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PODCAST

City Ballet The Podcast

New York City Ballet

Welcome to City Ballet The Podcast, an exploration of New York City Ballet where we"ll journey through our history, delve into our new and existing repertory, and reveal insider tidbits. Each season of City Ballet The Podcast features episodes that span three topics: New Combinations hosted by Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan, Hear the Dance hosted by dance educator and former NYCB dancer Silas Farley, and See the Music hosted by Music Director Andrew Litton.

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All Episodes

20:04

Episode 163: New Combinations: Shared Rain

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2026/10/06

In this week's episode of New Combinations episode, Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan sat down with Jennifer Archibald ahead of the world premiere of her debut commission for New York City Ballet. Archibald shares how she found her choreographic calling at a young age, what it means to create a work for the Fall Fashion Gala, how she approached casting, and matching the strength of the score with the power of movement. (20:03) Music: "Sisyphus" by Andrew Wegman Bird Wixen Music Publishing,

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22:11

Episode 162: New Combinations: Auspicy

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2026/09/29

Alysa Pires' new ballet premieres October 1 at the 2026 Fall Fashion Gala and, as she discusses with Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan in our latest podcast episode, the work is a manifestation of maternal themes ignited by the music of late Canadian composer Jocelyn Morlock. For the piece, Pires knew she wanted to work with Amsterdam-based fashion house Viktor&Rolf, whose fashion shows stood out to her as particularly theatrical and perfectly suited for the music. Listen as Pires shares her

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51:11

Episode 161: 25-26 Season Wrap-Up

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2026/06/15

As our 25-26 Season comes to a close, Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan reminisce over some of the year's most memorable moments. From welcoming former dancers to the front of the room and guest musicians into the orchestra pit, to choreographers returning to create in our studios and a wave of well-deserved promotions, this season was filled with artistry, growth, and unforgettable milestones. (51:10) Music: Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra (1929)

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35:24

Episode 160: New Combinations: Symphonie Espagnole

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2026/05/04

Associate Artistic Director and host Wendy Whelan is back for a New Combinations conversation with Principal Dancer Tiler Peck as she prepares for the May 7 premiere of Symphonie Espagnole, her second choreographic commission for the company. Peck dives into the granularities of her process—from music selection to costumes to casting the 40-person ballet—and reflects on the unexpected ways in which choreographing has uncovered new facets of her own dancing and artistry. (35:24) Music: "Sisyphus" by

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35:39

Episode 159: New Combinations: Continuum

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2026/04/27

New Combinations Host and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan is joined by choreographer Christopher Wheeldon this week, whose ballet Continuum will have its NYCB premiere on May 1. It's part of a trilogy of leotard ballets, including Polyphonia and Morphoses, set to a score by György Ligeti—a composer whose music Wheeldon was "really intrigued by," but also "terrified" by. Wheeldon and Whelan discuss unlocking and understanding the mysteries of Ligeti's works, setting this piece on the

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40:13

The Rosin Box: Music For Dancers

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2026/04/06

The topic du jour around The Rosin Box this week is the driving force behind ballet: music. For this conversation, hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Soloist Aarón Sanz are joined by Corps de Ballet Member Maya Milić and Soloist Sebastián Villarini-Vélez, two company members whose connections to music extend far beyond the studio and stage. Maya is a classically trained pianist who graduated with honors from the Manhattan School of Music's Precollege Division, which she attended while also a student at

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36:58

Episode 157: The Rosin Box: Ballet for Adults

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2026/03/30

This week around The Rosin Box, Hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Soloist Aarón Sanz are talking all things adult ballet with Sloane Bratter, NYCB's Associate Director, Public Programs, and Soloist Ashley Hod. The company's Education department has been hosting adult movement workshops since 2014, taught by current and former dancers—an opportunity Claire calls "a real life-giving experience." Structured similarly to a standard company class, the workshops usually consist of a ballet barre and center,

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44:24

Episode 156: The Rosin Box: Transitions

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2026/03/23

We're back around The Rosin Box, with Soloist Aarón Sanz pulling double hosting duty this episode. He's joined by Principal Dancer Chun Wai Chan for a conversation on the singular experience of joining an American ballet company as an international dancer. Chan, who is originally from China, and Sanz, who came to America by way of Spain, discuss navigating homesickness, the things that surprised them most about NYCB, and how, sometimes, "knowing a little less allows you to be more comfortable—which

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01:09:58

Episode 155: Hear the Dance: Dances at a Gathering

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2026/02/09

Host Silas Farley is back with another fascinating Hear the Dance conversation, joined this week by Kay Mazzo, Christine Redpath, and Jean-Pierre Frohlich to discuss Jerome Robbins' masterpiece Dances at a Gathering. In this wide-ranging and intimate conversation, they share memories of the ballet's momentous 1969 premiere as well as time spent with Robbins in the rehearsal studio. As they discuss the various sections of Dances, they reflect on moments when Robbins' humor emerges; the "freedom" and

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23:54

Episode 154: New Combinations: The Naked King

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2026/01/26

New Combinations Host and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan is joined by Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky this week as the countdown to the choreographer's next world premiere—and the 500th work created on the company—continues. Commissioned by Serge Lifar in 1935, the score, by the little-known neoclassical composer Jean Françaix, adapts Hans Christian Andersen's "The Emperor's New Clothes" for the stage. Among the ballet's unique challenges was the casting of the title character, which

