The Ballerinatist

Toni Bentley joined New York City Ballet at age seventeen, dancing with the company for ten years before retiring due to severe arthritis in one of her hips. The book really is all about Balanchine’s work, Serenade. She takes us through Serenade. Minute by minute. Costume by costume. Movement by movement. It gives you a fly-on-the-wall perspective, seeing into a work for the love of the work, not just a performance. Thanks for listening - check out Serenade by Toni Bentley. Thanks for sharing this episode with a friend and for leaving a review. Visit https://www.theballerinatist.com/ to learn about dance education and careers in dance.

Season 7 - it’s Cliff Notes Book Club!5ish minute synopses of Melissa’s always evolving, in no particular order or logic reading list.Thanks for listening, sharing with a friend, and leaving a review!Check out the book yourself: https://a.co/d/0fkMfVzDLearn more about the author: https://www.laurenkessler.com/www.theballerinatist.com

To conclude the Faith-Based Dance Season, Melissa shares about her first faith-based dance work. She produced a performance for young dancers during her freshman year of college based on Luke 12:27. Melissa reflects on all the ways God provided to make the performance possible and the meaningful lessons she learned that propelled her into a career in dance.

Melissa speaks with Amanda Standard, K-12 Dance Educator and Founding Director of Divine Dance Institute and Sound Xpressed Dance Company. Fun Fact: her son Xavier Mack dances with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre!Amanda shares about staying anchored in ministry by remaining accountable, finding fulfillment in moving for God’s pleasure, and being willing to bend (so you don’t break!).Thanks for listening, leaving a like/comment, and sharing with a friend.You can learn more about Amanda: divinedanceinstitute.comYou can learn about dance education and careers in dance: theballerinatist.com.

Melissa interviewed a range of directors and educators about their own personal summer dance training experiences and how they’re choosing to shape their programs now - from universities to ballet companies to pre-professional studios! This season included seasoned professional artists and newly tenured directors offering the highs, lows, and things to focus on for successful, productive summer dance programs. Enjoy the recap!

Melody Mendoza, Founder and Artistic Director of Glorify Performing Arts in West Chester, PA, shares about the vision for the company which launched in 2018, what it took to get started, and how they’re building the foundation for growth. Bio:She studied ballet under Edmund & Irene Novak, later adding jazz and modern, at studios including The Rock School West, The Dance Center, and Koresh School of Dance. Beginning liturgical dance at age 9, she also participated in The Good Samaritan Dance Ministry under Valerie Henry and Gwen Prestwood.After she completed undergraduate dance studies at Palm Beach Atlantic University in 2012, Melody formed a small dance company with Donna FitzPatrick where they choreographed two contemporary, faith based, ballets utilizing ballet, tap and jazz to share stories of Christ’s grace and truth. She received her Pre-Primary – Level 5 certification of American Ballet Theatre’s National Training Curriculum.Melody has worked locally as a musical theatre dance teacher and choreographer at SALT Performing Arts, West Chester Studios for the Performing Arts, and Delaware County Christian School.Melody shares about cultivating a unified company from a diverse pool of artists; establishing a safe, healthy culture through core values - not just feelings; and, intentionally building a strong foundation for company growth.She mentioned the book Art & Faith: A Theology of Making: https://a.co/d/0oPzUYJLearn more about Melody and Glorify Performing Arts: https://glorifyperformingarts.org/ You can learn more about dance education and career planning for dancers at theballerinatist.com

Jenna Jones, Founder and program director at Belamour Dance Leadership Academy in Lebanon, TN, has an extended back ground in the performing arts and classical ballet. She created her academy in 2022 and shares about the choices she has made in terms of leadership, management, and dance training to shape a unique program. We talk about difficult decisions, the dynamic pathways a career in dance and ministry can take, and committing to integrity at every step in the process without compromise. Learn more about Jenna and Belamour Dance Leadership Academy.You can learn more about dance education and career planning for dancers at theballerinatist.com.

