PODCAST · arts
Ballet Help Desk
by Jenny Huang and Brett Gardner
As parents, you play a crucial role in supporting your dancer's ballet path and we know navigating the world of ballet training can be challenging. The Ballet Help Desk podcast is here to help! Tune in for expert insights on supporting your student's ballet education. We cover key topics like summer intensives, ballet competitions, full-time and postgraduate training, health and wellness, boys in ballet and more. Hear valuable advice from leading professionals across the ballet world to help your dancer make the most informed decisions about their unique training path. Learn more at www.ballethelpdesk.com.
Episodes
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Ballet Myths, Busted: Body Types, Competitions and Big Donors | Part 2
Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon There's one body type for ballet. We asked Peter LeBreton Merz, artistic director of Eglevsky Ballet and former director of Ballet West Academy, and Racheal Nye, director of Oklahoma City Ballet's Yvonne...
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Ballet Myths, Busted: Blacklists, Pointe Pressure and Who Makes It | Part 1
Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon Turn down School of American Ballet once and you'll never get back in. Most ballet parents have heard some version of that, along with plenty of other myths. So we collected your questions and took them to...
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How Two Young Dancers Made Their Own Ballet Festival
Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon Lily Peta and Emma Wheeler did everything the traditional ballet path asks of young dancers and still found themselves waiting for the right job to come along. Then, they stopped waiting. This past summer...
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Charlotte Ballet with Ayisha McMillan Cravotta & Alicia Delgadillo
Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon We sit down with Ayisha McMillan Cravotta and Alicia Delgadillo of Charlotte Ballet to talk about what the road from trainee to professional looks like there. Alicia recently became associate director of...
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Kathryn Morgan on Ballet Competitions & Pressure to Be Instafamous | Part 2
Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon We're back with part 2 of our conversation with former New York City Ballet and Miami City Ballet soloist Kathryn Morgan. This half covers what happens behind the scenes of judging, including why some…
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Kathryn Morgan on Ballet Competitions & Pressure to Be Instafamous | Part 1
Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon In part one of this two-part episode, we're joined by former New York City Ballet and Miami City Ballet soloist Kathryn Morgan for an honest conversation about what really goes on inside ballet…
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Sending Your Dancer to Full-Time Ballet Training in Europe | Part 2
Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon We're back for part 2 of our parent panel. Stephanie Lombardo, Jen Petersen-Hull, and Lisa Lecamu get specific about what it's like sending your American kid abroad for full-time ballet training. Drop-off...
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Sending Your Dancer to Full-Time Ballet Training in Europe | Part 1
Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon Did you ever wonder what it's like to send your dancer off to full-time training? Now, ask yourself what it's like to send them to another continent. In part one of this two-part series, we sat down with...
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The Life of a Freelance Ballet Dancer
Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon As we all know, the ballet job market is incredibly competitive. But, not all ballet careers involve signing a year-long contract with a company. Some dancers choose other paths and we sat down with Linnea...
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#NoThirds: Does Ballet Etiquette Matter for Young Dancers?
Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon Fran is back for a conversation about respect in the ballet studio. We get into the mechanics of a real ballet class. A teacher giving thirty corrections in ninety minutes doesn't have room to let one go...
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Ballet West's Adam Sklute and Evelyn Cisneros-Legate on the Dancer Training Pipeline
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon Ever wonder what it actually takes to move up through the ranks at a major ballet company's school, and what happens once your dancer gets there? We sat down with Adam Sklute, artistic director of Ballet West, and Evelyn Cisneros-Legate, who runs…
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SMU's Carter Alexander on Training Versatile Dancers
Listen to Ballet Help Desk Podcast ad-free on Patreon We sit down with Carter Alexander, Chair of the Division of Dance at Southern Methodist University, to find out what sets the program apart from the more ballet-specific schools. Carter walks us through the conservatory-within-a-liberal-arts...
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The Business of Ballet: Shane Jewell, Oregon Ballet Theatre
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon Shane Jewell, executive director of Oregon Ballet Theatre, was kind enough to sit down with us to explain how ballet companies actually run as businesses. He takes us through the nonprofit structure, including what makes up the primary revenue…
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Peter Stark: When Is It Time to Leave Your Local Studio?
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon Peter Stark, president and director of The Rock School for Dance Education, has spent 26 years running ballet schools and knows the recruiting process from both sides of the table. We talk with him about how he evaluates students for recruitment. We...
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What It's Really Like to Send Your Teen to Full-Time Ballet Training: Part 2
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon Our parent panel is back for part two, picking up right where we left off. In this half of the conversation, Erin, Sarah, and Sue cover the topics that come up most for families navigating full-time residential training: how a highly competitive...
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What It's Really Like to Send Your Teen to Full-Time Ballet Training: Part 1
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon We are so excited to be publishing part 1 of this 2 part interview. It's something we've wanted to do for a long time. Three parents of dancers who attended some of the largest full-time training programs in North America joined us for an in-depth and...
