This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Serge Laurent, Director of Dance and Cultural Programs at Van Cleef & Arpels. Serge is in charge of implementing Dance Reflections, an international program supporting the art of choreography. Laurent's journey began with a classical education at the École de Louvre, specializing in Art History and Archeology. His career took him from being an Associate Curator at the Fondation Cartier to heading Live Performance Programming at the Centre Pomp...
Apr 12, 2024•42 min
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Steven Melendez, Artistic Director at the New York Theatre Ballet . Steven’s journey with dance began through his current company’s LIFT Program, which teaches dance to homeless or home insecure youth. Steven has since danced as a Soloist and Principal dancer at a collection of ballet companies across three continents. Steven’s story is also explored in the award-winning film LIFT, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2022. Steven’s lif...
Oct 10, 2023•46 min
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Kevin Jenkins, Founder and Artistic Director at Ballet Counterpointe . Kevin’s choreography, which Dance Magazine has praised as “riveting,” has been featured at dozens of dance companies, including State Street Ballet, SUNY Purchase, and San Diego Dance Theater. He has also served on faculty at Boston Ballet School, Joffrey Ballet School, and several other esteemed institutions. Early in his dance journey, Kevin knew he had a passion for choreogra...
Apr 19, 2023•37 min
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Matz Skoog, executive coach at Matz Skoog Coaching . Skoog, a Stockholm native, had an accomplished career in dance at several international companies. Following his career in dance, he became a sought-after tutor, which led to a variety of professional appointments, including Artistic Director of the English National Ballet and Royal New Zealand Ballet. Upon his exit from the stage, Matz founded Matz Skoog Coaching, where he helps others achieve ...
Feb 15, 2023•40 min
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Jeffrey Cirio, an internationally recognized ballet dancer who is currently dancing as Principal at Boston Ballet . Jeffrey also is co-founder and Artistic Director of his own company, Cirio Collective. Jeffrey has danced for American Ballet Theatre and the English National Ballet as Principal and Lead Principal, respectively. Jeffrey holds medals from competitions held across three different continents. His list of accolades is truly remarkable. J...
Nov 21, 2022•39 min•Ep. 144
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Kristin Draucker, a veteran dancer and choreographer who is currently performing with the Paul Taylor Dance Company . As a long-time New York City resident, she has danced with a variety of well-known companies in the area. Draucker began creating original works in 2014 and has shown her choreography both nationally and internationally at various companies and festivals. In 2017, she joined Paul Taylor Dance Company, where she currently performs. K...
Nov 17, 2022•41 min•Ep. 143
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Julianna Rubio Slager, Artistic Director at Ballet 5:8 . Slager, who is originally from Michigan, studied under many renown global dance experts and teachers. Upon moving to Chicago, Slager had the opportunity to work as a freelance artist, teacher, and choreographer in the Greater Chicago area. Eventually, she co-founded Ballet 5:8 in 2012. Ballet 5:8 just had its 10th anniversary and has grown immensely. It now has a professional company of 20 d...
Oct 03, 2022•36 min•Ep. 142
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Joseph Morrissey, Director of Dance at the Interlochen Center for the Arts . Prior to this role, he served in a similar role with the Hong Kong Ballet. As a professional dancer, he danced with the Bavarian State Ballet in Munich and the Boston Ballet II. He’s a seasoned choreographer and also has instructed for various dance companies, including the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company. He also currently serves on the juries for the Youth America...
Sep 29, 2022•44 min•Ep. 141
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Jess Spinner, entrepreneur and holistic health coach at The Whole Dancer . Jess holds a bachelor’s degree from Butler University in Dance and Arts Administration. Upon graduation, she danced with the Louisville Ballet and did some professional work as a freelancer in Boston. Now, Jess’s life mission is to support dancers in finding a personal balance in their approach to food and their bodies. As a former professional dancer that struggled with bo...
Sep 13, 2022•36 min•Ep. 140
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Liz Bayley, a seasoned professional dancer whose interest in sports injuries birthed a career as a physiotherapist for some of the world’s top shows. Liz was a professional dancer for 15 years, performing all over the world. Liz went on to work as a physiotherapist in the West End on shows such as Hamilton , Wicked , The Wizard of Oz , Singing in the Rain , Shrek , Matilda , and Jersey Boys . Liz holds a master’s degree in physiotherapy from King’...
