Sterling Baca

Meet Sterling Baca, principal dancer with the Philadelphia Ballet, and former dancer with American Ballet Theater. Originally from Colorado, Sterling moved to New York at age 15 to train at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School on a full scholarship. In 2016, he was on the cover of Dance Magazine as one of their “25 to Watch”. Hear Sterling open up about growing up, achieving his dreams, and the mindset needed to excel at the highest level. Follow Sterling on IG @SterlingBaca

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hey everyone, my name is Vince and I'm a former
professional dancer and musicaltheater performer.
Growing up in my hometown, I wasone of very few boys who danced
and I had no male role models tooffer guidance.
So now I've started this podcastto inspire the next generation
of dancers.
In each episode, we'll get tohear from a successful male

(00:22):
dancer about their experiencegrowing up and finding their way
to the professional stage.
From Broadway to some of the topdance companies in the world,
from working in film and TV todancing for major recording
artists, we'll get a behind thescenes look at life in the
professional dance world and howthese fellas made it there.
Because after all, boys dancetoo.

(00:46):
My very first Boys Dance 2podcast guest is Sterling Baca,
principal dancer with thePhiladelphia Ballet.
Sterling is one of the mostimpressive dancers and kind and
super smart people I've evermet.
At Philadelphia Ballet, he'splayed so many iconic roles,
including Siegfried in therecent Swan Lake.
Prior to Philadelphia Ballet, hewas with American Ballet Theater

(01:09):
in New York, otherwise known asABT, which is another
world-class company.
He's originally from Coloradoand moved to New York at age of
15 to pursue his dream, trainingat the Jacqueline Kennedy Onasa
School on full scholarship,which is the official school of
ABT.
He was previously on the coverof Dance Magazine as one of
their 25 to watch.

(01:30):
In our interview, Sterling opensup about what it was like moving
to New York at such a young age,some advice that he has for
dancers who want to do somethingsimilar, the reality of what
it's like to be a principaldancer in a major company, and
how he takes care of himself.
Without further ado...
Let's meet Sterling Baca.
Welcome to the podcast,Sterling.
Hi,

SPEAKER_01 (01:50):
Vince.
Happy to be here.
Thanks so much for having me.

SPEAKER_00 (01:53):
No problem.
It's great to have you.
I know that you're going througha really busy time right now
with Swan Lake and a few otherpieces, so it's really great to
have some of your time.

SPEAKER_01 (02:02):
Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 (02:03):
Awesome.
Well, Sterling, let's start atthe beginning.
So I wanted to talk to you abouthow you got into dance.
I know that you started at age11, and before that, you had
played sports.
So...
What drew you to the dancestudio?

SPEAKER_01 (02:19):
So, yeah, like you said, I'm from Colorado, and I
was actually homeschooledgrowing up.
So my social outlets ended upbeing sports.
And from there a localhomeschool group uh started
putting on little plays and so igot involved in that and that's

(02:43):
when um my parents said you knowyou're actually a pretty good
performer maybe you should tryto do more musical theater and
so i i along with sports starteddoing musical theater and uh
from there uh that's what led meto try dance because um my
parents and people in themusical theater realm were

(03:06):
saying that I should take balletjust to become more of a triple
threat.
And so I took my first classwhen I was 11 at Colorado Ballet
Academy and I just immediatelywas attracted to it because it
was the two things that I likeddoing.
It's an athletic performing art.
And I think the structure of aballet class is really in line

(03:31):
with my personality.
I'm a very organized kind ofanal retentive person.
So I like to have the structure.
I like to have that scheduleevery day and, um, um, also just
kind of competing with yourselfon a daily basis to improve.
Um, so I, I really was attractedto it immediately and, um,
slowly over the next few years,you know, sports dropped off.

(03:55):
And then I kind of just totallyfocused on dance and moved to
New York at a young age.

SPEAKER_00 (04:02):
Yeah, that's awesome.
And you progressed fairlyquickly, I think, because you
started at 11.
And by 15, you were trainingfull time in New York at ABT.
So when you started at ColoradoBallet Academy, it's a ballet
school, which is different fromsay a competitive dance studio,

(04:23):
which is, you know, like in alot of suburban, a lot of
cities, it's a very, it's verycommon for parents to sign their
kids up at these competitivedance studios where they do like
their classes and get ready forcompetition and for recital.
But you went to ballet schoollike right away.
So just trying to compare thatto say the competitive dance
studio environment.

