(486) March Madness Balanchine Bracket with Maria Calegari and Bart Cook

(486) March Madness Balanchine Bracket with Maria Calegari and Bart Cook

Author: Michael Sean Breeden & Rebecca King Ferraro March 25, 2026 Duration: 1:55:17

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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.

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


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For anyone who has ever watched a performance and wondered about the life that happens in the wings, Conversations on Dance offers a rare and thoughtful backstage pass. Hosted by former Miami City Ballet dancers Rebecca King Ferraro and Michael Sean Breeden, this award-winning podcast builds on a simple, powerful premise: the most compelling stories in dance aren't always told under the lights. Since 2016, their interviews have provided an essential, grounded look at the art form, moving far beyond reviews or technique to explore the real human endeavors behind the curtain. Each episode is a deep, considered dialogue with the field's most influential voices-not only dancers and choreographers, but also the musicians, directors, and educators whose work shapes the entire ecosystem. Listening feels like pulling up a chair in a studio lounge, where the conversation might cover the gritty reality of a choreographer's creative process, the collaborative tension with a composer, or an educator's philosophy on cultivating the next generation. The hosts' own professional backgrounds inform a dialogue that is both knowledgeable and genuinely curious, fostering connections between the art and its audience. This podcast consistently uncovers the discipline, vulnerability, and sheer hard work that define a life in dance, making the vast world of performance feel intimately accessible. It’s for the dedicated student, the lifelong enthusiast, and the simply curious-anyone who believes understanding the struggle and joy behind the steps only deepens the appreciation of the final, fleeting bow.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Conversations on Dance
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