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PODCAST

The Dance Lens Podcast

WHERE DANCE MEETS ART, HISTORY, POLITICS & SOCIAL (RE)EVOLUTIONS

Dance exists at the intersection of fashion, history, art, politics, fashion, ritual and social evolutions. Through interviews, reviews, story times and behind the scenes we"ll take a deeper look at the art form"s history, industry and artists. thedancelens.substack.com

society & culture performing arts

All Episodes

14:22

REVIEW: At American Ballet Theater, “Othello”...

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2026/03/28

IN THIS EDITION: REVIEW: American Ballet Theater Spring Season 2026 “Othello” in 2 casts.What does Othello reveal about ballet, then and now? This episode revisits American Ballet Theatre’s landmark production through a contemporary lens, tracing its ambition alongside the questions it leaves unresolved—around gender, agency, and whose stories are allowed to take center stage.Join me on Substack for a closer conversation—essays, interviews, and live salons at the intersection of dance, culture, and

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10:26

REVIEW: Hurlin Ignites Ratmansky’s Firebird at ABT

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2026/03/17

IN THIS EDITION-Review: Amercian Ballet Theater in The Firebird. Performed on March 13, 2026.-Misty Copeland at the OscarsFIREBIRD REVIEW:This was my first time seeing The Firebird by Alexei Ratmansky which premiered in 2012 and hasn’t been performed since 2018, almost a decade ago. This Firebird’s dark whimsy calls back to earlier fairytales, like those of the aptly named Brothers Grimm. It is at once childlike and very adult, equal parts dreams and wonder alongside power struggles and sexuality

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25:00

Choreography As Language: Interview With Serge Laurent

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2026/02/10

IN THIS EDITION: -Interview with Serge Laurent, Director of Dance & Cultural Programs at Van Cleef & Arpels on the role of curation in dance’s development.-Upcoming LIVE TALK Seeing Dance: The Sleeping Beauty Then & Now Tues Feb 24. As the Dance Reflections Festival returns to New York City (February 19–March 21, 2026), I spoke with Serge Laurent, Director of Dance & Cultural Programs at Van Cleef & Arpels, about how studying art history—rather than choreography—shaped the way he learned to see

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54:46

The Rhythm of Memory: Kathak in The Modern Age

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2026/02/04

Silenced for one and a half centuries, Kathak dance, suppressed under British rule, went underground—yet survived, through secrecy and lineage.SPEAK Artists (L to R) Rukhmani Mehta, Dormeshia, Racha Nivas, Michelle Dorrance; photo by Margo Moritz.Rooted in North India, Kathak is a classical form built on storytelling and rhythm, its name derived from the Sanskrit word katha, meaning story. It flourished in temple courtyards as a devotional practice and later in Mughal courts, where it absorbed

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56:35

A Critic's Eye: Alastair Macaulay on Dance,...

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2025/12/29

Alastair Macaulay is one of the most influential dance critics of all time—or, as some would say, the greatest of all time (a title he himself disputes, though I wholeheartedly maintain that he is the singular GOAT). His career spans more than four decades across the UK, Europe, and the United States. A Cambridge graduate, he began writing about the performing arts in the late 1970s and quickly became a defining voice in dance criticism.He has written for The New Yorker, The Guardian, Financial

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47:33

Is A Showgirl Changing The Face Of Politics?

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2025/11/19

“People say, ‘stay in your lane, you’re just an artist, but art was born out of politics—revolutions, wars, oppression. Tap dance emerged because enslaved people weren’t allowed to make music. Dancers come from communities impacted by inequity—Black, brown, queer, immigrant, women. There’s a direct political dimension to that.” Bridgie NixWhat is the life of a showgirl? It might just be in politics. Bridgie Nix is not your typical political candidate — she’s a dancer, fire performer, and lifelong

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45:43

Boots Off, Dance On: Tending to The Visible and...

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2025/11/05

Dance and the military might seem worlds apart—but their histories are surprisingly intertwined. Some of the world’s oldest ballet schools were tied to state military academies, and Napoleon himself organized the Paris Opera Ballet’s uniforms and promotion system that is still in place today. The physical rigor, the hierarchy, the discipline—the dancer and the soldier have much in common in their daily experience. But the paths diverge—the physical and psychic injuries of war lead us away from our

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30:16

Stateless Refugee To International Ballet Star

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2025/11/04

Ahmad Joudeh’s phenomenal path is the subject of a new Documentary “The Dancer”, which premiere’s at San Francisco Dance Film Festival on November 8th. Born in a refugee camp in Syria, Joudeh literally risked his life to study dance in secret and eventually became a dancer with Dutch National Ballet. He’s now a member of Golden State Ballet in California alongside being an international activist for refugee rights and the arts. Joudeh’s path is truly miraculous and a reminder that with dance (and

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18:40

Interview: Claudia Hilda Multidisciplinary Cuban...

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2025/10/29

At CARVALHO, New York gallery in Brooklyn, Cuban choreographer and interdisciplinary artist Claudia Hilda turns the experience of migration into a moving meditation on memory and belonging. Her new installation, Neither Here, Nor There – The Migrant Body, expands the language of dance into a 24-foot projection where silhouetted figures emerge and fade, moving as memory does—sometimes vivid, sometimes lost.In this immersive environment, choreography gives way to apparition. Figures rise from the

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27:20

Podcast With Alec Knight On Balanchine's Western...