(04:44):
I know when I, grew up, wasgrowing up, I danced at a
competitive dance studio and itwould be like me with like 20
girls in the class.
I was the only boy and like thewallpaper was pink and it was
like a very girly environment,which is why like my parents,
especially my dad, weren't liketoo thrilled about me entering
that space because it justseemed...

(05:06):
didn't feel like the mostinviting for a boy.
And of course I was like superself-conscious, but ballet
schools are different.
Ballet schools are differentdefinitely because they're
structured to, they're at adifferent scale.
Like it's just like the wholeculture is different.
So when you went to the balletschool, were you in a class with

(05:29):
all girls or did they have likespecial boy classes for you that
you danced in?

SPEAKER_01 (05:34):
so yeah that's a good point and i've noticed that
because i also teach quite a bitand i come across a lot of
places that are very competitionworld-based and these
competition studios basicallytrain to do competitions whereas
a ballet school is training youto become a classical dancer in
a professional company um andthose say, jazz or other styles

(05:59):
of dance are kind of added on toyour training, which is the base
of classical ballet.
In terms of the ratio of boys togirls, I actually had a similar
experience.
I was kind of the only boy inthe class.
There were very few in the wholeschool when I was there.
And I transitioned to a coupleother ballet schools after that

(06:22):
before moving to New York, and Iwas usually the only boy.
So in a way, it kind of made me,there was like immediately more
focus on me, I guess, because

SPEAKER_02 (06:40):
there

SPEAKER_01 (06:41):
was like no competition, you know?
So that was one thing thatreally attracted me to ABT in
New York is that's when I wasthe first time I had the
experience of being in a roomfull of boys from all over the
world and really comparingmyself to, okay, what is my
level and where do I fit in inmy age group?

(07:02):
And that was really an importantmoment for me of, yeah, I need
to be more in a situation wherethere is an equal amount of male
and female dancers.
And when I ended up graduatingfrom JKO at America Ballet
Theater, that we actually hadmore boys in my graduation
graduating class than girls.

(07:23):
Wow.
13 boys and 11 girls.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (07:27):
That's wild.
I feel like that never happens.
I

SPEAKER_01 (07:29):
know.
It's pretty rare, but I found asI've progressed that this is a
very competitive art form and itends up being a smaller and
smaller percentage of thepopulation that has trained hard
enough and has the ability to doit.
And when you get to the highestlevels, competing for jobs, the

(07:53):
numbers start evening out.
Just because there's a lot moregirls taking class doesn't mean
there's a lot more girls at theend of the day who are equipped
enough to become professionaldancers.
So I found that the further yougo up the line and become a
professional, it starts eveningout.

SPEAKER_00 (08:14):
Mm-hmm.
Okay, interesting.
And let's just rewind a littlebit to before you joined the ABT
school, the Jackie Onasa school.
I know that you did YouthAmerica Grand Prix.
And there might be listeners tothis podcast who are competing
in that or want to compete inthat.
So just to let those listenersknow, Youth America Grand Prix

(08:37):
is a prestigious balletcompetition for kids that
happens every year.
There are regional competitionsto qualify for the national
finals in New York.
And Actually, I don't know thefine details about it, but about
what you need to prepare.
I think you need to do a coupleof variations and maybe a
contemporary piece.

(08:58):
And I think there's a classaudition as well.
So what did the audition processlook like for you when you did
it?

SPEAKER_01 (09:07):
Yeah, so Youth American Grand Prix has been
just a really integral part to Iwould say almost every
professional dancer at thispoint in the United States and
probably a lot internationally,it's become such a massive
cultivator of talent and hasgrown since I did it.

(09:28):
I was happy to be invited to bea part of the 25th anniversary
gala last year at in New York atthe Lincoln Center.
And just to see what it's turnedinto and how much it's done for
so many dancers is reallyamazing.
I think the format has probablychanged a bit.
When I did it, you just did yourvariation.

(09:51):
You could choose to do up to twovariations, classical variations
and contemporary.
I ended up just doing twoclassical variations and there
was really no class or otherpart of it.
You just went on and did yourvariation and were judged on
that.
I won the silver medal from thatcompetition and it actually put

(10:18):
me in a position to go to JKL,but I had already gotten
scholarships to JKL from thesummer intensive.
So I guess I can give a littlespeech here that I just gave at
Denver ballet guild, which is acompetition in Colorado that I
just judged at two weeks agowhere, you know, competitions,

(10:41):
the, I think a lot of people gettoo tied up in where you place
or who's got the gold medal,who's got the Hope Award.
And I can tell you from my15-year career so far that it
matters more how hard you'regoing to work every single day
for the rest of your career thanwhere you place in that one

