City Ballet The Podcast

Aarón Sanz is back from NYCB's first tour in Madrid to join fellow host Claire Kretzschmar and guest Sean Suozzi for a chat around The Rosin Box. Suozzi, a former Soloist with Company, shares how his focus shifted to filmmaking, from his role as an Executive Producer on the 2010 film NY Export: Opus Jazz to his recent projects as a director, including 2019's Sleeping Beauty trailer. He describes the creative process behind latest directorial effort for NYCB, the 75th Anniversary film, which will premiere this August. (47:23) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: "Je ne t'aime plus" by Pink Martini Courtesy of Pink Martini & Heinz Records

This week's episode features a special live presentation of See the Music, hosted by Associate Music Director Andrews Sill and Resident Conductor Clotilde Otranto. With a little help from the New York City Ballet Orchestra, they explore the combination of old and new, romantic and acrobatic in Igor Stravinsky's commissioned score for George Balanchine's Agon. As Otranto notes, Agon displays Stravinsky's creativity in "full bloom." (10:39) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: Symphony in Three Movements (1945) by Igor Stravinsky Agon (1953-56) by Igor Stravinsky All music performed by New York City Ballet Orchestra

Host and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan is back with another New Combinations episode, chatting with long-time friend, former ballet partner, and Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon. He describes his journey from Royal Ballet dancer to New York City Ballet to Broadway and back again, with first new work for the Company in six years premiering on May 4. As Wheeldon shares, the "turbulent beauty" of artist Kylie Manning's work was a major inspiration in the studio as he wrestled with the Schoenberg score; their collaboration, along with that of the dancers, helped bring From You Within Me to the stage. (43:24) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: "Sisyphus" by Andrew Wegman Bird Wixen Music Publishing, Inc. as agent for Muffet Music Co

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