City Ballet The Podcast

Our special two-part episode of Hear the Dance continues with former Principal Dancers Allegra Kent and Jared Angle exploring Kent's career at New York City Ballet, zeroing in on two key roles: the Sleepwalker in La Sonnambula, and the lead in Agon. Kent shares that she was coached extensively by Balanchine for La Sonnambula—the first ballet Kent saw onstage, and immediately fell in love with—but perhaps learned most from an impromptu session with originating dancer Alexandra Danilova at a bus stop. Beginning as an understudy for Principal Dancer Diana Adams, Kent performed Agon, which she describes as "astonishing," with Arthur Mitchell and other partners for many years. (41:47) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1931) by Igor Stravinsky Agon (1953-56) by Igor Stravinsky Based on themes from operas by Vincenzo Bellini, including La Sonnambula, Il Puritani, Norma and I Capuleti e i Montecchi (1830-1835) by Vittorio Rieti The Unanswered Question (1908) by Charles Ives Symphony No. 1 in C major (1855) by Georges Bizet All music performed by the New York City Ballet Orchestra

In part one of this week's special Hear the Dance episode, legendary former Principal Dancer Allegra Kent joins host and fellow former Principal Jared Angle to discuss her beginnings as a dancer. From joining Bronislava Najinska's intermediate class full of GIs fresh from World War II at the age of 11, to entering the School of American Ballet at 14, to premiering in the corps of Symphony in C as an apprentice a year later, Kent describes the whirlwind of her early years with the Company—capped off with the first featured role created for her: that of the lead in Balanchine's The Unanswered Question from Ivesiana. (40:37) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1931) by Igor Stravinsky Agon (1953-56) by Igor Stravinsky Based on themes from operas by Vincenzo Bellini, including La Sonnambula, Il Puritani, Norma and I Capuleti e i Montecchi (1830-1835) by Vittorio Rieti The Unanswered Question (1908) by Charles Ives Symphony No. 1 in C major (1855) by Georges Bizet All music performed by the New York City Ballet Orchestra

Host and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan is back with another intimate and insightful New Combinations conversation. Choreographer Alysa Pires joins Wendy between rehearsals for her first NYCB stage commission, discussing her childhood and training in Canada, the uniquely collaborative relationship she has developed with composer Jack Frerer, and the challenges—and rewards—of balancing motherhood and her artistic career. Alysa says of her time with the Company so far that she is like the coloring book; "the way that that's colored in, maybe going outside the lines here and there, is really up to the dancers." (45:48) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: "Sisyphus" by Andrew Wegman Bird Wixen Music Publishing, Inc. as agent for Muffet Music Co

For the latest See the Music episode, host and Associate Music Director Andrews Sill do-si-dos with George Balanchine's Square Dance. Sills demonstrates with recordings of traditional square dance calls and excerpts from the Vivaldi and Corelli score the ways in which the fiddlers of the former connect with the solo violins of the latter, and how this 1957 ballet contributed to the choreographer's efforts to build a trusting American audience for the classical art form. (15:14) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: Symphony in Three Movements (1945) by Igor Stravinsky. Square Dance (1969) by Al Brundage Concerto Grosso in B Minor, op. 3, no. 10; Concerto Grosso in E Major, op. 3, no. 12 [first movement] by Antonio Vivaldi. Badinerie and Giga from Sarabanda, Badinerie, and Giga by Arcangelo Corelli. Performed by New York City Ballet Orchestra. Sarabanda, Giga e Badinerie (Suite for String Orchestra) by Ettore Pinelli (after Corelli). Performed by Zagrebački Solisti. Concerto in B minor, RV 580 by Antonio Vivaldi. Performed by I Solisti Italiani.

Host Jared Angle returns for this season's first Hear the Dance episode, focusing on 1978's Kammermusik No. 2. Jared is joined by Soloist Daniel Applebaum and Corps de Ballet Member Lars Nelson to discuss the only Balanchine work with an all-male corps and the communal feeling they share when performing this challenging ballet. They describe the ways in which certain hieroglyphic moments give them the sense of being a vessel for a larger, "inhuman" architecture in what originating dancers referred to as Mr. B's "Star Wars" ballet, premiering a year after the sci-fi classic. (33:32) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1931) by Igor Stravinsky Kammermusik No. 2 (1924) by Paul Hindemith All music performed by the New York City Ballet Orchestra

This week, The Rosin Box host Claire Kretzschmar talks with Principal Dancers Megan Fairchild and Isabella LaFreniere about promotions within the Company and their experiences moving up the ranks. Megan shares the struggles she faced after being promoted to principal less than five years after joining as an apprentice, while Isabella describes the lessons she learned and gratitude she felt during her earlier years as a corps de ballet member. They both highlight the unique pressures and responsibilities of each rank, and reveal their favorite principal roles. (54:55) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: "Je ne t'aime plus" by Pink Martini Courtesy of Pink Martini & Heinz Records

Join us at The Rosin Box for a winter highlights chat with host Claire Kretzschmar and Corps de Ballet Members Mary Elizabeth Sell and Anna Snellgrove. Mary, who has been dancing with NYCB for 18 years, describes the unique challenges and joys of performing in The Sleeping Beauty while in her third trimester; Anna remarks on the full-circle experiences of her first year in the Company, including debuting in Donizetti Variations with a day's notice; and the trio reflect on the most recent world premieres to hit the stage. (41:01) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: "Je ne t'aime plus" by Pink Martini Courtesy of Pink Martini & Heinz Records

The Rosin Box is back with host Claire Kretzschmar discussing one of the newest roles at the Company with Intimacy Director Leigh Zimmerman. Prior to joining NYCB, Zimmerman trained in ballet, then went on to an award-winning career on Broadway and London's West End. She brings her wide-ranging stage experience, a Master's Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Performance Psychology, and extensive training in Intimacy Direction to her work with dancers, choreographers, artistic staff, and policy makers to help establish an active dialogue around intimacy in its many forms. As she says, performers are able to truly "fly" when they know what to expect—"It's freeing dancers, rather than tying them down." (47:18) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: "Je ne t'aime plus" by Pink Martini Courtesy of Pink Martini & Heinz Records

Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky joins Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan to discuss Voices, his most recent ballet for NYCB, which premiered at the Company's annual New Combinations evening on January 30, 2020. Ratmansky describes his early career as a dancer in Kiev, the importance of watching bootleg VHS dance recordings in his early development as a choreographer, and how he came to set a ballet to Peter Ablinger's complex, avant-garde composition, Voices & Piano. (34:06) Originally released January 20, 2020 Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: "Sisyphus" by Andrew Wegman Bird Wixen Music Publishing, Inc. as agent for Muffet Music Co

Three sailors walk into a podcast studio… and chat with Hear the Dance host and Principal Dancer Jared Angle about Jerome Robbins' first ballet, Fancy Free, choreographed on the American Ballet Theatre in 1944. Fellow Principal Dancers Tyler Angle, Daniel Ulbricht, and Andrew Veyette describe the importance of developing their individual characters—the "shy" midwestern farm boy, the short-fused "tough guy," and the "cool" know-it-all, respectively—and the camaraderie they share, recalling the collaboration between Robbins and composer Leonard Bernstein, who were just 25 years old when they created the work. (54:44) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1931) by Igor Stravinsky Fancy Free (1944) by Leonard Bernstein All music performed by the New York City Ballet Orchestra