City Ballet The Podcast

Join us for another cozy conversation around The Rosin Box with hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Aaron Sanz, joined by recently-promoted Soloist Ashley Hod. This week’s episode revolves around the challenges and excitement that come with creating a role in a new ballet, and how revisiting repertory roles over the years with greater experience and knowledge keeps each performance fresh. Hod and Kretzschmar relate some of the unique hurdles—particularly around footwear and the Nutcracker performance schedule—of originating featured roles in Justin Peck’s winter premiere, Partita, and being “guardians of the language.” (51:13) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: "Je ne t’aime plus" by Pink Martini Courtesy of Pink Martini & Heinz Records

Join hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Aarón Sanz for another banter-filled backstage chat around The Rosin Box, opening a fresh season of City Ballet The Podcast. In this episode, they walk us through their personal stage makeup routines and introduce Company Makeup Stylist Neil Scibelli. Neil shares how he came to join the team just in time for The Nutcracker and a little insider info on creating the looks for George Balanchine’s Prodigal Son. (49:37) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: Music: "Je ne t’aime plus" by Pink Martini Courtesy of Pink Martini & Heinz Records

Host Silas Farley is back with another Hear the Dance episode, devoted to the creation of George Balanchine’s tale of toy romance, The Steadfast Tin Soldier. Farley is joined by former Principal Dancers Patricia McBride and Peter Schaufuss, on whom the ballet was created. The Steadfast Tin Soldier was the first ballet Balanchine made on Schaufuss, who danced with the Company for just three short but very formative years; this marked the second ballet for which Mr. B cast McBride as a doll, following 1974’s Coppélia, and she highlights here the differences in performing the two roles. Reunited for the first time after more than 40 years, the pair's recollections of the ballet's 1975 premiere in Saratoga Springs are as fresh as if it were yesterday. (1:06:28) Originally released October 19, 2020 Reading List: My Theatre Life by August Bournonville and Patricia McAndrew Letters on Dance and Choreography by August Bournonville and Knud Arne Jurgensen My Dearly Beloved Wife!—Letters from France and Italy, 1841 by August Bournonville, Knud Arne Jurgensen, et al The Fairy Tale of My Life: An Autobiography by Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales (Penguin Classics Edition) by Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen: The Life of a Storyteller by Jackie Wullschlager Dance in Saratoga Springs by Denise Warner Limoli Balanchine’s Ballerinas: Conversations with the Muses by Robert Tracy Dancing Across the Atlantic: USA-Denmark, 1900-2014 by Erik Aschengreen Music: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1931) by Igor Stravinsky Jeux d'Enfants, Opp. 22-26, nos. 6, 3, 11, 12 (1871) by Georges Bizet Overture and Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night's Dream, opp. 61 (1842) by Felix Mendelssohn

In this episode of See the Music, NYCB Music Director Andrew Litton dives into the history and particular genius of Tchaikovsky’s treasured Swan Lake score. Joined by NYCB Concertmaster Kurt Nikkanen on the violin, Litton demonstrates the use of specific instruments and musical motifs to portray the characters of Odette and her dark opposite, Odile, and reveals what he considers to be the seven greatest measures Tchaikovsky ever composed. (17:17) Originally released February 3, 2020 Music Swan Lake (1875-76) by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky

Our 2-part Hear the Dance exploration of Jerome Robbins’ Moves concludes with three conversations that trace the work’s living legacy. Host Jared Angle speaks with former Soloist Diana White, one of Robbins’ frequent performers who originated a role in Moves; Repertory Director Jean-Pierre Frohlich, who is responsible for coaching Robbins’ works, including Moves, to today's dancers; and Soloist Sebastian Villarini-Velez, who currently dances in Moves with the Company. (1:10:52) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1931) by Igor Stravinsky

In a special two-part Hear the Dance episode, Principal Dancer Jared Angle dives deep into the history, context, development, and performance of Jerome Robbins’ masterwork Moves. Part one features a wide-ranging interview with dance historian and Robbins biographer Amanda Vaill, who traces the artistic and personal developments in the choreographer’s life that informed the creation of Moves, and his oeuvre in general. (56:08) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1931) by Igor Stravinsky

In the lead up to the premiere of his first ballet commissioned for the NYCB stage, choreographer Jamar Roberts joins host Wendy Whelan for the latest New Combinations conversation. From dancing to Mariah Carey after school in Jacksonville, Florida, to moving to NYC and joining Ailey II at 18 years old, to retiring as Resident Choreographer of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater last December, Jamar traces the route that brought him to working with the Company. As he tells Wendy, this ballet is intended to spark joy—in a spirit informed by its Wayne Shorter score, the openness of the dancers, and the needs of the current moment. (38:48) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music "Sisyphus" by Andrew Wegman Bird Wixen Music Publishing, Inc. as agent for Muffet Music Co

Host Silas Farley opens the latest season of City Ballet The Podcast with a Hear the Dance episode devoted to George Balanchine’s Mozartiana. Choreographed for the 1981 Tschaikovsky Festival, the ballet was a moving representation of Balanchine's admiration not only for the composer, but also for the dancers of the corps de ballet and students of the School of American Ballet. Silas is joined by fellow NYCB alums Jerri Kumery, one of the original four “tall" dancers in the Minuet movement, and Amy Kobberger, one of the child dancers in the opening “Preghiera” or prayer section in the work’s premiere, to share their memories of Mozartiana’s creation. (1:24:26) Written by Silas Farley Edited by Emilie Silvestri Reading List: Balanchine’s Mozartiana: The Making of a Masterpiece by Robert Maiorano and Valerie Brooks Holding On to the Air: An Autobiography by Suzanne Farrell with Toni Bentley Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky: Interviews with George Balanchine by Solomon Volkov Music:  Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1931) by Igor Stravinsky Suite No. 4, Mozartiana, Op. 61 (1887) by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky Apollon Musagète (1928) by Igor Stravinsky All music performed by the New York City Ballet Orchestra

Hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Aarón Sanz are back with a very special holiday edition of The Rosin Box. In an intimate tour of the bustling backstage spaces before, during, and after a performance of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®, Claire and Aarón reveal what it takes to make this magical production come to life. From the necessary comforts of a dressing room “moon pod,” to the challenges of make-up and updo changes for dancers performing multiple roles, to the meditations and incantations that (quietly) echo in the wings, the joy of revisiting this holiday tradition and sharing it with audiences new and old is shared by all. (51:29) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: "Je ne t’aime plus" by Pink Martini Courtesy of Pink Martini & Heinz Records “The Nutcracker” (1892) by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky

In the latest installment of The Rosin Box, hosts and Soloists Claire Kretzschmar and Aarón Sanz are joined by Judy Elliott-Pugh, NYCB’s Senior Director of Human Resources, Diversity, and Inclusion, for a conversation about her newly-created position. From day-to-day operations to ongoing and broadly-reaching projects and goals, they discuss the ways in which NYCB is an organization of people from a wide variety of backgrounds, in just as wide an array of roles, all working together to make the Company thrive. (48:02) Edited by: Emilie Silvestri Music:  "Je ne t’aime plus" by Pink Martini Courtesy of Pink Martini & Heinz Records