EP: 18 Interview With Ellen Roberts

In this episode, my good old friend (15 years and counting) Tanvi Mavuri joins me for a enjoyable and honest chat. The last time she was with us was four years ago on this podcast. We discuss and delve into a variety of topics including ballet, university life, and their overlap.

In celebration of the holidays, the end of 2021, and a New Year 2022, we are going to be celebrating a few famous BIPOC ballet dancers. Featuring amazing dancers Alicia Alonso, Arthur Mitchell & Maria Tallchief!

In this episode, we explore something that is often overlooked in the ballet industry: sexism in ballet. Pay inequality in the ballet industry. We talk about how not a lot of ballets are choreographed women and questions: Why are there not more female choreographers and artistic directors? We also explore the pay inequality in the ballet industry and how female dancers are often paid less than their male counterparts. 

Ms. Stephanie Potreck is a former dancer turned doctor and sports nutritionist, and also a psychotherapist specializing in the treatment of eating disorders, and challenges with self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-care. She has a unique insight into the challenges that dancers face these days, worldwide. She is the founder of AusDancersOverseas that was originally created to support Australian dancers and dance students when moving overseas; this platform has grown into an education and information hub for dancers and dance students worldwide. In this episode, Ms. Stephanie Potreck talks about why she decided to become a doctor and sports nutritionist from a dancer, the mission of AusDancersOverseas and the funniest thing that happened to her recently.

In this episode, we talk about power and abuse in the dance world and the core of the underlying issues. We explore recent events where people bravely spoke up about their experiences with sexual abuse in dance. We also question: Is the ballet and dance world ready to address sexual harassment and abuse? So is there a way to fix these issues in ballet?

Jeraldine Mendoza is a first-generation Filipina American who was born in San Francisco, California, and trained at City Ballet School of San Francisco since the age of five. At age 17, Mendoza was invited to graduate in the Russian course at the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow., and she later won First Place at the YAGP San Francisco Regional Semi-Finals in 2011. Now, she is currently dancing at Joffery Ballet and have danced a lot of principal and lead roles. In this episode, Jerry talks about overcoming comparing herself to other dancers, her experience in the lack of diversity in ballet, and what year she would travel to if she had a time machine.

Puanani or Pua Brown is a former professional ballet dancer at American Ballet Theatre and a Harvard graduate with a degree in Environmental Science and Public Policy. After series of knee injuries, she decided to explore more of her passion of empowering marginalized communities through environmental protection, environmental justice and Indigenous rights.  In this episode, Pua talks about her experiences with various ballet companies, what she thinks need to change in the ballet world, and something that she thinks would be surprising if people knew about her.

Ellen Roberts attended UNCSA as a ballet major and Metropolitan School of the Arts as a Dance/Musical Theatre major. She has spent summers training at Bolshoi, The Washington Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and more. She spent this year training at The Nashville Ballet and will attend Boston Conservatory at Berklee next year to get her BFA in Musical Theatre. She is also the founder of Humans in Dance Project where she discusses issues in dance and emphasizes the real dancers and real humans in dance.  In this episode, Ellen talks about why she started Humans in Dance Project, her hope for dancers to not have to suffer alone, and her hero: Oprah Winfrey. 

We interviewed two of the four Co-Founders of Brown Ballerinas For Change: Shania Gordon & Ava Holloway! Shania Gordon has been performing with Central Virginia Dance Academy since 2016. She desires to become a professional dancer with NYC Ballet; without any set limitations to achieving her goal. Shania wishes to inspire those that see her, encouraging them to “not be afraid of who you really are and to work hard to be the best version of yourself”. Ava Holloway has performed with Central Virginia Dance Academy since 2009 and is a member of Joni at St. Catherine’s School, where she served as Co-Captain and was awarded the Creative Crystal Dance Award. She enjoys hanging out with friends and making crazy dances and recently co-authored a book, My Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams. In this episode, Shania and Ava talks about their goals and visions for BBFC, their reactions for being viral (being painted in a mural and being on the news?), and what they think will never get out of fashion. 

Daphne Lee, a member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, began her dance training at the Rahway Dance Theatre. Daphne has done community work through out the country via masterclasses and career readiness talks to the youth. She has assisted in raising over $5,000 in scholarship money in partnership with Brown Girls Do Ballet. She was a member of Ailey II, Lustig Dance Theatre, Zest Collective, Oakland Ballet Company,and dance artist for UK artist Sydney Jo Jackson, and Collage Dance Collective, and she will continue her mission to inspire the youth through art. She was also the Miss Black USA in 2017. In this episode, Daphne talks about whose voices should be amplified in ballet, why she never gave up hope, and what she likes to do in her free time (spoiler: self care & traveling!)