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Riley Weber on Ballet Influencers and Brand Ambassadorships
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Riley Weber is back on the podcast. Since leaving a corporate dance brand job, Riley has been speaking more openly about how the influencer side of the dance industry actually works. In this episode, we talk…
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Francis Veyette: What The Heck Does Potential, Facility and Body Type REALLY Mean? A Rerelease
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Jenny and I are taking a much needed vacation with our families so we're rereleasing one of our most popular episodes. We sat down with Francis Veyette, former principal dancer with Pennsylvania (now…
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From the Royal Ballet to K-Ballet Academy: Kenta Kura on Training Japan's Next Generation
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk If you've been paying attention, you've noticed: Japanese dancers are everywhere. Winning competitions, yes, but also filling the upper ranks of major ballet companies around the world. We've been wondering for…
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Your Ballet Dancer Wants to Go to College. Now What?
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Your dancer has decided to pursue the college path. But which program is the right fit? What's the real difference between a BFA and a BA? What does a video pre-screen actually need to accomplish? And when…
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What Does "Elite Ballet Training" Actually Mean for College Admissions?
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Does your dancer need elite training to have a shot at a top college? But what does elite actually mean? Is it competition wins? A company-affiliated school? The right summer intensives? And does the answer look...
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Making the Most of Ballet Summer Intensives: A Parent's Guide
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk In this host-only episode, we draw on our combined years of navigating ballet summer intensives to break down how to make the most of every program -- for your dancer and for you. We talk through what to do…
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American Repertory Ballet Gets Real About the Pipeline
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk American Reportory Ballet Artistic Director Samantha Dunster and Executive Director Julie Diana Hench join us for a conversation that gets refreshingly honest about the post-graduate pipeline, the job market…
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The Mental Toll of "Be Grateful You're Here"
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk The corrections never stop. The casting is always uncertain. And somewhere along the way, many dancers learn to keep all of it behind a smile, because showing weakness feels like handing someone a reason to...
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Ballet's Bottom Line: Finances, Contracts, and the Fight for Dancer Rights
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Every ballet company's tax return is public record. Most dancers have never seen one. Liza Yntema, founder of the Dance Data Project, and Griff Braun, National Organizing Director at the American Guild of…
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Train in Germany, Dance in Europe: The Palucca Path to a Professional Ballet Career
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk What does ballet training look like when it's housed inside a 100-year-old university, with the Semperoper Ballet as your next-door neighbor? We sat down with Rector Prof. Katharina Christl and Vice-Rector Prof....
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What Happens When You Choose Harvard Over the Company Contract
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk What happens when a dancer who traded pre-professional ballet training at the John Cranko School and the Joffrey Ballet Studio Company for a Harvard degree? Or when a dancer who received offers from the training...
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Zurich Dance Academy's Jason Beechey on Pre-Pro Training and the Future of Ballet
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Jason Beechey has spent his career shaping pre-professional ballet training. After 18 years as rector of Palucca University of Dance in Dresden, he now serves as Director of Zurich Dance Academy and Head of…
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College vs. Postgrad: What One Nevada Ballet Dancer's Path Can Teach Us
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk What happens when a dancer skips the postgrad route entirely and still lands a professional contract? Paityn Lauzon, now in her fourth season as a company artist with Nevada Ballet Theatre, did exactly that. She...
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Are Swan Lake, Giselle and Sleeping Beauty Still Relevant? Fran Makes the Case
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Timothee Chalamet said no one cares about ballet anymore. Fran Veyette disagrees. He's back on #NoThirds, and this episode goes deep into one of the most debated questions in the ballet world right now: are the...
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Pre-Pro to Professional Ballet Training | Jen Sommers of Houston Ballet Academy
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk How long can your dancer stay home before it starts to matter? It's one of the most common questions ballet parents face, and one of the most consequential. Jen Sommers, Director of Houston Ballet Academy, joins...
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Gavin Larsen: Infinite Steps and the Truth About Ballet Careers
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Author, teacher, and former principal dancer Gavin Larsen has spent her post-performance life doing something she loves just as much as dancing: drawing stories out of other people. Her new book, Infinite Steps:...
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Dancer Stories: Charlotte Junge of Madison Ballet on Going Pro, Paying Rent, and Finding Yourself
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk What does it really take to go from pre-professional student to professional ballet dancer? Charlotte Junge, a company member with Madison Ballet, shares the unfiltered version of her journey from competition...
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Madison Ballet's Ja'Malik Is Done with the Old Way
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Madison Ballet's Ja'Malik didn't arrive to tinker around the edges. He came to change things, and four years in, it's working. He shares a journey that started with Michael Jackson's Thriller in his front yard…
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#NoThirds: Bullying in Ballet: The Lobby, the Queen Bee & You
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk In the final episode of our four-part bullying series, we're joined again by Kelsey Fyffe, a therapist who works with pre-professional dancers, and Suzette Takei, a veteran academic school administrator and...
