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On Conversations on Dance, we welcome Maria Calegari and Bart Cook to revisit a March Madness-style bracket of George Balanchine ballets created by Indiana University students during COVID, using head-versus-heart choices to spark memories and discussion about dancing and staging the repertory. As we debate matchups, Maria and Bart reflect on musicality, design collaborations, costuming, performance traditions, coaching details, and more. The bracket ultimately yields different winners among the four of us.

Follow along with a bracket of your own. Click here to view and download.

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Instagram: @conversationsondance

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Today, on "Conversations on Dance", we talk with Ken Browar and Deborah Ory, the minds (and cameras) behind NYC Dance Project. We talk with Ken and Deborah about their book, Martha Graham Dance Company, 100 years, and how their backgrounds in dance and editorial fashion shaped their approach. They explain how early dancer sessions evolved into a slow, highly collaborative process focused on a few images that suggest continuing movement rather than freezing it. For the Graham centennial, they installed a studio setup at the company for three years, photographed 25 works from largely current repertory, combined studio and location shoots, used historical research and images as references. The resulting book, Martha Graham Dance Company, 100 Years" is available for purchase here.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:24 Deborah Dance to Camera

02:28 Ken Fashion Roots

03:55 First Dancers and Launch

05:50 Instagram and Early Growth

06:18 Fashion Meets Dance Craft

08:48 Shooting Movement Not Freeze

10:41 Slow Shoots and Safe Space

14:04 Dancer Perfection and Control

15:21 Graham Company Shift

17:17 Why the Centennial Book

18:31 Building the Studio Setup

19:30 Building the Book Archive

19:46 Choosing 25 Iconic Works

21:15 Studio Shoots and Coaching

22:05 Editing and Page Sequencing

23:07 Outdoor Locations Strategy

24:15 Researching Graham Repertory

25:52 No Reshoots and Costume Logistics

26:26 Group Shots and Precision

28:45 Costumes and Fabric Movement

31:47 Where to Buy and Signed Copies

33:10 Future Projects and Farewell

LINKS:

Website: conversationsondancepod.com

Instagram: @conversationsondance

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Today on the Conversations on Dance podcast, we talk with former New York City Ballet dancer and Balanchine répétiteur Deborah Wingert about her early training at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, where rigorous daily classes, musical and artistic context, and early teaching responsibilities shaped her discipline and curiosity. Wingert recounts being accepted to the School of American Ballet, performing key workshop roles, and joining NYCB at 16, including formative experiences and personal coaching from George Balanchine before his death in 1983. She describes thriving as a detail-oriented “sponge,” navigating later casting and body-image pressures, and building a wide repertory across Balanchine and Robbins works. After leaving NYCB, she began teaching privately and at multiple New York schools, then expanded into staging Balanchine works around the world.

00:00 Meet The Hosts

00:11 Debra Wingert Overview

01:35 First Ballet Spark

04:16 CPYB Magic And Context

06:31 Rigor And Early Teaching

14:24 SAB Audition And Move

16:50 Workshop Breakthrough Roles

18:57 Joining NYCB At Sixteen

25:10 Balanchine Coaching Moments

27:21 Life After Balanchine

28:19 Other SAB Teachers

33:22 Body Image And Confidence

35:09 Backstage Ballet Devotion

35:34 Staying in the Company

36:39 Outside Projects and Robbins

38:07 Leaving NYCB and Starting to Teach

40:55 Outreach and Repertory Staging

43:10 Learning to Stage New Works

45:33 Musicality and Version Options

51:18 Keeping Patterns and Details Alive

55:56 Dream Ballets and Future Stagings

01:04:06 Closing Thanks and Signoff

LINKS:

Website: conversationsondancepod.com

Instagram: @conversationsondance

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