The Rosin Box heats up this week with a lively conversation shared by hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Soloist Aarón Sanz and their guests, Principal Dancers Gilbert Bolden III and Sara Mearns. They talk about acting and emotions onstage, including their favorite roles, techniques and practices, and hilarious memories. Whether conveying the characters in a narrative ballet or achieving the appropriate expressiveness in an abstract work, the dancers describe the need for extensive preparation—and lif...
Nov 03, 2025•54 min•Season 27Ep. 8
Listen in on another intimate conversation around The Rosin Box with host Claire Kretzschmar, joined this week by Principal Dancer Taylor Stanley. The topic is all things props, which provide essential context and character development for many of the company's story ballets and "teach you how to remain calm in the moment," as Taylor shares. From training with a professional swordsman in preparation for Romeo and Juliet, to maneuvering the candle in La Sonnambula's haunted pas de deux, Taylor de...
Oct 27, 2025•51 min•Season 27Ep. 7
Hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Soloist Aarón Sanz are back for another cozy conversation around The Rosin Box. This week, they're joined by Soloist Alexa Maxwell and Principal Dancer Gilbert Bolden III, who have plenty to share about inspiration and motivation, whether for their daily practice, during repetitive performance periods, amidst injuries and other challenges, and beyond. Alexa shares that it's all about the music—she's a "classical music girly"—and that she likes to bunhead out as she's...
Oct 20, 2025•54 min•Season 27Ep. 5
Associate Artistic Director and host Wendy Whelan is back for another enlightening New Combinations conversation. This week, she's joined by choreographer Jamar Roberts, whose newest work for the company will premiere during the Fall Fashion Gala on October 8, timing he describes as "full-circle," considering his own forays into fashion design. His collaboration with designer Iris van Herpen has been uniquely fruitful, as well as his selection of music by Arca, with both informing this ballet th...
Sep 29, 2025•34 min•Season 27Ep. 5
In the second part of this deep dive Hear the Dance discussion of Jerome Robbins' The Goldberg Variations, host Silas Farley is joined by former NYCB Dancers and current Repertory Directors Christine Redpath and Jean-Pierre Frohlich. Redpath, an original cast member of Goldberg, digs into Robbins' approach to the creation of this remarkably multi-faceted ballet, while Frohlich remembers the adjustments the choreographer made through the ensuing performances. Both talk about coaching Goldberg on ...
Sep 22, 2025•42 min•Season 27Ep. 4
In a special two-part Hear the Dance Episode, host Silas Farley leads us on a wide-ranging discussion of Jerome Robbins' 1971 ballet The Goldberg Variations. In this first part, Farley is joined by former NYCB Dancer Bruce Wells, an original cast member, and current Principal Dancer Emilie Gerrity, one of the ballet's present-day interpreters. Wells shares the challenges Robbins faced after an injury forced him to choreograph from a wheelchair, as well as highlights from the year-long creative p...
Sep 22, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Season 27Ep. 3
Hear the Dance host Silas Farley returns for a deep-dive discussion with former Principal Dancer Merrill Ashley and Repertory Director Glenn Keenan on George Balanchine's Ballade, a ballet returning to the NYCB stage after a hiatus of more than 20 years. Keenan shares that when she was a student at the School of American Ballet, Ashley's "humongous care and attention" as a teacher helped shape her approach to her current role, and that watching Ashley in the studio today has been both helpful an...
Sep 15, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 27Ep. 2
A brand-new season of City Ballet The Podcast launches today with a fresh New Combinations conversation between Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan and Resident Choreographer Justin Peck. Commissioned by Miami City Ballet a decade ago, Peck is in the midst of rehearsing his Heatscape for its NYCB stage debut, with the help of original dancers and coaches Michael Sean Breeden, Patricia Delgado, and Jeannette Delgado. He shares what drew him to Bohuslav Martinů's Piano Concerto No. 1, a piece...
Sep 08, 2025•37 min•Season 27Ep. 1
As we shift gears to prepare for the upcoming season, Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan take a moment to reflect on our just-concluded 76th year, from two strikingly unique and unforgettable world premieres—from Resident Choreographer Justin Peck and Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky—to the return of cherished repertory works, the invaluable presence of coaches Suzanne Farrell and Merrill Ashley in the rehearsal studios, and much, much more. They...
Jun 23, 2025•40 min•Season 26Ep. 12
Join us around the Rosin Box for our annual listener-contributed "Ask the Dancers" episode. Our intrepid hosts Claire and Aarón and special guest Corps de Ballet Member Lars Nelson answer your questions about rehearsal wear, dancing with Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky, remembering steps, and more—including, "Explain dogs at New York City Ballet." (39:06) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: "Je ne t'aime plus" by Pink Martini Courtesy of Pink Martini & Heinz Records
Jun 16, 2025•39 min•Season 26Ep. 11
Hosts Claire and Aarón are back at the Rosin Box, joined this week by Principal Dancers Tiler Peck and Roman Mejia to talk about the relationship between choreographer and dancer in the creation of new works—especially in the case of Tiler's Concerto for Two Pianos from 2024, which featured Roman. As they share, the process is like a conversation between artists on both sides of the studio and relies heavily on trust. Tiler highlights the necessary balance between celebrating individual dancers'...
