Nicky tries to track down a current NYCB dancer who will share their story and their experience of the Company. And then, one day in February 2025, one of NYCB’s longest-serving principal dancers steps forward, ten days after her retirement. She’s ready to talk. Thank you for listening to Dancing With Shadows. Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find ...
Mar 25, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 7
In 2018, Alexandra Waterbury filed a lawsuit against Chase Finlay and New York City Ballet that made headlines worldwide. Chase had taken sexually explicit photos and videos of Alexandra without her consent, and shared them with other male dancers in the Company. Ever since then, Chase’s silence has stretched on, heavy and unbroken. Until today. The final episode of Dancing With Shadows is out on Tuesday March 18th. Subscribe now to make sure you don’t miss it. You can view a full list of contri...
Mar 11, 2025•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 6
In December 2017, five former dancers came forward and accused Peter Martins of verbal and physical abuse. But not everyone in the ballet world was ready to listen. Nicky sits down with one of the dancers who testified against him – and another who stood firmly in his defence. Two perspectives, one deeply divided Company. Episode 6 is out on Tuesday March 11th. Subscribe now to make sure you don’t miss it. You can view a full list of contributors for Dancing With Shadows here . Extraordinary spo...
Mar 04, 2025•55 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Carrying on a legacy like George Balanchine’s was the impossible job. But when Peter Martins took control of the Company, the consequences for one dancer were particularly devastating. Nicky tracks her down and hears her story… Part Two of The Weight of Grace is out right now. You can view a full list of contributors for Dancing With Shadows here . Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is Dancing With Shadows – the third series of the award-winning Legacy. ***Please ...
Mar 04, 2025•56 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Two dancers still see visions of Balanchine. One sees that vision more clearly than ever, while the other questions her memories with entirely new eyes… Episodes 4 and 5 are out on Tuesday 4th March. Subscribe now to make sure you don’t miss it. You can view a full list of contributors for Dancing With Shadows here . Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is Dancing With Shadows – the third series of the award-winning Legacy. ***Please take the time to rate and review...
Feb 25, 2025•56 min•Season 3Ep. 3
The Company’s founder, George Balanchine, was more than just a choreographer. To his dancers, he was a father figure, an all-seeing god – and even a husband, blending his professional and personal lives. His relationships with female dancers led to some of the most celebrated works the world has ever seen. But at what cost? To try and understand the genius, Nicky meets two of his most famous protégés. Episode 3 is out on Tuesday 25th February. Subscribe now to make sure you don’t miss it. Extrao...
Feb 18, 2025•57 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Nicky finally fulfils a childhood dream: to watch the New York City Ballet. But it’s hard to enjoy the moment. Not with all she knows now. Episode 2 is available to listen to right now, with new episodes released every Tuesday. Subscribe now to make sure you don’t miss an episode. Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is Dancing With Shadows – the third series of the award-winning Legacy. You can view a full list of contributors for Dancing With Shadows here . ***Ple...
Feb 18, 2025•45 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Millions dream of becoming a ballet dancer. And so many dream of reaching the grandest stage of all: the New York City Ballet. Home to some of the greatest works of the modern age, its legacy was shaped by the genius of its founder, the so-called father of American ballet, George Balanchine. But behind the beauty lies a more complicated truth. You see, this isn’t just a story about ballet. It’s about devotion, ambition and the cost of surrendering yourself entirely to something. It’s about the p...
Feb 11, 2025•4 min
In the final episode, Sam returns to east London to confront some home truths and speaks to someone who might hold the key to understanding the English Disease… Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is The English Disease – the second series of the award-winning Legacy. ***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us.*** Ho...
Oct 29, 2024•49 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Tensions are rising across the country until, one night in July, a single event changes everything… Enjoyed listening to The English Disease? We want to hear from you before the season finale – whether you have first-hand experience of this story or not. Message Sam Diss on X or Instagram . Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is The English Disease – the second series of the award-winning Legacy. ***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wh...
Oct 22, 2024•48 min•Season 2Ep. 5
A WhatsApp group for football banter started as an escape from the real world. But it soon became a command centre for Britain’s culture war… Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is The English Disease – the second series of the award-winning Legacy. ***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us.*** Hosted on Acast. See ...
Oct 15, 2024•45 min•Season 2Ep. 4
A young man in Sheffield attacks a rival supporter with irreversible consequences... But his story isn’t an anomaly. It’s a blueprint. Subscribe now to get the latest episode of The English Disease every Tuesday throughout October. Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is The English Disease – the second series of the award-winning Legacy. ***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show ...
Oct 08, 2024•41 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Sam travels to Nottingham to meet a hooligan known as ‘The Englishman’ who used football violence to navigate the fractured ideals of working-class masculinity. Subscribe now to get the latest episode of The English Disease every Tuesday throughout October. Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is The English Disease – the second series of the award-winning Legacy. ***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means...
Oct 01, 2024•33 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Sam goes to breakfast with an ex-hooligan friend to answer a question he’s circled for a decade, and sets off on a journey to reveal what’s really lurking beneath the surface of England’s game. Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is The English Disease – the second series of the award-winning Legacy. ***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other pote...
Oct 01, 2024•38 min•Season 2Ep. 1
There was a time when football hooliganism was everywhere. For decades it dominated headlines, merging the two things England loves most: football and fear . Over the course of six episodes, writer Sam Diss digs deeper – beyond the stereotypes and tabloid headlines – to understand what first brought people to this violent, sprawling subculture, and how it has forced its way back into our society today. This is the untold story of The English Disease. Extraordinary sporting stories that really ma...
Sep 24, 2024•3 min
What does the future look like for Qatar, football, and the people we’ve spoken to? Sports broadcaster Kate Mason finds out more about the precarious situation of the LGBTQ+ community in the country and speaks to the only publicly gay Qatari. After officials were in a standoff with Danish broadcasters this week, Kate also explores Qatar's media environment and asks whether this World Cup will – really – be a wake-up call for the football community. Once the spotlight moves on, there are simply n...
Sep 16, 2024•53 min•Season 1Ep. 3
What does this World Cup mean for Qatar? Sports broadcaster Kate Mason goes inside the Qatar club game and finds signs of a very deliberate footballing project. But are Qatar’s intentions going to survive their first contact with reality? We examine the tournament infrastructure for fans across Doha – from an unfinished fan park, to FIFA's luxury 'tent city' and desolate stadium surroundings – and find out that the World Cup is splitting Qatari society down the middle. This is Episode 2 of Insid...
Sep 16, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 2
How did we get here? Sports broadcaster Kate Mason travels back to 2010 and finds out how Qatar’s migrant worker crisis unfolded – and continues to endure to this day. She speaks to three workers about their experiences in the country, including one man who helped build some of the World’s Cup most prestigious venues. Their stories paint a stark, bleak picture of the abusive conditions suffered by those on which this tournament has been built. This is Episode 1 of Inside the Qatar World Cup, win...
Sep 16, 2024•53 min•Season 1Ep. 1
