City Ballet The Podcast New York City Ballet

City Ballet The Podcast is back! In the lead up to the return of two of Pam Tanowitz's ballets to the stage this spring—Gustave le Gray No. 1, from 2019, and Law of Mosaics, which premiered in 2022—Former Principal Dancer Russell Janzen and current Soloist Miriam Miller join Hear the Dance host Silas Farley to discuss working with the singular choreographer. As both dancers describe, Tanowitz's unique approach to ballet and generosity in the studio make familiar steps new, freeing the performers to challenge themselves and discover new aspects of their own artistry. (1:14:37)
Written by Silas Farley
Edited by Emilie Silvestri
Reading List:
Reality Hunger: A Manifesto by David Shields
Béla Bartók by David Cooper
The Prickly Rose: A Biography of Viola Farber by Jeff Slayton Merce Cunningham by Roger Copeland
Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot
Music:
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1931) by Igor Stravinsky
Law of Mosaics (2012) by Ted Hearne

All music performed by the New York City Ballet Orchestra

This week at The Rosin Box, hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Soloist Aarón Sanz are joined by NYCB dancers and "real-life" couple Emily Kikta and Peter Walker to talk about partnering—onstage and off. Peter and Aarón share their memories of learning from legendary former Principal Dancer Jock Soto, who taught partnering at the School of American Ballet when they were students, while Claire and Emily reflect on the ways in which pas de deux challenge their stamina while offering opportunities to take risks. The most important element for a successful partnership, they all agree, is simple, if not always easy: communication. (56:23) 
Edited by Emilie Silvestri
Music:
"Je ne t’aime plus" by Pink Martini
Courtesy of Pink Martini & Heinz Records

Hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Aarón Sanz are back at The Rosin Box, joined by Corps de Ballet Member and Get Golden founder Jenelle Manzi. Jenelle describes her journey to the stage and how struggles with injuries and food allergies inspired her to start crafting her own anti-inflammatory recipes. As she shares, a stray comment from a colleague on the tour bus to the Kennedy Center sparked the formation of her business, which she runs alongside performing full-time with the Company. (40:49)
Edited by Emilie Silvestri
Music:
"Je ne t’aime plus" by Pink Martini
Courtesy of Pink Martini & Heinz Records

The Rosin Box returns for another round of candid conversations with hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Soloist Aarón Sanz. This week, they're joined by NYCB Director of Costumes Marc Happel to talk all things tutus and beyond. Happel shares his journey to the Company's storied costume shop, where decades ago Co-Founder George Balanchine collaborated with Barbara Karinska on the innovative powderpuff tutu, and artisans fit and craft costumes for today's dancers under Happel's direction. (43:32) 
Edited by Emilie Silvestri
Music:
"Je ne t’aime plus" by Pink Martini
Courtesy of Pink Martini & Heinz Records

In this week's See the Music episode, we revisit a 2013 live presentation with host and Associate Music Director Andrews Sill, exploring Igor Stravinsky's 1945 composition Symphony in Three Movements, the score for the George Balanchine ballet of the same name. With help from the New York City Ballet Orchestra, Maestro Sill highlights the musical "nuts and bolts" of this galvanizing piece, and outlines some of the cinematic and real-world inspirations for its taut construction and powerful impact. (14:39)
Edited by Emilie Silvestri
Music:
Symphony in Three Movements (1945) by Igor Stravinsky
All music performed by New York City Ballet Orchestra

Silas Farley is back with another deep dive into the Company's repertory in this week's Hear the Dance episode, devoted to George Balanchine's Liebeslieder Walzer. Farley is joined by former Principal Dancers Bart Cook and Maria Calegari, who share their memories of watching the ballet's iconic interpreters in its initial incarnations; learning individual parts within the challenging but "sublime" work; and coaching Liebeslieder in its entirety. As they describe, the ballet was like a "gift from Europe," for which many dancers have needed to learn the waltz anew—in the countless three-quarter versions Balanchine devised. (57:03)
Written by Silas Farley
Edited by Emilie Silvestri
Music:
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1931) by Igor Stravinsky
Liebeslieder, Op. 52 (1869) by Johannes Brahms
Neue Liebeslieder, Op. 65 (1874) by Johannes Brahms
Waltzes for piano duet and vocal quartet, all set to poems by Friedrich Daumer, except last, by Goethe
All music performed by the New York City Ballet Orchestra
Reading List:
Balanchine Then and Now Edited by Anne Hogan
Mr. B: George Balanchine’s 20th Century by Jennifer Homans
Balanchine: A Biography by Bernard Taper
George Balanchine: Ballet Master by Richard Buckle in Collaboration with John Taras
Following Balanchine by Robert Garis
More Balanchine Variations by Nancy Goldner
Johannes Brahms: A Biography by Jan Swafford
Brahms and His Poets: A Handbook by Natasha Loges
Ballerina: A Biography of Violette Verdy by Victoria Huckenpahler
Balanchine’s Ballerinas: Conversations with the Muses by Robert Tracy and Sharon DeLano
Goethe: Life as a Work of Art by Rüdiger Safranski, Translated by David Dollenmayer
Costumes by Karinska by Toni Bentley