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24:05

Episode 153: New Combinations: The Wind-Up

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2026/01/19

This week, New Combinations host and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan is joined by Resident Choreographer Justin Peck to discuss his upcoming world premiere. As Peck describes, the work takes inspiration from the score, the first movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 3—the Eroica or "Heroic" Symphony—and celebrates the six "superheroes" of the cast. Choreographing to Beethoven presents unique challenges, but as Peck explains, this is part of why he chose the piece, along with the joy playing

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49:30

Episode 152: Hear the Dance: Antique Epigraphs

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2026/01/12

We're launching a new season of City Ballet The Podcast with an enlightening Hear the Dance conversation on Jerome Robbins' Antique Epigraphs. Host Silas Farley is joined by former NYCB dancers and original cast members Maria Calegari and Heléne Alexopoulos, and current Repertory Director Rebecca Krohn, who performed several roles in the work and now coaches today's performers. They describe learning this lyrical ballet, following the delicate Debussy score through its unique solos and romantic

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54:08

Episode 151: The Rosin Box: Acting and Emotions

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2025/11/03

The Rosin Box heats up this week with a lively conversation shared by hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Soloist Aarón Sanz and their guests, Principal Dancers Gilbert Bolden III and Sara Mearns. They talk about acting and emotions onstage, including their favorite roles, techniques and practices, and hilarious memories. Whether conveying the characters in a narrative ballet or achieving the appropriate expressiveness in an abstract work, the dancers describe the need for extensive preparation—and life

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50:37

Episode 150: The Rosin Box: Dancing with Props

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2025/10/27

Listen in on another intimate conversation around The Rosin Box with host Claire Kretzschmar, joined this week by Principal Dancer Taylor Stanley. The topic is all things props, which provide essential context and character development for many of the company's story ballets and "teach you how to remain calm in the moment," as Taylor shares. From training with a professional swordsman in preparation for Romeo and Juliet, to maneuvering the candle in La Sonnambula's haunted pas de deux, Taylor

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54:13

Episode 149: Rosin Box: Inspiration and Motivation

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2025/10/20

Hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Soloist Aarón Sanz are back for another cozy conversation around The Rosin Box. This week, they're joined by Soloist Alexa Maxwell and Principal Dancer Gilbert Bolden III, who have plenty to share about inspiration and motivation, whether for their daily practice, during repetitive performance periods, amidst injuries and other challenges, and beyond. Alexa shares that it's all about the music—she's a "classical music girly"—and that she likes to bunhead out as she's

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33:43

Episode 148: New Combinations: Jamar Roberts

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2025/09/29

Associate Artistic Director and host Wendy Whelan is back for another enlightening New Combinations conversation. This week, she's joined by choreographer Jamar Roberts, whose newest work for the company will premiere during the Fall Fashion Gala on October 8, timing he describes as "full-circle," considering his own forays into fashion design. His collaboration with designer Iris van Herpen has been uniquely fruitful, as well as his selection of music by Arca, with both informing this ballet that

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42:29

Episode 147: Hear the Dance: The Goldberg Variations...

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2025/09/22

In the second part of this deep dive Hear the Dance discussion of Jerome Robbins' The Goldberg Variations, host Silas Farley is joined by former NYCB Dancers and current Repertory Directors Christine Redpath and Jean-Pierre Frohlich. Redpath, an original cast member of Goldberg, digs into Robbins' approach to the creation of this remarkably multi-faceted ballet, while Frohlich remembers the adjustments the choreographer made through the ensuing performances. Both talk about coaching Goldberg on

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01:12:53

Episode 146: Hear the Dance: The Goldberg Variations...

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2025/09/22

In a special two-part Hear the Dance Episode, host Silas Farley leads us on a wide-ranging discussion of Jerome Robbins' 1971 ballet The Goldberg Variations. In this first part, Farley is joined by former NYCB Dancer Bruce Wells, an original cast member, and current Principal Dancer Emilie Gerrity, one of the ballet's present-day interpreters. Wells shares the challenges Robbins faced after an injury forced him to choreograph from a wheelchair, as well as highlights from the year-long creative

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01:02:43

Episode 145: Hear the Dance: Ballade

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2025/09/15

Hear the Dance host Silas Farley returns for a deep-dive discussion with former Principal Dancer Merrill Ashley and Repertory Director Glenn Keenan on George Balanchine's Ballade, a ballet returning to the NYCB stage after a hiatus of more than 20 years. Keenan shares that when she was a student at the School of American Ballet, Ashley's "humongous care and attention" as a teacher helped shape her approach to her current role, and that watching Ashley in the studio today has been both helpful and

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37:10

Episode 144: New Combinations: Heatscape

City Ballet The Podcast ·

2025/09/08

A brand-new season of City Ballet The Podcast launches today with a fresh New Combinations conversation between Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan and Resident Choreographer Justin Peck. Commissioned by Miami City Ballet a decade ago, Peck is in the midst of rehearsing his Heatscape for its NYCB stage debut, with the help of original dancers and coaches Michael Sean Breeden, Patricia Delgado, and Jeannette Delgado. He shares what drew him to Bohuslav Martinů's Piano Concerto No. 1, a piece

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