Kirov Academy of Washington DC Kirov Academy of Washington DC

Mr. Kenichi Soki is an international jury member for numerous ballet competitions throughout the world. His experience and expertise provide students a proper way to learn and excel as dancers preparing for competitions.

As many students do not have access to ballet education at the moment, numerous professionals and teachers have jumped on social media platforms to fill the void. However, there are differences in learning from a professional dancer of a ballet company and an experienced teacher with a respectable background.

Hope you find this helpful!

Maria Konrad has been a jury member for YAGP and she takes the time to explain what makes a good contemporary variation as well as things that students and teachers should avoid.

Mrs. Konrad also shares her career experience as both a choreographer and a teacher, as well as the importance of being able to teach students efficiently.

Hope you enjoy this episode.

Our second episode of "The Ballet Podcast" was with Mr. Dirk Badenhorst, the CEO of the South African International Ballet Competition (IBC).

We had the special privilege for Mr. Badenhorst to share his insights on the true value of attending international ballet competitions for both teachers and students.

He also shares some of the common mistakes teachers and students make in terms of preparing and applying for the right competitions.

Let us know how you enjoyed it!

In our first episode of The Ballet Podcast, we had the fortune to invite Septime Webre, the Artistic Director of Hong Kong Ballet.

As an artistic director for previously at The Washington Ballet and currently at Hong Kong Ballet, Mr. Webre shares his insights on what companies look for in new dancers.

Other topics covered in this podcast include:


When you see a young dancer audition for your company, what are the essential qualities that you are looking for? What are the extra qualities that catch your eyes?
When a young dancer enters the professional environment, what are common mistakes you see in class, rehearsal, and on stage in terms of how they conduct themselves? What can they do to adjust quickly?
For senior students getting ready to graduate, or students that are currently in pre-professional programs, what can they do to prepare themselves for the professional industry so that there is a shorter transitional period.
How important is the marketing aspect part of a dancer's career? How can our professional dancers use social media correctly in order to truly benefit their careers?
As a choreographer, can you share some of your secrets or advice to our dancers that are interested in creating and composition? What do you do to formulate your idea into a phrase that the dancers can understand and reproduce?
What are the changes that you are anticipating with the dance industry after the pandemic has subsided? What are the things dancers can do in the meantime to prepare themselves for the "new norm"?

This was our very first episode to Fondu with Mr. Du, where he sits down with students from across the globe to answer their questions regarding ballet, training, and career.

In this episode, we had questions regarding


What can I do with limited access to proper ballet education?
What is it like to audition for big companies?
Should I audition for big or small companies?

Hope you find it helpful!