Share

cover art for (177) Rebecca and Michael: Quarantine Guide for Ballet Dancers and Fans

Conversations on Dance

(177) Rebecca and Michael: Quarantine Guide for Ballet Dancers and Fans

Today, Rebecca and Michael connect via Skype from quarantine. We discuss some options of ballet related content to consume while the world is social distancing during the Coronavirus Pandemic. We list some online class options, resources for dancers who are out of work, and our favorite dance related books, movies, and much more. This list was put together based on internet research and content that we are familiar with. Pointe Magazine and Dance Magazine are also offering a lot of great up to date resources. Conversations on Dance is brought to you by Yumiko. (Yumiko.com)

Remember to please follow CDC guidelines and the direction of your local officials during this time. We are hoping to be able to bring our listeners content to help take your mind off of everything, if just for a short time. During this time, we will not be following our regular publishing schedule, so follow us on social media to stay up to date on our new content.

Below is a list that includes links to the items we discuss in this episode.

ONLINE CLASSES: Kathryn Morgan YouTube Channel, World Ballet Day Videos, John Clifford Class with Portland Ballet, Miami City Ballet School Class via Dance Spirit, Men’s Class (PNB Summer Course 2018), PNB School Class (Summer 2016), Herman – Dance Live by Herman Cornejo on YouTube, and Ashley Bouder just launched a YouTube Channel.

INSTAGRAM RESOURCES FOR CLASS: Martha Graham classes via @marziamem @lloydknight, Tiler Peck via @tilerpeck, Juilliard class available at @juilliardschool, and @vaildancefest is cataloging a lot of what your favorite dancers are doing during this time.

PLACES TO TAKE BALLET CLASS ONLINE OUTSIDE OF INSTAGRAM OR YOUTUBE: Dancio (offering two free weeks of classes due to Coronavirus), Veyette Virtual Ballet School, 1on1 Ballet, and Ballet Beautiful.

HOW CAN WE HELP DANCERS DIRECTLY DURING THIS TIME? If you are a dancer, get in touch with the Actor’s Fund or explore these freelance dancer resources. The Dance Union Podcast is starting a GoFundMe for NYC Based Dancers. Tell Congress to include displaced entertainment workers in relief package via Action Network.

MOVIES: The Red Shoes (Amazon Prime), Billy Elliot (Netflix), Center Stage (Netflix), Turning Point (Amazon Prime), White Knights (Amazon Prime), Black Swan (Hulu, Amazon Prime), Oklahoma (Amazon Prime), Carousel (Amazon Prime), Singin’ In the Rain (iTunes), On The Town (iTunes), American In Paris (Amazon Prime), Top Hat (Netflix), West Side Story (Netflix), Fame (Netflix.)

BOOKS: Repertory In Review (Nancy Reynolds), Apollo’s Angels (Jennifer Homans), Winter’s Season (Toni Bentley), Holding Onto the Air (Suzanne Farrell), The Unmaking Of a Dancer (Joan Brady), Once a Dancer (Allegra Kent), Balanchine (Bernard Taper), Margot Fonteyn (Alastair Macaulay).

VIRTUAL ART: 12 museums with virtual tours, stream the Met Opera via Metopera.org, and John Clifford's YouTube Channel. Video of the Italian Opera singer on his balcony.

We will be putting out emails with some of our favorite episodes chronologically, so go to our website to sign up for our email list to get an email with a featured episode from our older catalog.

The post (177) Rebecca and Michael: Quarantine Guide for Ballet Dancers and Fans appeared first on tendusunderapalmtree.com.

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


Access bonus episodes on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/conversationsondance


Website: conversationsondancepod.com

Join our email list: https://conversations-on-dance.kit.com/7f73880f5b

Instagram: instagram.com/conversationsondance

More episodes

View all episodes

  • (511) James Whiteside announces retirement from American Ballet Theatre and tells us what's next

    29:12|
    Access upcoming BONUS episodes plus listen ad-free when you join our Patreon page. Membership starts as low as $3 a month and every dollar helps support the future of the podcast. Thank you for your support. https://www.patreon.com/cw/conversationsondanceHosts Rebecca King Ferraro and Michael Sean Breeden welcome American Ballet Theatre principal dancer James Whiteside, who announces he will retire from the ABT stage on June 30, 2027, dancing Giselle with Isabella Boylston at the Metropolitan Opera House.Whiteside explains the decision felt simple after 25 professional years, post-COVID recovery and a knee injury, and seeing peers retire, while emphasizing he values new colleagues and feels his body is ready. He reflects on industry changes, his growth as a dancer, and his early social media trailblazing that supported queerness in ballet and created income beyond the company, though he’s largely stepping away from being an influencer.He discusses future plans in choreography and writing, including a new Indiana University work inspired by George Platt Lynes and Debussy titled Stone Blossom, upcoming premieres, a restaging of City of Women, and his ABT fall performances including Ballet Imperial, Petal, and Petite Mort, plus final California Nutcracker shows.
  • (510) Summer recap and a COD restructure with Michael and Rebecca

