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Talking Ballet: Miami City Ballet’s Rebecca King and Michael Breeden of “Conversations on Dance”

September 6, 2016 by Rachel Hellwig

by Rachel Hellwig

Miami City Ballet dancers Rebecca King and Michael Breeden are the hosts of the new ballet podcast Conversations on Dance. Learn about how the podcast got started, what’s coming up for it, Rebecca and Michael’s thoughts on the role of technology in dance and more…

Listen to Conversations on Dance episodes here and on iTunes.

Rebecca King. Photograph by Jonathan Taylor.
Rebecca King. Photograph by Jonathan Taylor.

What inspired the podcast?

Rebecca: Miami City Ballet has a wonderful program of pre-performance talks in the theater before each performance. In recent years, these talks have been dancer driven. Michael has been a cornerstone of this program, and for good reason. He is well-spoken and extremely well-versed in ballet. Michael often invites me to accompany him for these talks, which I have always enjoyed.

Knowing that podcast listenership is growing and becoming a part of society, we thought we could expand these talks to a larger platform. We developed the idea to make each episode a casual and light conversation on the different elements of the professional ballet world. We are so fortunate to work with the ballet world’s best and brightest here at Miami City Ballet, and those are the artists that people interested in the ballet world want to hear from.

I have a blog, Tendus Under A Palm Tree, which I have been cultivating for almost 6 years, that brings with it a wonderful audience. As we did research, we found ourselves at a wonderful advantage: being able to host our own content through my website would allow us to be in total control of every element of the process including recording, editing, publishing, and promoting.

So, Conversations on Dance was born. It started as just an idea, but is quickly growing more than we ever expected.  We are so thankful to all of our listeners.

Michael: Rebecca and I and our friends at Miami City Ballet are a very inquisitive bunch. We’ve always done a lot of background research for the work we do, which we later share with each other.

When Lourdes Lopez became artistic director of the company, she started having us do pre-performance talks where we discuss the history and process of the ballets we’re performing. Rebecca realized that the podcasts would be a perfect outlet for sharing that information during the off-season.

Michael Brenden and Zoe Zien in George Balanchine’s "La Valse." Photograph by Daniel Azoulay.
Michael Brenden and Zoe Zien in George Balanchine’s “La Valse.” Photograph by Daniel Azoulay.

Dancers spend most of their days using their bodies to speak. Now, through this podcast, you are also using your voices as instruments.  Tell us a little about that…

Rebecca: This is certainly a challenge for me. Michael is obviously much more comfortable with public speaking than I am, but I am enjoying being outside of my comfort zone. With each episode I am getting more comfortable. We are both learning how to portray our message and how to make the content interesting and enjoyable.

Michael: Speaking in front of a live audience at our pre-performance talks is much scarier. The podcast is a much more relaxed environment for us to use our voices to share the information we have about our art form.

I think we found that it’s actually surprising how natural public speaking can be when the subject matter is something you care very deeply about and have a wealth of knowledge about. We both love ballet so much, and using our voices is just another tool we have to help spread that love and hopefully bring in new admirers of the art.

How do you feel that technology is changing the way audiences perceive the art of dance?

Rebecca: This is something I feel very strongly about, and a topic I cover a lot on my blog. For a long time, the general feeling was that ballet dancers were elusive creatures who were untouchable. This contributed to the overall feeling that the dancers onstage were otherworldly beings. But, now, with social media, I feel that not only do we have a wonderful opportunity to bring audience members behind the scenes, we have a responsibility to.

The world is changing and it is essential that ballet change with it. Social media offers us the opportunity to debunk the theory that ballet is all tutus and tiaras, and allows us to reach those who may not otherwise attend a performance.

Michael: We don’t yet know how far ballet can go with technology; it hasn’t been fully explored. I think things like the showings of various ballet companies in movie theaters across the country or the live showings of performances online are just the tip of the iceberg of what is to come. We have the ability to engage people through technology in ways beyond performing, and I think it’s just now starting to be utilized.

Michael Breeden in "Divertimento No. 15." Photograph by by Daniel Azoulay.
Michael Breeden in George Balanchine’s “ “Divertimento No. 15.” Photograph by by Daniel Azoulay.

What are some of your future goals for the podcast?

Rebecca: As I am very passionate about the use of social media to promote our art form, I hope that our podcast will continue to grow. I hope that we can provide context for audience members and give them a new, in-depth view of the ballet world.

I hope we can create content that professional ballet dancers can relate to and find enjoyable, that we can help dance parents understand the world of ballet and better understand their child’s love for it, and that we can inspire and educate young dancers who want to become professionals one day.