Jun 09, 2025•34 min•Season 26Ep. 10
The Rosin Box is back with hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Soloist Aarón Sanz delivering insiders' insights into the lives and times of today's NYCB dancers. This week they're joined by Principal Dancer Megan Fairchild, who will be retiring next spring, and Corps de Ballet Member Dominika Afanasenkov, who joined the company just over two years ago. They share what it's like to take center stage, from the nerves and coaching that accompanied their earliest lead roles to taking on a "diva" persona—an...
Jun 02, 2025•38 min•Season 26Ep. 9
Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan is back for another exciting New Combinations conversation. This week, she's joined by choreographer Kyle Abraham, whose When We Fell makes its onstage debut this spring after premiering as a dance film in 2021. Abraham shares how this fourth work for NYCB represents both the culmination of relationships he's built with company artists over the years, as well as a departure, in that the score is four minimal, "poetic" piano pieces that encourage a "focuse...
May 12, 2025•34 min•Season 26Ep. 8
Music Director Andrew Litton invites us to See the Music in this enlightening introduction to the score for George Balanchine's 1972 ballet, Divertimento from 'Le Baiser de la Fée.' With superlative accompaniment from Solo Pianist Elaine Chelton, Litton demonstrates the many ways in which Igor Stravinsky's "homage to Tschaikovsky" took inspiration from 16 different piano pieces by the legendary composer to weave an undeniably Stravinskian—and danceable, in Balanchine's word—orchestral suite. (11...
May 05, 2025•12 min•Season 26Ep. 7
Silas Farley returns with another Hear the Dance conversation, focusing this week on the George Balanchine pas de deux Sonatine, choreographed in 1975 as the opening ballet for the company's Ravel Festival. Repertory Director Christine Redpath shares memories of performing in that festival and of watching Sonatine's original dancers Violette Verdy and the late Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, commemorated in this episode by former Principal Dancer Peter Boal, while Principal Dancer Megan Fairchild describ...
Apr 28, 2025•57 min•Season 26Ep. 6
In this second part of our Hear the Dance journey into Jerome Robbins' A Suite of Dances, Cellist Hannah Holman joins host Silas Farley to provide a deep-dive introduction to the Bach Cello Suites that provide the ballet's exquisite score. As Holman explains, the music is a seminal work for every cellist, with complex challenges and varied delights throughout—all of which are complicated and enriched when performed onstage with the work's solo dancer. (42:48) Written by Silas Farley Edited by Em...
Apr 22, 2025•43 min•Season 26Ep. 5
This week, Hear the Dance host Silas Farley leads us on a wide-ranging exploration of Jerome Robbins' 1994 ballet A Suite of Dances. First, he's joined by Repertory Director Jean-Pierre Frohlich, who coaches the work; Principal Dancer Daniel Ulbricht, who initially learned the tour-de-force role in 2019; and former Principal Dancer Peter Boal, who worked with Robbins on the development of the ballet. They walk through the creation and performance of the four movements, highlighting the ways in w...
Apr 22, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Season 26Ep. 4
This week around the Rosin Box, hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Soloist Aarón Sanz are talking about students on stage, with the help of two dancers at either end of that journey: 12-year-old (soon to be 13!) Theo Rochios, a current student at the School of American Ballet, and Soloist Harrison Coll, who is a substitute teacher at SAB. They share some of the challenges, thrills, and lessons dancers take on while at the School, and trade stories about the ultimate students-on-stage ballet: George Ba...
Apr 14, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Season 26Ep. 3
The chat around the Rosin Box this week is all about dance in pop culture, with hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Soloist Aarón Sanz joined by Corps de Ballet Members Naomi Corti and Grace Scheffel. From Center Stage and web series like city.ballet and Strictly Ballet—featuring, among others, NYCB's own Mimi Staker and Alec Knight—to memoirs by legends like Margot Fonteyn, the dancers share the media that inspired their earliest interest in the art form, as well as all the pop moments they've enjoyed...
Apr 07, 2025•48 min•Season 26Ep. 2
We're back at the Rosin Box for another candid conversation with hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Soloist Aarón Sanz. This week, they're joined by Corps de Ballet Member and budding choreographer Laine Habony to talk about NYCB's First Steps program. This singular initiative gives current company dancers the opportunity to create new works on their peers, providing a professional cast and environment for first-time or early-career dancemakers. As Laine shares, this eye-opening experience provided bo...
