(470) LIVE from Miami City Ballet with Gonzalo Garcia, Artistic Director of Miami City Ballet
This episode was recorded live on October 17, 2025 at The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami before the opening of Miami City Ballet's 40th anniversary season. The pre-performance talk coordinated with the all Peck program that the company opened their season with, which included "Year of The Rabbit," "Chutes and Ladders," and "Heatscape."
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TRANSCRIPT:
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This episode was recorded live on October 17th
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2025 at the Adrian Arshad Center for the Performing Arts at the opening of Miami City Ballet's 40th season
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I'm Rebecca King Ferraro and I'm Michael Sean Breeden and you're listening to conversations on dance
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Hello
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Good evening. Welcome everyone to the opening night of Miami City Ballet's 40th anniversary season
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My name is Rebecca King Ferraro and I'm Michael Sean Breeden Rebecca
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And I were both former dancers with the company for over a decade and we now host the podcast
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Conversations on dance so we are so grateful to be back
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This is such a special place for us
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But even more special is the fact that we are able to help introduce the new artistic director of the company Gonzalo
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Garcia on the first night. He's ever been here for an opening of a season as a director. I know thank you
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That's very
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It's very sweet. Yes. It's a first a little first. Yeah
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Yeah, yeah, you're only the third director in the company's 40-year history
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So that carries some weight with it, but it's it's so exciting to have the new energy
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Can you tell us how you are connected to the company prior to this position opening up for you?
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Well, I mean my biggest connection is my husband who is here somewhere hiding. He was
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Ezra Hurwitz. He was a dancer with the company for eight years and
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When I met him he was from New York when I met him randomly one night in Manhattan
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He was with his brother and I met him and and he said yes
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I'm a dancer with Miami City Ballet, but he didn't know if he was gonna come back or so
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He actually came back for a little bit and I visit him. I met all of you
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and
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That was sort of my first very close
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connection with Miami City Ballet and
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Obviously I had seen the company dance at Lincoln Center in different ways and
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Yeah, I was I was a fan already of the company for sure when we talked to you on the podcast a few weeks ago
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We talked about that you came and took class that time that you came to visit Ezra
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How crazy now to be directing the company? I took class with Roma. It was a very hard class
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Those are hard classes
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It was a wonderful class and I right away was like a wow. She knows what she's doing
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You know, so
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so yeah, that was that was
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you know a very nice thing to have already to have some strong connection and obviously
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Ezra's time was very significant in his life and he had very close friends from Miami City Ballet
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So I found myself in my living room feeding people from Miami City Ballet
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having conversations about Miami City Ballet learning about the history of Miami City Ballet about casting about that night that someone fell or
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Delgado recover so quickly and everybody would thought that it was amazing
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Everybody knows the Coppelia story
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So I felt weirdly
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emotionally connected and I could feel the passion of this artist and that
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The time that they had spent in Miami City Ballet had marked their life forever
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So that
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Clearly made something for me and it made something for my husband for sure
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So when this you know when the opportunity came, you know available, you know, I was like, oh, let me think about this
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Yeah, I think it's so important for audiences and particularly for dancers to know that you're not coming in here
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You have these connections you worked with Edward and Lourdes and you are deeply attached to the Balanchine and Robbins roots of the company
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So while you have this, you know new fresh voice and ideas that you're still going to honor
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What has come before as well that they they they work in tandem together. It's not just back to the drawing board
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Yes, I think that's I mean that's one of the things that makes me so attractive to to this company to the
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understanding of the Robbins and Balanchine has forever been
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You know an incredible asset to this company. I spent 18 years in New York City Ballet
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So I'm deeply connected to those roots
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But I also work in San Francisco with Halleke Thomas and who was a big
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You know dancer in the 70s with Balanchine and he was the first one that introduced me
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you know, he passed me and protocol shown when I was 20 years old and
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I did my first dances of a gathering in San Francisco
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I mean I fell in love with that repertoire right away
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But I also was able through my time before any New York City Ballet to dance a lot of repertoire
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You know, so I feel that I'm in depth to these dancers to give them that kind of experience that I was so
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lucky to have
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Before we get more into your leadership in your current position
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I want to rewind a little bit and talk about your career
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You already mentioned you were at San Francisco Ballet for many years and then New York City Ballet
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Tell us what attracted you to both companies and and what made you want to take that shift from San Francisco to New York City
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Ballet. Yeah, I mean San Francisco
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Really, I mean it started because I was 14 years old and I knew that I wanted to dance and
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Lola de Avila who was becoming the artistic director at the school of San Francisco Ballet was
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My first teacher my main teacher in Spain Maria de Avila, right?