    35:41|
    Access upcoming BONUS episodes plus listen ad-free when you join our Patreon page. Membership starts as low as $3 a month and every dollar helps support the future of the podcast. Thank you for your support. https://www.patreon.com/cw/conversationsondanceInterested in signing up? Enjoy one month access to our Patreon for free: CLICK HERE.Conversations on Dance: Patreon Updates, Vail Highlights, and Michael’s First Balanchine StagingRebecca King Ferraro and Michael Sean Breeden discuss a format shift for Conversations on Dance, encouraging listeners to support the podcast via Patreon to help sustain production while keeping three free episodes per month and the full back catalog free. They outline tiers—Emerald ($3, ad-free episodes), Ruby ($8, ad-free plus one monthly bonus episode), and Diamond ($15, same as Ruby)—and offer a free one-month trial link in the show notes. They recap their 10th year at the Vail Dance Festival, highlighting guests including Alexei Ratmansky, Caroline Shaw, Hermán Cornejo, and an episode with four pianists. Michael shares staging his first Balanchine ballet, Allegro Brillante, at Nashville Ballet, and previews upcoming work at Indiana University, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and Hamburg Ballet. They also share details on Miami City Ballet’s Young Patron Society (ages 26–45) and its upcoming events.00:00 Iconic Guests Teaser01:01 Patreon Format Change02:00 Tiers and Bonus Episodes04:06 Why Support Matters05:34 Social Media and New Listeners08:05 Vail Festival Highlights11:21 Interviewing Without Cards13:31 Staging Balanchine Debut17:39 Working With Familiar Dancers25:18 Upcoming Projects Tour27:12 Jeanette Delgado Appreciation31:03 Miami City Ballet Young Patrons34:12 Final Patreon Reminder35:05 Show Credits and Outro
  • (509) Pianists of Vail Dance Festival: Michael Scales, Derek Wang, Tony Yun, Joel Wenhardt

    52:31|
    This episode was recorded live from the Vail Dance Festival on August 9th, 2026.Enjoy one month of Conversations on Dance on Patreon for free! Redeem here. In the final episode of our Vail Dance Festival series, Michael Sean Breeden is joined by guest co-host Kate Penner for a rare conversation with the festival's pianists: Michael Scales, Derek Wang, Tony Yun, Joel Wenhardt. Together they pull back the curtain on what most audiences never see: the musicians who make dance possible. They talk about how each of them found music in the first place, what it's actually like to collaborate with choreographers and dancers in the room, the tiny details that can make or break a piece, and some of their favorite moments from years of playing at Vail.
  • (508) Career Pathways at The Vail Dance Festival: Savannah Green, Kayla Mak, Brooks Landegger, Philip Duclos

    45:46|
    Enjoy one month of Conversations on Dance on Patreon for free! Redeem here. This episode was recorded live from the Vail Dance Festival on August 9th, 2026.In this early-morning session from the final day of the festival, Michael Sean Breeden is joined by guest co-host Kate Penner (Rebecca had already headed home for her son's first day of school) for a conversation with four dancers who represent very different paths into the profession: Savannah Green (BalletX), Kayla Mak (ABT), Brooks Landegger (ABT), and Philip Duclos (Royal Danish Ballet). They talk about how differently each of their careers began, the moment each of them was "thrown in the deep end" at Vail, how they mentally and physically prepare for a performance, and what it's like bringing what they learn at the festival back to their home companies.
  • (507) LIVE from the Vail Dance Festival with Nikolaj Hubbe, Carla Korbes, Margaret Tracey, & Melissa Toogood