May 25, 2022•35 min•Ep. 139
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews David Leventhal, Program Director at Dance for PD — a part of the Mark Morris Dance Group. Through the program — which is on its 20th year — David teaches dance classes for people living with Parkinson’s disease and trains other teaching artists to do the same. What started as a humble six-person dance class has now grown to serve 300 communities across 30 different countries. David has received numerous humanitarian awards for his work and has con...
May 11, 2022•46 min•Ep. 138
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Margeaux McCarthy, Owner of the Dance Xchange App, LLC . Margeaux is a former professional hip hop dancer with credits in commercials for some of the world’s biggest brands. After she retired from the stage, McCarthy became a real estate sales advisor by day and a dance instructor by night. With a love for resale apps such as eBay, McCarthy saw a need to create a platform like Dance Xchange — a resell app for dancewear, created for dancers by danc...
Apr 27, 2022•33 min•Ep. 137
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Alisa Finney, Principal at The Gay Wightman School of Ballet , Artistic Director at The Melbourne Ballet Company, and a mentor through the Dance Studio Owners Association (DSOA). Alisa has also crafted a 13-level classical ballet system of training that is widely used by thousands of dancers across the globe. Through the pandemic, Alisa’s reach has grown exponentially, as she has heavily used Zoom to expand the size of her dance classes. Alisa is o...
Apr 06, 2022•40 min•Ep. 136
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Angela Martindale , a female entrepreneur, public speaker, lifestyle expert, and influencer who is known globally for her fitness training techniques and methods, her inspirational public speaking, her lifestyle coaching, and her work with charitable organizations. Angela has been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX affiliates and has worked with many A-list celebrities, Olympic athletes, and business moguls as their personal trainer and nutritioni...
Mar 23, 2022•43 min•Ep. 135
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Tony Bordonaro and Ingrid Kapteyn, Co-Artistic Directors at Welcome to Campfire — an experiential dance platform that merges dance and theater to immerse performers and audiences into incredible dystopian settings. Tony and Ingrid first met while performing in Sleep No More NYC in 2013. After a run of the show in Shanghai, the two went on to develop four evening-length immersive dance experiences that have spanned New York City and Shanghai. The co...
Mar 09, 2022•40 min•Ep. 134
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Joanna Wozniak, Senior Consultant at HBR Consulting and former ballerina with the Joffrey Ballet. Joanna, whose run with the Joffrey started as a seasonal artist in 2001, went on to enjoy a two-decades-long career with the esteemed Chicago dance company. In 2009, Point Magazine named one of her performances as one of their “12 favorite performances of 2009,” and she can also be seen as a dancer in the feature film Save the Last Dance. Outside of d...
Feb 23, 2022•35 min•Ep. 133
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Elisabeth Motley , an award-winning, Brooklyn-based choreographer, scholar, and teacher, who is using her platform to make dance accessible to all. Motley — who holds a BFA from the Juilliard School and an MFA from Goddard College — has focused her work on neurodivergence, crip theory, and disability as choreographic sites. Elisabeth also currently teaches choreography at a New York City-based university, while pursuing her Ph.D. at a UK-based univ...
Feb 09, 2022•32 min•Ep. 132
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Flor Aracama and Nico Busso of DuoRings. Flor and Nico’s unique creation — DuoRings. — is a unique aerial rings duo which combines gymnastics athleticism and performance and, since 2016, has been regularly featured on tour with Cirque de Soleil. After spending a decade together on the Argentinian national gymnastics team, Flor and Nico got married and kickstarted their acrobatics duo. When not on tour or in residency with Cirque, Flor and Nico liv...
Jan 26, 2022•39 min•Ep. 131
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Nico Kolokythas, Founder of strengthmotionmind and Strength and Conditioning Coach at the Birmingham Royal Ballet. Nico has an extensive two-decades-long background in elite sports, focusing predominately on judo, netball, basketball, football, taekwondo, and tennis. Nico eventually completed a PhD in injuries and the adolescent ballet dancer through the Elmhurst Ballet School in the UK. He now leads strengthmotionmind — a group focused on educatin...
Jan 12, 2022•43 min•Ep. 130
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Alexandra Damiani, Artistic Director at BJM-Les Ballets Jazz De Montréal . Alexandra was classically trained in dance in and around her home country of France. After winning the jeune ballet d’Aquitaine de Bordeaux competition in France, she received a scholarship to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in the US and has since danced at a variety of companies — including the company where she is now Artistic Director. Alexandra also has experien...