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So I think she came one summer when I was 13 years old and she said wow
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He has talent, but he's probably gonna have to leave Spain because the Spain couldn't provide you for you
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Great artistic, you know career. So what happened is that then my parents decided?
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okay, maybe he should go to the summer program in San Francisco Ballet school, which I did and
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I think my parents were hoping that maybe I was just gonna hate being away from home and I was gonna come
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Home and I want to be a soccer player or something like that and I came home and I was okay
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How do I get back?
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You know, how do I get back to San Francisco?
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You know an incredible Cuban teacher Jorge Esquivel, you know, it was the first time that I was ever on an old male class
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You know, I learned partnering, you know, so right away that I I was trying to get a
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Sponsor or a scholarship or something to be able to come back to that sort of dream. So I did I went to the Prix
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De Lausanne, I was very lucky
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I did very well and I came back for a full year in 1995 and then you know that process
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you know sort of just became professional became quickly a principal, you know at 22 and I
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Was very grateful for the repertoire for all of the things. I moved quickly through the ranks
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I danced so much. I danced with
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Senior violinists in the company like Tina LeBlanc right away
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So I felt like they taught me so much quickly. So at 27, I found myself that I was
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Ready to
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To what's next, you know, my my fear is always getting stuck
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You know, I mean like I have to always be challenged and and I I was very lucky to go to
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New York City Ballet in 2004
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To dance for the Centennial Ballet in Centennial and I did Ballo de la Regina Mero Ashley
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Who had taught it to me in San Francisco brought me there
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So I found myself in New York for a couple of weeks dancing with the company
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I did about five shows and I would you know, I experienced what it is to be an artist in New York City
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What it is to be part of this, you know
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You know huge
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Historical company and I was like maybe I maybe I want to come back and a few years later
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There was sort of an opening and I was invited to join and I you know, 18 years later. I'm here
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That was pretty unusual at the time though to be able to to have that transfer to the company was a little bit
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Gate-kept shall we say?
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So what was that entry level like for you?
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You must have had even though you had done balance and you worked with Helgi
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There was must have been some sort of learning curve that you experienced. Yeah, I mean
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In many ways, you know, there were some openings because there were some very established
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Principal dancers that I you know, I realized for years they were retiring
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So there was some sort of opening to bring
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Already seasoned principal dancer, right?
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so and I had danced a lot of the rep and they knew me because you know a lot of those ballet masters that
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Came to visit in San Francisco and states rubies states the Robbins works. They knew me and I knew them well
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So, you know, I think after the centennial I knew everybody in this stuff
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So it made sense, you know, it was an easy sort of artistic transition
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What's not so easy is that I didn't go to SAB, right and and and and
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You know, I had my first year
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I was reminded in many of these speeches, you know that the director used to do and it's like and we're almost all
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Of us are from SAB almost all of us
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That would be in the room and I was like, I'm the
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I'm sorry, it's me, you know, but you know, I didn't it didn't it didn't really bother me because I was also so
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Enamored with the history of a school of American Ballet
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I founded a very interesting institution and I quickly decided okay
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Well, if I'm not from the school
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But I have access to the school and I can take classes with the school and I should go down there
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I should watch classes and I quickly started, you know working with Kramerski and all of the fantastic teachers at the time
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You know Suki Susi Pilar, you know
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All these people that have really made a mark in this institution and that quickly made a mark on me and I felt that
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Then I quit I think the people in in the company the artists in the company that at first maybe were a little bit
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Like what is he doing here? You know, you know, what is you know, he didn't go to SAB
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They quickly saw that I was a curious artist that wanted to learn and wanted to be
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Part of the group that I wasn't just there to you know
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Be an opening night cast or anything like that
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You know that I I was there for the full experience and I appreciated what they had to offer
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and then they slowly softened up with me a little bit and then they they were also
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Interested in what I had to offer coming from a different background
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and I think this was an important shift in the company and in leadership in that institution and
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That I'm very proud of I think that this really sets you apart from other directors that I can think of off the top
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And and that you're so curious about kind of every facet of ballet you're you're primarily I think at your core
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You're a teacher and you are you were a rep director for several years before coming over
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So that kind of affords you a knowledge that not a lot of directors have, you know
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You might have stars that coach their roles, but you know wouldn't necessarily be comfortable teaching
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Let's say a woman's point class or staging a ballet from scratch, but that's something that you definitely have in your back pocket
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So how are these qualities going to inform your your leadership in it in a way that might differ from other directors?