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2025/09/17

In This Edition:PODCAST: Alec Knight on Balanchine, Dreams, and His Western Symphony DebutIn this episode of The Dance Lens podcast, we sat down with Alec Knight, Soloist at New York City Ballet, on the cusp of his debut in George Balanchine’s Western Symphony. From early frustrations training in Australia to chasing the Balanchine dream across continents, Knight takes us through the unlikely path that brought him to Lincoln Center.He speaks candidly about tackling Western Symphony’s fourth

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58:26

The Maestro In Motion

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2025/08/06

In This Edition: -INTERVIEW Podcast With Ballet Conductor Garrett Keast.—REVIEW: The Art World & Dance: Meaningful Collaboration or Performative (literally) Fluff? OBSERVER REVIEW -DEEP DIVE Episode 1 of Our August Swan Lake Deep Dive: The StoryINTERVIEW (full podcast above)Garrett Keast, an American conductor whose career spans both opera and ballet across international stages, has emerged as one of the most dynamic figures guiding ballet orchestras today.Garrett Keast. Photo: Kiran WestWhile the

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71:16

Swans of Harlem & other book recs

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2025/07/30

In This Edition:-Podcast with Karen Valby, author of Swans of Harlem-A few book recsWith the approaching slow slog of August upon us, it’s a perfect moment to catch up on the books we’ve been meaning to read. Here are a couple that I really can’t recommend enough and one to look forward to. Swans of Harlem by Karen Valby About (and partly by) the founding dancers of Dance Theater of Harlem, whose stories—until this book was created—were mostly, and incredulously, forgotten. I’ve also included an

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33:07

Yuan Yuan Tan Returns: From the Buddha's Coin Toss to...

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2025/07/24

In This Edition:-Podcast interview with Yuan Yuan Tan-Notes on the complexities of artistic exchange and the new work Lady White Snake.Yuan Yuan Tan, San Francisco’s great ballerina, almost never became a dancer. Her entire career was decided by a single coin toss.Arguing about whether or not she’d be allowed to study such an impractical pursuit as ballet, her parents said, “The Buddha will decide.” A coin was thrown. It landed in dance’s favor, and her fate was sealed.Now, 40 years after the

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4:20

Gillian Murphy: A Farewell, A Bridge, A Legacy

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2025/07/16

IN THIS EDITION:-Podcast & Note On Gillian Murphy’s Career-Recommended show (Lady White Snake)-Update on this Substack:)The career of American Ballet Theatre’s Gillian Murphy has spanned a rare arc. A jewel in the annals of ballet history, she has escorted the changing times and evolving art form for the better part of three decades. And on July 18, the artist makes her final departure from the ABT stage in Odette/Odile — a role that, as Murphy notes in an interview about her career, continues to

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14:43

A Review:Paris Opera Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty at the...

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2025/07/06

In This Edition:-Podcast of A Review of Paris Opera’s Sleeping Beauty-The Text of the Review in English-Where to Watch 6 Different Versions of Sleeping Beauty-The Review in French/La critique en françaisRevolution and Reverie: Paris Opera Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty at the BastilleTHE CONTEXTSeeing the Paris Opera Ballet in The Sleeping Beauty, or La Belle au Bois Dormant, is to look down history’s kaleidoscopic tunnel. A deluge of rotating tutus, rising monarchies, falling empires, exiled artists,

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11:42

Review: ABT’s Giselle with Olga Smirnova at the Met

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2025/06/22

In this edition:-A Review: Olga Smirnova in Giselle with American Ballet Theater. -Where Watch NowOlga Smirnova in Dutch National’s Giselle Photo: Alex GouliaevThe Review:American culture is a casual one, in its language, in its sartorial expression, in its treatment of the arts and artists. But when a ballerina like Olga Smirnova is in the house—a dancer that descends from a culture that for centuries has revered and invested in dance as both a high art and a practice worthy of being put even in

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5:34

Misty Copeland Announces Retirement as Gonzalo Garcia...

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2025/06/18

The clangs in the march of time in the ballet world have gone from a few distinct notes to a cacophony of endings, beginnings and shifts in philosophies.In this edition:-Gonzalo Garcia’s new role at Miami City Ballet-Misty Copeland’s retirement and legacy —Ashton Triple on Marquee TV—Ballet of the week: Ashton’s A Month In The CountryGonzalo Garcia, former NYC Ballet Principal will become Miami City Ballet’s new artistic director.Gonzalo Garcia, Miami City Ballet’s New Artistic DirectorMiami City

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12:36

Dance & Politics Part 2: When Ballet Broke the Color...

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2025/06/12

We’re back to regularly scheduled programming. Thanks for bearing with us during a brief hiatus while we switched coasts! In this episode, we explore how dance became a powerful tool of resistance, expression, and cultural identity during times of political upheaval. From Arthur Mitchell breaking barriers in classical ballet and founding Dance Theatre of Harlem, to Alvin Ailey’s deeply spiritual modern works like Revelations, Black dancers turned movement into activism during the Civil Rights era

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31:25

Elegance & Empire: Dance and Politics Part 1

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2025/05/14

By Cynthia DragoniWhat do Catherine de Medici, Louis XIV, Stalin, and Fidel Castro have in common? They all used ballet as a tool of power.In this episode, we trace the surprising political history of ballet—from Renaissance courts to Cold War propaganda. You’ll hear how dance shaped national identities in France, Russia, Cuba, and the U.S., and how kings, tsars, and revolutionaries all turned to ballet to project order, control, and cultural dominance.After you’ve had a chance to listen, was any of

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8:36

DANCE & FASHION SERIES PART 3: Black Style. Black...

The Dance Lens Podcast ·

2025/05/01

From the streets of Harlem to the stages of ballet, Dandyism and jazz have fundamentally altered the way we experience beauty, dance, and sartorial self-expression in the United States; with the upcoming opening of the Met Costume Institute’s “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”, the history, role, and gorgeous looks of Black Dandyism are having a moment.The Dinner Party. Photographed by Tyler Mitchell, 2025 in VOGUEA moment that was none too prescient—right as government policies erase the histories

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22 results

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