As senior company members, I hope Michael and I can share with the world the wonderful opportunities and experiences we have had, and are having, in our ballet careers.

Michael: I’ve always been so hungry for more knowledge when it comes to ballet. If I can share that and inspire someone in the way that I’ve so often felt inspired by the art, then I think the podcast will have done its job.

I love the idea of delving into the minds of today’s important artists. We have some very exciting people in the pipeline. We also want to help people through things that I sort of navigated blind when I was younger, like choosing a summer program or how to decide between college or dance.

There is just so much information and history in what we do, and I hope that people enjoy the little sliver of that which we are bringing through the podcast.

Photograph by Julian Duque Photography.
Photograph by Julian Duque Photography.

Tell us a little about your journeys in dance…

Rebecca: As a young dancer, I received my training from the Contra Costa Ballet Centre in Northern California. I spent two summers at San Francisco Ballet School under the direction of Gloria Govrin. For my senior year, in high school I attended The Rock School in Philadelphia, then came to Miami City Ballet School after graduating. I danced with the company while in the school, then joined Miami City Ballet in 2007.

Since then, I have worked with many of today’s most sought-after choreographers including Christopher Wheeldon, Alexei Ratmansky, Liam Scarlett, and Justin Peck. I have danced in the majority of Miami City Ballet’s Balanchine repertoire, as well as classical full-length ballets and contemporary works.

Michael: I had very strong Russian and Cuban training when I was younger, but I really found myself when I started training at the School of American Ballet at age 15. The Balanchine style suited me very well, and I fell in love with his ideologies and, of course, his beautiful ballets.

I’ve danced for Boston Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Pennsylvania Ballet, and The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, but Miami City Ballet is where I found my real home, largely because of the wonderful repertoire that is rooted in Balanchine’s masterworks. I’ve now danced over 30 Balanchine ballets, something I’m immensely proud of, as well as works by today’s working geniuses Alexei Ratmansky, Justin Peck, Christopher Wheeldon, and Liam Scarlett.

Finally…what’s on your iPods?

Rebecca: Well…Spotify. My phone is filled with photos, videos, and now, audio files. So, I save space by jamming out with Spotify.

Michael: I’ve been addicted to the soundtrack from the new musical Waitress. One of my favorite things to do when we are on summer layoff is go see theater, museums, and other art forms to draw inspiration before my season. Waitress was the theater experience that stayed with me most this year, and I think there’s something in it that speaks to everyone.

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Filed Under: 4dancers Tagged With: Conversations on Dance, dance and technology, Miami City Ballet, Michael Breeden, Podcast, rebecca king, tendus under a palm tree

Tendus, T-Shirts & Totes

March 12, 2013 by 4dancers

Many 4dancers readers will recognize the name Rebecca King from her blog, Tendus Under a Palm Tree–a great take on the life of a dancer that features wonderful content. What you may not have known is that Rebecca also has started a line of cool dance t-shirts that has done so well, she’s expanding…

But let her tell you the story…

dance shirt
Photo by Leigh-Ann Esty

A couple of years ago I decided to start a ballet blog where I could share my musings as a professional ballet dancer: “Tendus Under A Palm Tree .com.”  I wanted to take advantage of the Internet’s ability to offer a unique venue to discuss different elements of the ballet.  People are fascinated by this art form and I think blogs are a wonderful way to get people involved, interested, and give them a deeper understanding of what they are seeing.  Since it’s conception, this venture has taken off more than I could ever imagine. In two years TENDUS has grown to over 6,000 readers a month.

Over the summer I had been seeing the “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster and popular parodies all over the Internet.  I decided it was time for TENDUS to be a part of this phenomenon.   I had recently been put in touch with a tee-shirt manufacturer and knew that this was a perfect opportunity to start something new.   In September of last year I launched a TENDUS  merchandise line and have since created two different tee-shirts and am now expanding into a tote bag line.  In 4 months I have sold over 250 units and am hoping my newest member of the merchandise family will be just as popular!