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Yeah, it's uh, I think it's a good skill to have
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I mean, I think you have to love it
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I think if you're like you say an educator a teacher you're curious and then it's much easier to want to be part
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of these environments
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Not everybody wants to be part of those environments
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I mean when you're in a room of 40 or 50 dancers looking at you like tell me what to do or
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Don't tell me what to do, you know
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It's a little bit of that. Um, then you have to sort of
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really know why you're there and what you want to do and and i'm passionate about that and I
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You know, I think I will always see myself as a dancer in some ways so I can understand what what the dances are coming from
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But yeah, I was you know, I ran away, you know
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I mean I danced as a principal in New York City Ballet for 15 years
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But I ran away knew that one of the most incredible things about that repertoire was the corps de ballet
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You know what? I mean, it's like those ladies those intricate intricate choreography really
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It's unique and one of a kind so I wanted to
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Be part of that and learn that
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And so I quickly, you know what, you know, I quickly took big ballets, you know
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And I learned how to work in in big groups, but I also danced a lot of the repertoire
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So I was lucky that I could go into a room and also coach my roles
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And but also coach those ballerinas that some of them I had danced with and now it was in the other side
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You know, I was very passionate about the whole thing and that definitely gave me a broader
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understanding of
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uh of a company and what it is to to
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To work with the whole system, you know, not just the top level or that, you know everyone and
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What it does is that you get to learn and you get to
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Know your dancers very well
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And when you know your dancers and you know your their personalities and they know you and you can be transparent and vulnerable and all
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These dramatic things that happen in the studio
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Then you can then start making magical things from there and i'm passionate about that
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Yeah, one thing we know about you is that you're a very hard worker
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You already talked about you know
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Would go to sab and be taking classes and I wonder what kind of work you're doing now as artistic director that going back
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To look you were telling us that you were doing some research about
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Other what the company did before you what the repertoire looked like
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What is that kind of like background work looking like that you're doing?
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Yeah, I mean, what is it that an artistic director doesn't do?
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You gotta have eyes everywhere, right?
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And i'm also passionate about all the different departments and the different humans in the institution
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So that already brings me to to that work
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but yeah, I mean I think that
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Yeah, you have to
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You have to be alert to what's happening
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um, I think that you have to
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be informed what's happened before you in order to
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You know make better decisions for the future. So one of those things was
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For me when I had access to the archives of miami city vales
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Repertory history was uh, I was very curious and I I thought oh my god
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What did elly do with what was edward doing the first two years?
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You know what I mean? And then to see what how that evolved
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And then to see what the transition brought and and when they were on tour
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What were they able to do and were they able to bring out an orchestra and was it successful and how did they tour?
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you know
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What does the naples theater?
