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cover art for (340) Alice Robb, author of 'Don't Think, Dear: On Loving and Leaving Ballet'

Conversations on Dance

(340) Alice Robb, author of 'Don't Think, Dear: On Loving and Leaving Ballet'

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This week on Conversations on Dance, we are joined by author, Alice Robb, whose memoir, ‘Don’t Think, Dear’, chronicles her experiences as a young ballet student. We talk about the creative process for the book, her decision to include far reaching studies on pain tolerance, dancer psychology, and other subjects to give context to a dancer’s life and experience, and the book’s place in recent high profile conversations that have arisen about whether, or how, problematic ballet’s past and present really are. 


Alice’s book is available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3nZkYEt


THIS EPISODE'S SPONSORS:

  • Ballet Bird is a streaming site designed by former Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancer Julie Tobiason. Ballet Bird offers ballet classes for anyone at any level of training that you can do from the comfort of your home or studio. Ballet Bird is a great addition to your regular in-studio training too. Take advantage of the ten day free trial and use the discount code COD25 to get 25% off through June 30th 2023 at balletbird.com.


  • Energetiks are a sustainable, Australian Made brand that specialise in creating world class dancewear for the stars of tomorrow. Perform and feel your best at every stage of your dance journey in Energetiks’ premium, high performance fabrics. See their entire range online at energetiks.com and for all listeners there's a 20% discount on all Energetiks products using the code COD20 at the checkout [available until the end of September 2023].


  • After a nearly-decade-long hiatus from live performance, ChrisMastersDance returns with Mausoleum, at Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Fishman Space, June 2nd to 4th. Reckoning with the dance field’s history of systematic exploitation, ChrisMastersDance is building a Mausoleum — a place to acknowledge and remember a past that has been laid to rest —making way for a tomorrow that sets aside unsustainable forms of life and work. Don’t miss Mausoleum at BAM this is June 2- 4. Tickets are available at bam.org/Mausoleum or click the link in the show notes.


LINKS:


Conversations on Dance was the recipient of the 2024 Clive Barnes Award for Journalism and Media Achievement.


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Website: conversationsondancepod.com

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