Episode 42.1: Hear the Dance: Glass Pieces (Part 1)

Just like the Company itself, City Ballet The Podcast is back, with a brand new Hear the Dance episode on Jerome Robbins’ Glass Pieces. Returning host Silas Farley is joined by former Principal Dancers and original cast members Helene Alexopoulos, Maria Calegari, and Bart Cook, and current Corps de Ballet Member Gretchen Smith, for a conversation about this galvanizing masterwork. The originating dancers provide rare behind-the-scenes insights into Robbins’ process, from his use of “guinea pigs” to the multiple iterations that reflected the choreographer’s shifting mood and sense of the work in progress, and commiserate with Smith about the challenges the various corps roles in Glass Pieces present. (44:37) Written by Silas Farley Edited by Emilie Silvestri Reading List: Somewhere: The Life of Jerome Robbins by Amanda Vaill Words Without Music by Philip Glass Jerome Robbins: By Himself by Amanda Vaill Music: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1931) by Igor Stravinsky Rubric and Façades from Glassworks, excerpts from the opera Akhnaten by Philip Glass All music performed by the New York City Ballet Orchestra.