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capabilities are you know, like all of those things I learned a lot through watching this sort of archive and I found it
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very informative so when I
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When I started building my first season, which is now
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being constructed
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I think it was a tremendous help to know what had happened and no in reality
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I have a very close friends that have had
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Important careers here like you guys like my husband. So, you know, sometimes i'm like
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How does this work or how do you guys do this or how you know, and that's also very informative
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Which makes me make better decisions hopefully for the future
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So let's zero in on tonight's program
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Which while you did not program, I mean this is pure gonzalo garcia as well
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I could easily imagine it on a season you did
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Because you have such a close relationship with justin peck
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So the program tonight is all peck which I think may be a first outside of new york city ballet
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I'm not sure we'll have to ask him but it's it's a big deal for him. He was telling me he feels very
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Oh, actually. Yes. Yes. Actually, I think it is a first. I think he's only had
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Full programs in in new york city, but I think he's had two since he has become resident choreographer
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So this is definitely a big
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Important program for him and for us and two of them are done in this dancer
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So that's that means a lot
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And yes, I have a very close relationship with him. I mean, I think he joined the company maybe a little bit before I joined
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and
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He was very quiet
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And he was one of the cool kids
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Of the corps de ballet, you know what I mean? I think I I definitely put him in that category
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I was like he's a cool kid
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But yeah, I mean I think we didn't talk for a long time and you know
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Sometimes sporadically and then he started choreographing. I was like, oh he's good
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You know and and quickly
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I saw that he refreshed new york city ballet and that he brought a new energy and that there was a community that was
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Being built by that choreography that I thought that was very powerful
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uh and fitting for new york city ballet, so I
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I wanted to be part of that and
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At first he didn't call me to his palace
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But eventually I did make it to I think second cast I was second cast of everywhere we go
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Which is a huge ballet that made him resident choreographer
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And then after that, um, I think from then on I think our our artistic
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Relationship really deepened and and then patricia moved to new york patricia has best friends with ezra
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You know, I think that then all of the roots sort of connected
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But yeah, I mean I think I was very lucky to have him sort of towards the end of my career and gave me
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um
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A different way to look at myself in dance
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So year of the rabbit was his first main stage
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Ballet for new york city ballet you mentioned that it was exciting to be a part of did you kind of see the trajectory?
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Going in this way that you would be dancing more of his ballets in the future
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not really I mean
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The realities that you see, you know you
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New york city ballet is a big company and you have all these major choreographers come in and you you know
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We are all like pick me pick me, you know
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And and and they come and they have their perspective about what they want to do
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Luckily, he was someone in the house. You know what I mean?
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So I think sooner or later he also became interested not just working with that
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A group of friends that he was working at the beginning but with more people but I didn't you know
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I wanted I wanted to be part of that
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But I wasn't sure and so when when I got the opportunity to learn second movement everywhere we go then I was like, okay
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Here we go. You know, you better
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deliver, you know and
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and I think he could sense that I was interested on
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On moving in a different way and learning
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From the process and I think that just brought us closer right after that
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He used you quite regularly and rodeo was the first thing I believe that you were original cast
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Yes
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And decalogue which has that beautiful lyrical solo for you pulcinella which draws on your innate classicism
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So he really got to explore so many different facets of your dancing
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So I can imagine that you are eager to have that kind of energy with your dancers now. Yes. Yes, I mean is
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You know, he's very given he's also very
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Um
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Ambitious about what he wants. He knows what he wants. So I think he can translate that very quickly to the dancers
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um, I think dancers here are
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Very attuned to musicality to changing the way
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They're very open. They're super committed. So I think that it makes it a unique place for justin's work
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You know what I mean? I think that it flourishes here
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Um, that's why hitscape is such a brilliant ballet that it was born here based on
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you know, miami and miami city ballet dancers and um, but yeah, I mean he you know, he's
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You know, he knows what he's doing and he's also an artist that is very curious
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That he possess himself in different directions, which I appreciate
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You know, it's not he he wasn't just a ballet dancer
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Then he did website story in spillberg and I remember him saying should I do it and I was like are you crazy do it?
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You know and and broadway and movies and all these things. I think he's an artist that represents many different
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ways of
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Creating dance and i'm passionate about that
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Let's talk about the process a little bit
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Year of the rabbit was already in the company's repertoire shoots and ladders was created on the company as well as hitscape
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So they were set in house and then did you work with the dancers and coach them?
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And then I know that justin cain he's here right now with his wife patricia delgado. Tell us a little bit about the studio experience
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I mean luckily, I know his work. I know him I have once I mean I danced a lot of his work
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I was lucky but then when I became a repertory director, I also quickly
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You know, I started working with him and staging his ballets and working in his new ballets at new york city ballet
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So that gave me
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To you know, two very important
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experiences, I think
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So I felt um
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I felt that I had the green light to go into the room, you know
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Because I know his his movement otherwise if he was a choreographer that I hadn't worked with
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I'm, not just gonna go in and just change something, right?
