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Welcome to City Ballet The Podcast, an exploration of New York City Ballet introduced by Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford, where we'll journey through our history, delve into our new and existing repertory, and reveal insider tidbits.

The Rosin Box with Claire Kretzschmar and Aarón Sanz

The Rosin Box gives you the opportunity to listen in on candid conversations with members of the New York City Ballet. Hosted by NYCB Soloist Aarón Sanz and recently retired Soloist Claire Kretzschmar, these episodes take you behind-the-scenes, offering you exclusive insight into the lives of the Company’s dancers.

New Combinations with Wendy Whelan

During our performance season, New York City Ballet showcases recent works from some of the most influential choreographers working today. Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan hosts the New Combinations episodes, where she talks to the choreographers and other artists behind the unique new works premiering this season at New York City Ballet.

Hear the Dance 

Explore our expansive repertory, from the earliest Balanchine works to more recent classics, with an insider’s take on the Company’s rich history with Hear the Dance. Taking on a new ballet each episode, the host is joined by many key players, from original cast members to ballet masters to current NYCB dancers, who share their personal experiences performing and coaching works from our illustrious repertory.

See the Music with Andrew Litton

In See the Music, New York City Ballet’s Music Director Andrew Litton takes us off the stage and into the orchestra pit, giving listeners an in-depth look at the scores from some of our most notable ballets, featuring discussions with both orchestra members and commissioned composers.

Oct 19, 2020

Host Silas Farley is back with another Hear the Dance episode, devoted to the creation of George Balanchine’s tale of toy romance, The Steadfast Tin Soldier. Farley is joined by former Principal Dancers Patricia McBride and Peter Schaufuss, on whom the ballet was created. The Steadfast Tin Soldier was the first ballet Balanchine made on Schaufuss, who danced with the Company for just three short but very formative years; this marked the second ballet for which Mr. B cast McBride as a doll, following 1974’s Coppélia, and she highlights here the differences in performing the two roles. Reunited for the first time after more than 40 years, the pair's recollections of the ballet's 1975 premiere in Saratoga Springs are as fresh as if it were yesterday. (1:06:28)

Reading List for The Steadfast Tin Soldier:
My Theatre Life by August Bournonville and Patricia McAndrew
Letters on Dance and Choreography by August Bournonville and Knud Arne Jurgensen
My Dearly Beloved Wife!—Letters from France and Italy, 1841 by August Bournonville, Knud Arne Jurgensen, et al
The Fairy Tale of My Life: An Autobiography by Hans Christian Andersen
Fairy Tales (Penguin Classics Edition) by Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen: The Life of a Storyteller by Jackie Wullschlager
Dance in Saratoga Springs by Denise Warner Limoli
Balanchine’s Ballerinas: Conversations with the Muses by Robert Tracy
Dancing Across the Atlantic: USA-Denmark, 1900-2014 by Erik Aschengreen

Music:
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1931) by Igor Stravinsky
Jeux d'Enfants, Opp. 22-26, nos. 6, 3, 11, 12 (1871) by Georges Bizet
Overture and Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night's Dream, opp. 61 (1842) by Felix Mendelssohn