Apr 01, 2025•43 min•Season 26Ep. 1
Host and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan is back with another intimate New Combinations conversation, joined this week by Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky. They discuss the origins—both within history and in Ratmansky's own career—of the Petipa ballet Paquita, excerpts of which provide the foundations for his newest ballet for the company. Ratmansky explains his use of Balanchine's Minkus Pas de Trois in revisiting this "feast of classical dancing," and the ways in which his work br...
Feb 03, 2025•31 min•Season 25Ep. 4
Hear the Dance host Silas Farley is joined by Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan and former Soloists Repertory Director Jean-Pierre Frohlich and Repetiteur Diana White for a conversation about Jerome Robbins' The Cage. From its "empowering" choreography to the manners in which the relationship between the Mother and the Novice mimic that of senior and newer members of the company, they describe the unique qualities of this ballet beloved by dancers and audiences alike. (59:01 Written by Si...
Jan 27, 2025•59 min•Season 25Ep. 3
In this episode of New Combinations, host and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan is joined by Resident Choreographer Justin Peck in the lead-up to the world premiere of his latest work for the company, Mystic Familiar. Peck shares the thematic underpinnings of this "younger brother" to his 2017 ballet The Times Are Racing, which brings together many of the same artists as that earlier work. They discuss the ways in which Mystic Familiar celebrates the dancers' communal energy in an anthem-...
Jan 20, 2025•35 min•Season 25Ep. 2
City Ballet The Podcast returns with a new Hear the Dance episode exploring George Balanchine's Concerto Barocco. Host Silas Farley is joined by three former NYCB dancers whose engagement with this foundational ballet continues today: SAB Senior Faculty Chair Suki Schorer, Balanchine Repetiteur Victoria Simon, and SAB Faculty Member Meagan Mann. Together they trace the highlights and unique demands of Barocco's four distinct movements, describing how the apparent simplicity of the ballet demands...
Jan 13, 2025•1 hr•Season 25Ep. 1
Claire and Aarón are joined at The Rosin Box this week by Sandra Jennings, a former NYCB dancer who is now a repetiteur for the George Balanchine Trust, for a conversation about staging ballets on current performers. As Sandra shares, she travels the world to coach companies of various ballet backgrounds in Mr. B's works, acting as a bridge between the choreographer's vision and the artists of today; as she explains, these ballets are "living, breathing works of art" that are brought to life by ...
Nov 25, 2024•59 min•Season 24Ep. 3
This week, hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Soloist Aarón Sanz take the podcast from The Rosin Box to the barre for a conversation about company class, joined by Corps de Ballet Member Christina Clark and former NYCB dancer and current class teacher Amanda Edge. They talk all things real estate, fashion, and Destiny's Child vs. Ludwig Minkus, highlighting the importance of this daily ritual for building a sense of community as well as personal growth. (53:40) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: "Je ne...
Nov 18, 2024•54 min•Season 24Ep. 2
The Rosin Box returns! Hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Soloist Aarón Sanz are back with another candid conversation, joined this time by Principal Dancer Unity Phelan and Corps de Ballet Member Naomi Corti. They break down some of the most common myths about ballet and Company culture, from whether performers are like the characters in Black Swan to the pros and cons of dating other dancers, and what the perfect "ballerina pedicure" entails. (49:12) Edited by Emilie Silvestri Music: "Je ne t'aime p...
Nov 11, 2024•49 min•Season 24Ep. 1
Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan is back for a New Combinations conversation with Caili Quan, one of three women choreographers whose ballets make up this year's Fall Fashion Gala program. They discuss Quan's path from studying dance while growing up on Guam to moving to New York City and performing with BalletX for eight seasons, and her transition to full-time choreography. Quan shares the ways her culture, family, and sense of home emerge within the work and contribute to the "warmth,...
Sep 30, 2024•36 min•Season 23Ep. 4
This week, host Silas Farley is back for another fascinating Hear the Dance conversation exploring Everywhere We Go. Silas is joined by Resident Choreographer Justin Peck and former Company Member Gretchen Smith, who met when they were barely teenagers dancing at the San Francisco Ballet School and collaborated several times over the ensuing years. Justin describes his development as a dance maker leading up the 2014 premiere, as well as his unique creative partnership with composer Sufjan Steve...
Sep 23, 2024•57 min•Season 23Ep. 3
This week's episode of City Ballet The Podcast is a previously recorded See the Music presentation hosted by NYCB Music Director Andrew Litton. Accompanied by the Orchestra and Solo Pianist Susan Walters, Maestro Litton describes why Tschaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 2—the score for the Balanchine ballet of the same name—is less frequently performed than his first, despite being beloved by soloists and rich with beautifully romantic flourishes. Balanchine considered Tschaikovsky a "soulmate," a ...
Sep 16, 2024•16 min•Season 23Ep. 2