Victoria Schneider is celebrating thirty years on the ballet faculty at Harid Conservatory. She began her ballet training with Fred Danieli at the School of the Garden State Ballet in New Jersey, performing with the Company while still in her teens and danced soloist roles in a number of Balanchine ballets.At Pennsylvania Ballet, she took on various jobs: dancer, teacher, administrator, and assistant to both company founder Barbara Weisberger and artistic director Benjamin Harkarvy.  She moved to Italy to become principal teacher at La Scuola di Danza Classica in Florence.She later opened the school at Tampa Ballet while studying with Jurgen Schneider—who later became her husband—and helped him organize Russian-ballet teaching seminars across the United States and in Australia and Asia. She was accepted into the international teachers’ course at the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia - one of only three Americans to be certified through the two-year program. In our conversation, Vicki shares about the process of becoming an educator, navigating the professional landscape of dance, and the humility it takes to be willing to grow.Learn more about Vicki and Harid Conservatory: https://harid.edu/ballet-faculty/victoria-schneider/You can learn more about dance education and career planning for dancers at theballerinatist.com

Julianna Rubio Slager is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Ballet 5:8—a nationally recognized company based in Chicago. She trained with renowned mentors from the Ann Arbor Ballet Theater, New York City Ballet, the Vaganova Academy, and the Puerto Rican National Ballet. Julianna also danced at Greater Lansing Ballet and Ballet Magnificat. In 2012, Julianna co-founded Ballet 5:8 with Amy Sanderson, aiming to elevate ballet as a medium for discussion of life and faith. With over two decades of teaching experience, she oversees programming for over 400 students at Ballet 5:8 annually, guiding them to pursue both technical excellence and personal authenticity. Her approach honors each dancer’s unique story, encouraging the integration of culture, faith, and self-reflection into their artistic voice. She was named a National Visiting Fellow at the School of American Ballet in 2023. She is a recipient of multiple Illinois Arts Council grants and was awarded a DCASE Individual Artist Grant in 2015. Her work has been featured by NBC, PBS, Fox, Chicago Magazine, Newcity Stage, and See Chicago Dance.In our conversation, Julianna shares about sculpting a unique identity for Ballet 5:8, leaning into uncertainty, and finding beauty in every stage of life as an artist.Learn more about Julianna and Ballet 5:8 at https://www.ballet58.org/You can learn more about dance education and career planning for dancers at theballerinatist.com

I speak with Dance educator and author Mary Bawden, founder of Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited (DA:NCE). Mary received a BA in modern dance from the University of California Riverside, a MA in worship (emphasis in dance) from Hope International University in Fullerton CA, and a California secondary teaching credential. In 2003, she founded Soul to Sole Choreography and released a book, Dance is Prayer in Motion, in 2016. Mary began to notice the culture around children’s dance moving toward an unhealthy trend: sexualizing children in adult-style costumes, sexually provocative choreography, and music with sexual content and/or themes. She began to advocate for healthy, age-appropriate guidelines to protect children and the art of dance. In 2016, she founded DA:NCE (Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited), a non-partisan organization, to create awareness through the collaboration of credible experts with excellent research to provide free evidence-based educational materials for dance educators, parents, and concerned adults, inside and outside the dance studio. She has spoken at numerous conferences from NDEO (National Dance Educator’s Organization) to CESE(Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation).In our conversation, she shares about the impact unhealthy dance can have developmentally on young children, the negative impact it creates beyond their time in the studio, and is a fierce advocate for protecting children and the art form. She speaks with hope and purpose, offering tools and ways to take action today. At the time this interview took place, Melissa had no affiliation with DA:NCE but she has now joined their team as an employee.Learn more about Mary, her work, and ways to engage:https://www.danceawareness.com/https://www.danceawareness.com/takeaction/You can learn more about dance education and career planning for dancers at theballerinatist.com