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But I think with justin I really I have that understanding that deep sort of understanding of his movement
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So I think that really helped for me to also connect with the dancers already in that in that way
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And then the you know, I haven't danced any of the roles, but I did learn
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I was supposed to dance one of them
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Suits and ladders with janel delgado who was the original cast
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And janette, uh years ago was invited to go to russia for a festival
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That diana bisneva famous ballerina was producing and she invited me and I and I had seen the ballet and I was
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So happy to be able to do it and I went to madrid janette was living in madrid and I worked with
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Justin there and we were ready and then a week before the shows I got injured and I couldn't go
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But I felt like I had you know, I knew the ballets so then I could go into the ballet
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You know in the rehearsal process here and and work with the dancers. So I mean that part felt very
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Easy for me and then janette
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I mean janette came for a few days and worked with the dancers and then patricia and justin came and worked with the dancers
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So that's really you know, I mean it's amazing what it does with
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when people
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That have danced the roles or created the roles come and work with the dancers what they can do in like six hours
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They can truly change
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Um, you know, I I could be there for an hour saying come on
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Move this way, you know, and then here comes justin peggen in one word or patricia with one smile
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She can make it all sort of change and I said wow, that's the power of
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individuals, you know true artists so that has you know, it has been
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Amazing that that is my first introduction
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To miami city ballet and I didn't even plan it, you know, I i'm like, okay that was meant to be right
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Totally
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Well, I think it's such a perfect program for your first night
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It's so indicative of uh who this company is to have heatscape back on a program 10 years later
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The fact that it's gone to a half a dozen other companies. It just feels like something for the company to celebrate
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You know, it's it's a history and but while you're also looking towards a future that will undoubtedly involve justin i'm guessing
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Yeah, for sure. I mean i'm already
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Talking to them. It's like how do I get you back?
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And I will get them back because you know, luckily, uh for me and for this institution they have
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Uh deep connection in so many ways and they're invested and they're invested in the future. Um
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You know, they they wanted to go to a great place and
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And obviously they are both you you know
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The strong dance makers of today. I mean patricia, you know and and justin they just did buena vista social club
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I don't know if you have seen it on broadway
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Tony award winning tony award winning, you know, he's this is his third tony and he says it's her first tony and
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You know, it's amazing if you see this so I can really see like justin's, you know input
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And then I can really see patricia's input
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You know, it's like you see those two personalities
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And so i'm already like how do we make that about it? Can we make that about it? How how can we
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You know, so we are already talking about
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Possibilities for the future and I mean my dream would be that patricia who has only choreographed really for broadway
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Would have her first commissioned
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In ballet for miami city ballet, you know
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It makes that it would be a fitting place for her to come back home
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And explore that and so I want to give her that platform and so she can't really say no
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Ha ha
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I don't think she will say no because you know, she's just really
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so involved in so many ways, so I uh, I
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I feel very lucky with this relationship and and i'm gonna use it as much as I can
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You should
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What does tonight mean to you to be going out?
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You're gonna go out here in half an hour and sit in the house and watch your company
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That you are directing for the first time what what is that going to feel like to see
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I don't know. I mean I
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I mean, honestly, I just i've been
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Watching them for two months rehearse. Uh, so i'm i'm
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Mostly just worry for the dancers and for justin's work to look their their best which I know I will
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So i'm more mostly nervous about that
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I think that I tend to
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You know take one step at a time you know, I mean tonight is the performances tomorrow will be something
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I mean, I think it's obviously very special
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But I don't you know, once i'm in the moment. I'm not really thinking. Oh my god. I made it
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I'm here, you know, it's like you don't really have time for that. It's like tonight
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What's important is that this company has a new artistic director that has been 40 years and we want to make it
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Another 40 years that there is great energy that we have a great choreographer that wants to work with us
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And sort of that's what i'm thinking and then it's like what's the next next weekend?
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You know, i'll go, you know thinking to to be next. So, I mean, of course, it's very special
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I think the it's very special that I have my
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Husband and my father-in-law here that I have people like you that um, you know have been part of this company
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That to me is super special. But um, yeah, I mean it's it's it's an exciting time
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Well, we're so excited to be back
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We couldn't be more thrilled that it's it's you leading the way for miami city ballet
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So thank you everybody for coming out if you want more gonzalo and more conversations on dance
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We'll be here all weekend. So thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Yes. Thank you
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Thank you everyone for coming
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This episode has been a production of conversations on dance
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Conversations on dance is produced and hosted by michael sean breedon and me rebecca king ferraro
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