    01:14:09|
    Watch NOW: PREMIERES from the 2026 Vail Dance Festival here: https://www.youtube.com/live/IWR7IJTIUjM?si=Hew1Dst2yyijlh9k.Enjoy one month of Conversations on Dance on Patreon for free! Redeem here. Join Conversations on Dance hosts Rebecca King Ferraro and Michael Sean Breeden for a live podcast recording exploring the special and unique process of preparing today’s generation of dancers for the world stages. In this special conversation, four of today’s passionate leading dance educators gather to discuss how they cultivate tomorrow’s stars and what it means to pass artistry from one generation to the next.The panel includes Nikolaj Hubbe, former Artistic Director of the Royal Danish Ballet and former New York City Ballet principal; Margaret Tracey, Artistic Director of Canada’s National Ballet School and former New York City Ballet principal; Carla Korbes, former Pacific Northwest Ballet principal and now ballet chair at Juilliard; and Melissa Toogood, Bessie Award-winning dancer and Dean of Juilliard’s Dance Division. Together, they bring decades of combined artistic and teaching experience to a conversation about craft, education, and a love of dance.
  • (506) LIVE from the Vail Dance Festival with Alexei Ratmansky

    01:02:35|
    Enjoy one month of free access to Conversations on Dance on Patreon and listen ad-free. Click here to redeem. Join Conversations on Dance hosts Rebecca King Ferraro and Michael Sean Breeden for a live podcast recording with this summer’s Artist-in-Residence, Alexei Ratmansky. Ratmansky is widely regarded as one of the most important ballet choreographers of his generation, creating celebrated works for companies around the world and currently serves as Artist-in-Residence at New York City Ballet. This summer he brings that singular creative force to Vail, where he will create new work as part of the 2026 festival.Hear Ratmansky reflect on his creative process, his vision for new work, and what it means to bring his artistry to the mountains of Colorado during Artistic Director Damian Woetzel’s landmark 20th year at the helm.Stay tuned for more episodes coming from the Vail Dance Festival 2026.Conversations on Dance at the Vail Dance Festival is generously underwritten by The Town of Vail.
  • (505) LIVE from the Vail Dance Festival with Ryan Tomash, Principal Dancer with New York City Ballet

    59:48|
    Enjoy one month of free access to Conversations on Dance on Patreon and listen ad-free. Click here to redeem. Join Conversations on Dance hosts Rebecca King Ferraro and Michael Sean Breeden for a live podcast recording with one of ballet’s most exciting rising stars: Ryan Tomash, newly promoted Principal Dancer at New York City Ballet.Born in Toronto and trained at Canada’s National Ballet School, Tomash spent eight formative years with the Royal Danish Ballet before joining NYCB for the 2025-26 season. Tomash made his American debut right here at the Vail Dance Festival in 2025. Hear him reflect on that journey, from Copenhagen to New York, and back to Vail, and what’s ahead.Stay tuned for more episodes coming from the Vail Dance Festival 2026.Conversations on Dance at the Vail Dance Festival is generously underwritten by The Town of Vail.
  • (504) LIVE from The Vail Dance Festival with Composer & Musician Caroline Shaw

    54:28|
    Enjoy one month of free access to Conversations on Dance on Patreon and listen ad-free. Click here to redeem. Join Conversations on Dance hosts Rebecca King Ferraro and Michael Sean Breeden for a special live podcast recording celebrating a remarkable milestone: the 10th year of Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning composer and performer Caroline Shaw as the festival’s Leonard Bernstein Composer-in-Residence.Shaw, the youngest-ever winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music, has been a defining creative voice at Vail for a decade: composing and collaborating across genres, disciplines, and artists in ways that have transformed what’s possible on a summer stage. In this conversation, she reflects on ten years of pushing music and dance into new territory, what keeps drawing her back to the mountains of Colorado, and what is next for her.Stay tuned for more episodes coming from the Vail Dance Festival 2026.Conversations on Dance at the Vail Dance Festival is generously underwritten by The Town of Vail.
  • (503) LIVE from the Vail Dance Festival with Lauren Lovette, Robbie Fairchild, and Unity Phelan

    01:01:23|
    Enjoy one month of free access to Conversations on Dance on Patreon and listen ad-free. Click here to redeem. Join Conversations on Dance hosts Rebecca King Ferraro and Michael Sean Breeden for a live podcast recording with Three of Vail’s most beloved returning artists: Lauren Lovette, Unity Phelan and Robbie Fairchild.Fairchild, a former NYCB Principal Dancer, became a Tony-nominated Broadway star originating the role of Jerry Mulligan in An American in Paris before going on to film, acting, and an ever-evolving performance life. Lovette, also a former NYCB principal, continues to grace the stage and is currently serving as Resident Choreographer of the Paul Taylor Dance Company and earning commissions from ABT, Vail, and beyond. Unity Phelan continues her extraordinary career as a principal dancer with New York City Ballet and international guest artist!Stay tuned for more episodes coming from the Vail Dance Festival 2026.Conversations on Dance at the Vail Dance Festival is generously underwritten by The Town of Vail.