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Elena Kunikova on Teaching, Training, and the Art of Ballet
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk What does it actually feel like to train at the Vaganova Academy, the school that produced some of the greatest dancers in history, and then go on to perform at one of Russia's most storied companies? Elena...
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#NoThirds: Bullying in Ballet: Addressing Weight Comments and Abusive Language in Ballet Training
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk In part three of our bullying series, we tackle some of the toughest conversations ballet parents face: what to do when teachers make harmful comments about weight, body image, or use abusive language in class....
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How Ballet Austin Built a Post-Grad Program That Actually Works
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk We sit down with Michelle Martin, Associate Artistic Director of Ballet Austin, for a refreshingly honest conversation about their complete training pipeline: the tuition-free Butler Fellowship program, Ballet...
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Tights Under: Going Pro with LeeAnaca Moore and Natalie Bowman
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Lynne Charles on English National Ballet School's GAP Programme
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Encore: #NoThirds Mailbag with Fran Veyette (Extended Episode)
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Listeners asked, and Fran Veyette answers! We're bringing back this fan-favorite #NoThirds "Fran's Mailbag" episode, now combined into one extended conversation. Fran breaks down how casting really works…
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CiCi Houston Sudholt on Saint Louis Ballet's Career Pipeline
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk CiCi Houston-Sudholt, Rehearsal Director at Saint Louis Ballet, discusses the organization's unique approach to dance education that puts students at the center. From integrating all levels of training to...
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We Asked, You Answered: Survey Results and What's Changing
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk We asked you to tell us what you love about the Ballet Help Desk Podcast, what needs to improve, and what topics you want us to cover. And you delivered honest, thoughtful, sometimes tough feedback. In this...
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Dancer Story: Jayda Hazelett on the College Route to Pro Dancer
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Jayda Hazelett didn't follow the traditional pre-professional boarding school path to a ballet company. The Ballet Hartford corps member grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, trained locally at Project Ballet…
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Paulo Arrais on Ballet Training That Honors the Whole Dancer
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk What does it mean to train dancers without "training them out of being natural"? For Paulo Arrais, founder of Arrais Ballet School in Boston, that question shaped his entire approach to teaching. A former...
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Joshua Beamish & Crystal Costa: Ballet Vancouver
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Joshua Beamish and Crystal Costa are building something new in the ballet world. Ballet Vancouver is launching as a fresh company with a unique vision, and in this episode, they share the story of how it all…
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Peter Stark on the State of the Ballet Job Market: A Rerelease
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk We're rereleasing one of Ballet Help Desk's most popular episodes! Peter Stark from The Rock School discusses the ballet job market, choosing post-graduate ballet programs, and audition strategies for...
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Jenny's Favorite Episode - Abbey's 1st Contract
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk A rerelease: In our first episode of Dancer Stories, Jenny and her daughter Abbey share how Abbey got her first ballet contract. Tune in to hear how a meeting about dorm policy violations at a summer intensive...
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Raymond Rodriguez on Pittsburgh Ballet's Company Experience
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Raymond Rodriguez, Dean of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, breaks down their Company Experience program and why they created it. Unlike traditional summer intensives, the Company Experience simulates...
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How Philadelphia Ballet Does Summer: Three Unique Programs
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Davit Karapetyan and Laura Bowman Goldstein from Philadelphia Ballet break down three focused summer programs designed for dancers considering specialized training: the Pas de Deux Intensive, Variations…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
As parents, you play a crucial role in supporting your dancer's ballet path and we know navigating the world of ballet training can be challenging. The Ballet Help Desk podcast is here to help! Tune in for expert insights on supporting your student's ballet education. We cover key topics like summer intensives, ballet competitions, full-time and postgraduate training, health and wellness, boys in ballet and more. Hear valuable advice from leading professionals across the ballet world to help your dancer make the most informed decisions about their unique training path. Learn more at www.ballethelpdesk.com.
HOSTED BY
Jenny Huang and Brett Gardner
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Ballet Help Desk have?
Ballet Help Desk currently has 205 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Ballet Help Desk about?
As parents, you play a crucial role in supporting your dancer's ballet path and we know navigating the world of ballet training can be challenging. The Ballet Help Desk podcast is here to help! Tune in for expert insights on supporting your student's ballet education. We cover key topics like...
How often does Ballet Help Desk release new episodes?
Ballet Help Desk publishes regularly with 205 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Ballet Help Desk?
You can listen to Ballet Help Desk on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Ballet Help Desk?
Ballet Help Desk is created and hosted by Jenny Huang and Brett Gardner.
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