26 episodes
The Turning: Room of Mirrors iHeart True Crime
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- Society & Culture
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4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
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In every ballet studio, there is a wall of mirrors. It reflects the people within. They’re part of a closed, elite group that asks for sacrifice and devotion from its members. This insular community produces iconic artists. It’s founded on a strict power structure, often with one man at the top. By tracing the origins of this unusual lifestyle, starting with the legacy of choreographer George Balanchine and the intimate stories of young dancers, we expose the beauty of an artform and the complexity of ballet culture.
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S2: Ep 1 - Only I Can See You
PART ONE - "He used to say, 'What are you looking at dear? You can't see you. Only I can see you.'"
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TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/turningtranscripts
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S2: Ep 2 - Ritual Healing
PART TWO - "I would experiment a little. I would go to the theater, and the lights would go down, and I would say, 'Okay, I'm going to give you my mood. I'm going to give you all these troubles, and you do something with it,' said I to the stage. And then I would walk out, and I felt like somebody had rinsed me."For more content, follow us on Instagram @RococoPunchTRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/turningtranscripts
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S2: Ep 3 - Risk All
PART THREE - "There are no windows, because we don't need windows, because the outside world doesn't matter. He was God in the theater. Ever observing, ever present. Are you a patriot? Are you a citizen? Are you willing to do whatever I ask you to do?"
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TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/turningtranscripts
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S2: Ep 4 - The Muses
PART FOUR - "Balanchine was so fond of perfume that leaves the scent of that dancer behind, and it still permeates."
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TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/turningtranscripts
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S2:Ep 5 - The Prince
PART FIVE - "Gone unchecked, bad things can happen. And they did."
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TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/turningtranscripts
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S2:Ep 6 - A Golden Year
PART SIX - "It feels like this hazy distant silhouette of a thing that doesn’t feel real, like a wild dream that I can’t fully recall."
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TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/turningtranscripts
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Customer Reviews
Devastatingly Beautiful Podcast
As an ex-Catholic reckoning with problematic Catholic beliefs and figures, Season 1 of this podcast had me hooked and enthralled. I thought there was no way I’d enjoy Season 2 as much, having no background in or knowledge of ballet, but boy was I wrong. Both seasons—amazingly researched and critical—address powerful, profound themes that touch so many parts of human life: cult-like thinking, self-sacrifice and perfectionism, expression vs. loss of individuality, and how these behaviors affect our social and internal life. Even though I never joined a religious order, nor danced ballet, I found myself relating to so many of the tough questions posed by the interviewees and the hosts. Incredibly thought-provoking, brilliantly produced, and devastatingly beautiful podcast. I hope there’s a Season 3!
Season 1 (Mother T) was 5-star …
… but Season 2 (Balanchine) after fascinating introductory episodes seemed to become increasingly overwhelmed by wokey/PC concerns (Balanchine was racist and bad, he wasn’t a great artist because elitism is bad, beauty and skill is elitist and bad, etc.) and became nearly unlistenable to me toward the end without massive amounts of fast-forwarding. I skipped the lesbian episode entirely as I couldn’t take the echo chamber- preachiness at that point.
I hope future seasons are as thoughtful, nuanced and mature as Season 1.
Fascinating Look at the Insular World of Ballet
I LOVED this podcast. To hear participants in the NYC Ballet world speak about growing up in the world was really eye opening. My exposure to ballet was via tv and the celebrity figures of Nureyev and Fonteyn and later Baryshnikov. Obviously limited, but ballet was still enticing. I also read Suzanne Farrell’s memoir of her life as Balanchine’s muse during the pinnacle of NYC Ballet. So much beauty and so much physical and emotional pain exists side by side and much of it is discussed in this exceedingly well done podcast. I also appreciated the perspective of African American and LGBTQ dance history and performers.