles on her. Roles such as Hippolyta in A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Coffee in Nutcracker, the Princess in Firebird, and La Bonne Fee in Harlequinade were stamped with her identity. After her distinguished stage career, Ms. Govrin has gone on to a prolific teaching career, being considered one of the leading masters of the Balanchine Technique. She is now the Artistic Director of Eastern Connecticut Ballet. We spoke with Gloria for over an hour and a half, so we will be splitting this interview into two parts. In Part One, we talk with Gloria about her origin in ballet, how she came to join NYCB, dancing for Balanchine, and the many iconic roles he created specifically for her. Be sure to subscribe to Conversations on Dance wherever you get your podcasts, to receive a notification when we publish Part Two of this interview next week. In Part Two we go in depth with Gloria about the trajectory of her teaching career after her retirement from the stage. Links: instagram.com/conversationsondance facebook.com/conversationsondance twitter.com/convoondance conversationsondancepod.com

Happy New Year and welcome to our first episode of 2021! Today we are joined by a very special co-host and friend, Evelyn Kocak, to chat about the Disney+ series streaming now, ‘On Pointe.’ Evelyn is a former NYCB dancer, Staatsballett Berlin dancer, and former soloist with Pennsylvania Ballet. Links: instagram.com/conversationsondance facebook.com/conversationsondance twitter.com/convoondance conversationsondancepod.com

This week we are joined by Laurie Kanyok, founder of the Kanyok Arts Initiative. Laurie has performed on Broadway, television and film. She played the lead roles in Twyla Tharp’s COME FLY AWAY and MOVIN OUT. Her other Broadway credits include FOSSE, SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, and IN YOUR ARMS. She was the ballet casting consultant for Tony Award winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon’s An AMERICAN IN PARIS. She is the founder of the Kanyok Arts Initiative, which is preparing emerging artists to meet the demands of collegiate and creative endeavors through performance and collaborative experiences. Today we talk with Laurie about her career, how she was inspired to start this organization, and about her non-profit, FATE Foundation-Kids, which offers free online dance classes to all kids ages 5 and up. Before we begin, a quick note. This is our final episode of 2020. It has truly been a difficult year for us all, but we are grateful to be able to continue this podcast, talking with people who have extraordinary stories and who are finding ways to be creative and innovative during this time. As we close out this year, we hope that if you are able, you will consider offering support to arts organizations that matter to you and that you want to see survive this challenging time. We have had the pleasure of watching first hand how dance is fighting to survive and adapt and now is a wonderful time to support these efforts. Any amount helps. Thank you all for listening and for your continued support of our podcast. Thank you to Yumiko for making this podcast possible year after year. We love you all and hope that you have a wonderful and safe holiday season. See you in 2021. Links: instagram.com/conversationsondance facebook.com/conversationsondance twitter.com/convoondance conversationsondancepod.com

Today we are joined by choreographer Andreas Heise. Born in Germany, Andreas began his formal ballet training at the age of 16. In 1998, he joined his first company, Leipziger Ballett, and in 2003, he joined the Norwegian National Ballet in Oslo where he performed many leading roles. In 2006 Andreas started to choreograph regularly for the Norwegian National Ballet and has since choreographed for companies around the world. Today Andreas talks to us about how he came to dance, about his career, his background in music and opera, his choreography, and his dance film for friend of the pod, Trey McIntyre’s streaming service, FLTPK (flatpack). See Andreas’ newest dance film created exclusively for FLTPK starting Friday, December 18th, 2020 at 8pm EST on FLTPK.com. You can join now for as little as $2 per month and your patron dollars go directly to support the artists involved in the platform.

