Michelle Audet on Building Dance Audiences Through Education

Michelle Audet joins Thomas King Flagg for a conversation about what actually builds the future of dance: education, producing, and intentional audience development.Episode 2 moves beyond headlines and into systems. Through decades of work at the highest levels of the arts, including founding leadership in education at New York City Ballet, Audet has focused on one central question: how do you design access to live performance in a way that lasts?Her career began with an early realization that she was drawn not only to performance, but to the structure behind it. As she explains, producers and administrators shape how art reaches people. That perspective defined her path as an arts leader.A formative moment came when she saw The Firebird performed by Maria Tallchief. She describes it as a “magic moment,” reinforcing a key idea throughout the episode: a single powerful live performance can influence a lifetime.Audet’s career continued through Skidmore College and Saratoga Performing Arts Center, where she helped bridge academic training with real-world institutional experience.A major focus of the conversation is her work building the education department at New York City Ballet. She outlines a critical truth: without education, long-term audience development collapses.Rather than treating access as simple exposure, Audet emphasizes program design. She describes adapting performances for first-time student audiences by curating shorter programs, adding context, and aligning structure with attention span without sacrificing artistic quality.One defining example is a morning performance at Lincoln Center, where approximately 2,500 public school students experienced live ballet, many for the first time. The result was not passive viewing, but lasting engagement.For arts leaders and educators, this episode offers clear insights:Education is a core growth strategyAccess must be intentionally designedProducing shapes artistic outcomesEarly exposure builds lasting connectionThis is a conversation about building systems that sustain the arts and ensure new generations continue to discover live performance.Watch the full interview---Featured Book: The Dressing DrinkWhat if the truth you were hiding was the very thing that could set you free?The Dressing Drink is a deeply personal memoir from Thomas King Flagg, tracing a life shaped by performance, legacy, and long-buried truths. From old Hollywood to backstage dressing rooms, it reveals the forces that shaped both the artist and the man behind the work.📘 The Dressing Drink — Available on Amazon, Kindle, Audible, & TheDressingDrink.net---💃 FlaggDance — Programs, media, and more at FlaggDance.com✨ Follow Us: LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook🔗 All links & updates: FlaggDance.com/links