Dec 29, 2021•44 min•Ep. 129
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Julie Cartwright, President at P.volve . P.volve is an omnichannel fitness brand featuring a global on-demand platform, a growing line of patented equipment, and several franchise studios in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Since its founding in 2018, P.volve has grown from a few employees to over 75 employees — and counting. Julie, herself, is a graduate of Ohio University and held a variety of executive-level marketing positions before be...
Dec 08, 2021•48 min•Ep. 128
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Dr. Chloe Angyal, an accomplished journalist and published author. Most recently, Chloe released Turning Pointe: How the New Generation of Dancers is Saving Ballet from Itself . Her book focuses on the future of ballet and reckons with all the forces that endanger its future — whether that be racism, sexism, elitism, or many others. Dr. Angyal holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a doctorate from the University of New South Wale...
Nov 17, 2021•41 min•Ep. 127
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Erin Pride, Founder and CEO at Dancepreneur Academy and host of The Dance Boss Podcast . Erin holds a BFA in dance from Montclair State University and a master’s in dance education from New York University. Her company helps dance professionals launch and scale online dance businesses. Erin is also the host of the Dance Boss Podcast, where she gives tips and strategies on building online businesses on a weekly basis. Erin spends her days coaching o...
Oct 27, 2021•41 min•Ep. 126
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Sonja McCord, Chief Executive Officer at The Sonja McCord X . Sonja — who is based in New York City — has had opportunities to perform with a myriad of top dance companies and boasts 15+ years of agency and in-house marketing experience. Now, Sonja combines both careers at her company, where she coaches dancers to amplify their brand, monetize their art, increase visibility, and put their best foot forward from a marketing perspective. Sonja, whos...
Oct 13, 2021•39 min•Ep. 125
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Billy Siegenfeld, Founder of Jump Rhythm , creator of the Standing Down Straight technique, and a myriad of other things — playwright, choreographer, music arranger, performer, director, professor, and much more. Billy received his undergraduate degree from Brown University and a graduate degree in jazz studies from New York University. As a professor at Northwestern University, Billy is a Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence ...
Sep 22, 2021•48 min•Ep. 124
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Clare Guss-West — a published author, choreographer, teacher, Committee Chair at the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science, and Co-Founder and Director of the Dance & Creative Wellness Foundation . Clare’s resume is extensive and varied, but most of her work seeks to apply scientific research into professional, vocational, and inclusive dance practice. Supported by her Eastern movement practice, she provides mindful attent...
Aug 31, 2021•48 min•Ep. 123
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Betsy McBride, Co-founder and Director of Marketing at Rezonance Athletics — a sustainable athletic wear line that she started alongside her fiancé. In addition to her career as an entrepreneur, McBride is a performer with the American Ballet Theater (ABT). This incredible combination of careers has landed her on the cover of Pointe Magazine and has garnered her multiple dance-related accolades. In addition to all of this, McBride is a fully certif...
Aug 17, 2021•34 min•Ep. 122
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Andrea Orris, a seasoned gymnast and veteran collegiate gymnastics coach who is now using her experience to teach the “ins and outs” of effective stretching and to advocate for the fair treatment of gymnasts around the country. Orris, a Los Angeles native, competed in Division 1 collegiate gymnastics before turning her attention towards coaching. She is also a fitness model and a flexibility instructor. In fact, her flexibility courses blossomed d...
Aug 10, 2021•46 min•Ep. 121
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Michelle Seiler Tucker, the Founder and CEO of Seiler Tucker Incorporated . She and her firm have sold over a thousand businesses in nearly every vertical. She has spent two decades in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and holds the title of Mergers and Acquisitions Master Intermediary, as well as being a Certified Mergers and Acquisitions Professional and a Certified Senior Business Analyst. She also, herself, owns multiple businesses. Michelle i...
Aug 03, 2021•54 min•Ep. 120
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Gil Boggs, Artistic Director at Colorado Ballet . Boggs began his career with the Atlanta Ballet before joining American Ballet Theatre, where he served a remarkable 17-year tenure. Boggs has also performed with the Twyla Tharp Dance Company, Baryshnikov and Company, Nureyev and Friends, and has made several guest appearances around the world. Boggs has also presented 15 world premieres and 15 Colorado Ballet premieres by renowned choreographers s...
Jul 27, 2021•32 min•Ep. 119