Today we sit down with BalletCollective’s Artistic Director, Troy Schumacher. Troy first came on the podcast in episode 17, back in 2016, where we chat with him about his career at New York City Ballet, his choreography, and his company, BalletCollective. Today, Troy returns to the pod to tell us about his current project, ‘The Nutcracker at Wethersfield.’ In the age of COVID, Troy has taken on the incredible task of creating an immersive live dance experience, with a pod of over 20 dancers. Troy tells us all about this enormous undertaking, how people can support this project, and how you will be able to stream it. More information about BalletCollective can be found at balletcollective.com and streaming information can be found here: https://www.nutcrackeratwethersfield.com/stream. This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (Yumiko.com) and the Dance Edit Podcast. Links: instagram.com/conversationsondance facebook.com/conversationsondance twitter.com/convoondance conversationsondancepod.com

We are back! It’s been a minute, but unfortunately some work obligations took us away from the pod last month. Now, we are back and ready to get back to it! Today we catch up and go through our Conversations on Dance Best of 2020. Brought to you by Yumiko (Yumiko.com.) “YUMIKO’s holiday collection, comprised of festive ready-to-wear options, will be available in-stores and online this month! Receive a first chance to shop the new items at their Instagram LIVE shopping event on December 15th, plus for the very first time the new 2021 colors will be revealed! These events are a lot of fun and discounts are offered, so be sure to tune in @yumiko on Instagram on the 15th.” Links: instagram.com/conversationsondance facebook.com/conversationsondance twitter.com/convoondance conversationsondancepod.com

Today we are joined by Leslie Andrea Williams, chorus dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company. Leslie was born in Newport News, Virginia and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. She received her BFA from The Juilliard School. Ms Williams has danced in the Martha Graham Dance Company for six seasons. She performs numerous featured roles in iconic Graham ballets such as The Woman in White in Diversion of Angels and The Pioneering Woman in Appalachian Spring. Her most notable role has been performing the Lead in Chronicle— the first Black dancer to do so. Her performance recently earned Ms. Williams a mention in The New York Times’ “Best Dance of 2019” list. Ms. Williams’s work has been described as “hypnotic” and “larger than life,” and in 2016 she was named in dance magazine as a dancer “On the rise.”  Today we talk with Leslie about her training, her transition to the Graham technique, and her time with the company. As a note: we wanted to let you know that we will be taking a short time off from Conversations on Dance due to other work commitments. This will be our last episode until the middle of November. We are hoping to make it up to you with some extra bonus content in November, so stay tuned. In the meantime, be sure to connect with us on social media @conversationsondance. One more note. During the editing process of this episode we realized we had some background noises that were not apparent to us while we were recording. While we tried to edit the episode as much as possible, we appreciate your patience with at home Zoom recordings. Enjoy the episode and we can’t wait to be back with you in November! This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com).

This week we are joined by one of our former colleagues, Jennifer Carlynn Kronenberg. Jennifer is a former Principal Dancer with the Miami City Ballet and is now the co-artistic director of Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami. Jennifer began her dance training in her hometown of Queens, New York, before going on to study at the School of American Ballet. From there, she was spotted by Edward Villella, who asked her to join his company, Miami City Ballet, as an apprentice when she was just 17. She moved through the ranks and became a principal in 2001. She danced in the company’s vast repertoire through to her retirement from the company in 2016. She and her husband, Carlos Guerra, also a former MCB Principal, went on to found Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, which is continuing to grow and prosper. Today we talk with Jen about her career, share some of our favorite memories of dancing with her in the company, talk about her transitions into directorship, and what challenges she and the company have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com) and Trey McIntyre’s FLTPK. Learn more at FLTPK.com.

This week we talk with American Ballet Theatre’s newest soloist dancer, Gabe Stone Shayer. Gabe was born in Philadelphia, where he began his dance training. At 14, he began training full time at the Rock School for Dance Education, before going on to move to Russia to continue his studies at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. Shayer is the first African-American male to graduate from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in its nearly 250-year history.   Gabe joined ABT Studio Company in September 2011, the main Company as an apprentice in April 2012 and the corps de ballet in November 2012. Just this month he was promoted to soloist. We talk with Gabe about his training, his time at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, how he came to ABT, what his promotion was like, and some of the incredible projects he has been working on while the company is on hiatus due to COVID. This episode is brought to you by Yumiko (yumiko.com) and Trey McIntyre’s FLTPK. Learn more at fltpk.com. Links: instagram.com/conversationsondance facebook.com/conversationsondance twitter.com/convoondance conversationsondancepod.com