Update: Schedule over the next few weeks

Update: Schedule over the next few weeks

Author: Michael Sean Breeden & Rebecca King Ferraro July 12, 2025 Duration: 2:43

The Vail Dance Festival is almost here! If you are going to be at the festival, please join us for our in-person events. Ticket and more information available here: https://vaildance.org/conversations-on-dance/.


If you can't be with us, please subscribe to the Conversations on Dance podcast wherever you get your podcasts to be notified as we are publishing episodes daily from the festival. Episodes will be running from July 26 - August 3.


Tickets to Conversations on Dance at the 2025 Vail Dance Festival on sale now! https://vaildance.org/conversations-on-dance/


LINKS:

Website: conversationsondancepod.com

Instagram: @conversationsondance

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YouTube: https://bit.ly/youtube-COD

Join our email list: https://bit.ly/COD-email

LINKS:


Website: conversationsondancepod.com


Instagram: @conversationsondance


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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: 466

Conversations on Dance
Podcast Episodes
(248) Gretchen Smith, dancer with New York City Ballet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:40
Today we are joined by New York City Ballet dancer Gretchen Smith, from the 2021 Vail Dance Festival earlier this month. Gretchen was born in Evansville, Indiana, and began her dance training at the age of seven with Eva…
(247) James Whiteside on his new book, “Center Center” [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:45
Today, we are chatting with friend of the pod and American Ballet Theatre Principal Dancer, James Whiteside, from the 2021 Vail Dance Festival. James tells us all about his new (self-proclaimed) “almost-memoir” that just…
BONUS: USA Women’s Gymnastics with Kate Penner [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:02
We were busy at the Vail Dance Festival during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. With the news that was coming out of USA Women's Gymnastics with Simone Biles pulling out of elements of the competition, we had to debrief with our…
(245) Esteban Hernandez, Principal Dancer with San Francisco Ballet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:23
Today we are joined by Esteban Hernandez, principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet. Esteban talks to us about training with his father and siblings, moving abroad at a young age to study ballet, and how he found hi…
(244) Cleo Parker Robinson, LIVE from the Vail Dance Festival [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:57
LIVE from the Vail Dance Festival, we are joined by choreographer, Cleo Parker Robinson. Cleo is the found of Cleo Parker Robinson Dance. She gives us background on her career, coming, and her choreography. She also tell…
(243) Lauren Lovette and Lil Buck LIVE from the Vail Dance Festival [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:08
In our next installment of LIVE from the Vail Dance Festival, we are joined by New York City Ballet principal dancer, Lauren Lovette, and Memphis Jookin star, Lil Buck. We chat with the pair about what this past year has…
(242) Cameron Grant, Pianist, LIVE from the Vail Dance Festival [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:32
In our next installment of LIVE from the Vail Dance Festival, we are joined by New York City Ballet pianist, Cameron Grant. Cameron has played for the ballet for nearly 40 years, and shares with us some of his wealth of…