Photo by Leigh-Ann Esty

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: dance wear, rebecca king, t-shirt, tendus under a palm tree, tote bag

Dance Blog Spotlight: 2PointeSocial

November 15, 2012 by Ashley David

Today I’m excited to introduce Amanda McAlpine, author of ballet and social media blog, 2PointeSocial..

pointe shoes

Amanda McAlpine

1.      Can you tell readers a bit about your background in dance?  

I am originally from New Hampshire, and received the majority of my training from my mentor and artistic director, Doreen Cafarella at Northern Ballet Theatre Dance Centre (formerly Granite State Ballet School). I really credit Ms. Cafarella for pushing me to the next level and encouraging me to participate in Youth America Grand Prix and the ABT summer intensive. While I was training with the school, I also had the honor of dancing Apprentice roles with the professional company in the early 2000s. Upon graduation from high school, I continued to dance at Emerson College in Boston. I came from a ballet-focused background, so I was able to gain more experience in other styles of dance including modern and musical theater (and I even got to sing!) One of the most fun performances in college was performing the Lonely Town pas de deux in the spring musical, “On the Town.”

After gaining a couple of years of professional marketing experience, I moved out to Chicago to explore the dance scene here. There’s a ton of performances to see all the time and it’s a wonderfully supportive dance community. I also began working at The Joffrey Ballet last September shortly after I moved here, so I still take classes at the Joffrey Academy from time to time and try to keep dance in my life as much as possible…which is part of the reason I began my blog. 🙂

2.      When did you begin your blog—and why did you start it?  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Dance Blog Spotlight Tagged With: 2pointesocial.com, abt, amanda mcalpine, artintercepts, dance advantage, dance pulp, dancers, joffrey academy, joffrey ballet, minor in dance, Social Media, tendus under a palm tree, youth america grand prix

Review: Black Swan

October 28, 2011 by 4dancers

by Catherine L. Tully

Better late than never–right?

It has taken me a long while to get around to doing this review. I was hesitant about watching this movie–not sure if I wanted to see what the depiction was of the ballet world. Somehow I knew it would fall short, and for me it did.

As I had heard, the movie rang true to overarching stereotypes of ballet dancers and what goes on behind the scenes, and I found myself disappointed that it didn’t try a little harder to stretch beyond the typical. After all, not every director is “grabby”, not every retiring ballerina is morose and suicidal, and not every dance mom is overbearing. It would have been nice to depart a bit from these images and strive to create real characters with dimension rather than falling back on old, tired images of these roles. Here, the director played it safe, but, admittedly, it is difficult subject matter to tackle. Still, it would have been nice to have had more range.

The behind-the-scenes look into the ballet world was again somewhat typical, but served as a decent bit of background for those who may not be aware of what goes on in a dance company. Many dancers can relate to things such as the cramped physical therapy office, the nerves as everyone checks the board for their name when ballets are posted and the hush that comes over a room when the director appears.

I loved the scene where you get to see how pointe shoes are “worked” and broken in and the realism of the dancers sitting around in the hallway with their ballet bags. How true, how true. Still, it would have been wonderful to have a little more of that–I think it would have helped explain dancers in a way that would have helped make sense of things better in the movie. After all, there is a lot more to the life of a ballet dancer than people may realize. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Dance Gifts, FOR SALE, Reviews Tagged With: ballet dancers, ballet movie, black swan, black swan review, natalie portman, pointe shoes, rebecca king, tendus under a palm tree, tights and tiaras

Dance Blog Spotlight: Tendus Under A Palm Tree

September 9, 2011 by 4dancers

Welcome to the latest 4dancers feature–Dance Blog Spotlight! Each month we will be highlighting a blog on the web that we want to share with readers, and this month it is Tendus Under A Palm Tree. Read on to learn more about the author and what kind of content you can expect to see on this wonderful site!

Rebecca King

 

Can you tell readers a bit about your background in dance? I am a Corps de Ballet dancer with Miami City Ballet and have been with the company for five years.

When did you begin your blog- and why did you start it? I began my blog, Tendus Under A Palm Tree, in June of 2010.  I have always enjoyed writing and the idea of starting a blog had come up before, but I was not convinced that people would be interested in what I had to say.  One morning, in the middle of the company’s summer layoff, I was sitting in my apartment and came across a friend’s blog, http://rhymeswithdarling.blogspot.com.  I realized that there was indeed an online demand for the writings of a professional ballet dancer. On a whim, Tendus Under A Palm Tree was conceived.  Since then I have become very dedicated to this venture; I take it very seriously and consider it to be a part of my job.

The career of a ballet dancer is fleeting and can often be cut short without warning.  As a result, dancers find it necessary to prepare themselves with a career back-up plan.  These days, social media is a rapidly growing field that is becoming infinitely more important to businesses.  In the future I can see myself pursing work in this area as a career transition, and Tendus Under A Palm Tree is a perfect way to gain experience.

What does your blog cover?  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Dance Blog Spotlight Tagged With: balanchine, Ballet, best dance blogs, dance blogs, Miami City Ballet, rebecca king, tendus under a palm tree

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