(11:02):
competition.
Most of the principals in thecompanies around the country
from ABT on were silvermedalists or top 12s.
it's it's about who's the personthat's going to get better every
year who's the person who hasthe grit to go through that and
um what you really should takeaway from any competition that

(11:24):
you do is is the process gettingto the stage and the process
being on the stage not thescoring because especially now
that i've been a judge and i'vealways kind of felt this it's
really hard to have a setstandard that you're judging by,
and what exact marks are yougiving, and you're seeing so

(11:46):
many kids so fast, it becomesquite difficult to be really
accurate.
It just does.
take away more the work you putin the studio with your coach,
the work you put in, you know,leading up to that moment and
then getting to perform thatvariation and feeling what it's
like to have that one shot to doit your best, because that is

(12:08):
the reality of our profession.
And that's the beauty of it,that it's alive, live
performance art and that's allyou get there's no retake you
know so um i guess for thelisteners that that would be my
advice in terms of competitionsis is it's about the process and
what you take from that movingforward into your training um
then where you place

SPEAKER_00 (12:28):
yeah that's some really great advice now a lot of
the competitions have evolvedlike um youth America Grand Prix
definitely has evolved.
Uh, now there are auditionclasses as well.
Like the classes are part of thecompetition.
Um, and they're so they're like,they're, um, they're live on

(12:50):
Instagram.
Like they're shot live onInstagram.
I got the notifications on myphone.
It says youth America Grand Prixis going live.
Now I click on it and it's likean audition class for like the
girls or the boys or whoever.
Uh, I feel like that would belike terrifying because at least
when it comes to your variationsand your contemporary like these
are pieces that you can rehearseyou know you eat sleep and

(13:11):
breathe them but a class likeyou have to be on your feet like
literally and figuratively likeyou have to I feel like you know
you have to like pick up reallyquickly and then On top of all
of that, now there's videocameras on you.
And on top of that, this is partof the competition.
And it's an audition, basically.

(13:32):
You're surrounded by otherdancers.
I feel like some dancers mightbe conflicted.
They might be thinking, should Ibe trying to you know, shine in
this moment, or should I treatthis like a regular class?
Should I smile when I'mperforming?
Should I treat this?
I'm at the bar.
Should I pretend, should I havea persona like I'm on stage?
So what is, what kind of wordsof wisdom would you offer kids

(13:54):
who go through that?

SPEAKER_01 (13:56):
Yeah, that's a good point.
And actually that's somethingthat I liked about the Denver
Ballet Guild when I, um, judgethere is that the class is a
part of the total score.
And then something like alsodoes where they watch you in
class.
And I think in a way it gives abetter overview of the dancer to

(14:19):
see how do they work in classand how do they translate to the
stage.
And it gives you a betterunderstanding of their ability
at the end of the day and theirpotential, which is the biggest,
The biggest thing that peoplewant to see, even if you don't
win first, what is the potentialof this dancer?
How much better are they goingto get?

(14:41):
Because maybe somebody is reallygood right now, but they're
going to plateau.
Or somebody else is obviouslyshowing the intelligence of work
ethic in class and how they gotthrough their variations and
improved that maybe they have ahigher upside over time.
So In terms of advice for whenyou're in that class, I would

(15:09):
say that it is different thanjust taking class on a daily
basis because there is going tobe a performance quality to it
because you're being judged,because people are watching you.
So don't be afraid to show youremotion and who you are.
Not that you're just goingthrough the exercises, but how
do you dance the exercises?
And that is something that youcan always put into your class,

(15:32):
because at the end of the day,this is not gymnastics.
This is an art form, and we arelearning the technique and
building our bodies to speak alanguage through our bodies, to
share with our bodies, not tojust execute the pirouette.
And so...
I would put a lot of actualfocus on how you take your

(15:55):
class.
And I think that it does have abig impact on the judges because
it demonstrates how you work andhow physically and mentally
intelligent you are.
And will probably affect the waythey score you from your
variation.

(16:17):
Also, it's a good place to showI call it, you know, stage
performers or class dancers.
Some people are a lot better inclass than they are on stage.
And then some people all of asudden like light up on stage
and you didn't even notice themin class, you know?
So it's interesting to watchthat because sometimes you're

(16:41):
watching like what I justexperienced.
Some kid is just like sotechnically strong.
And then on stage, it's justkind of flatlines, right?
And then some other dancer maybeis not quite up to that
technical, but they get on stageand it's like a light goes off.
And so I think that's anotherthing to touch on is that, like

(17:02):
I just said, this is aperforming art.
At the end of the day, whatwe're trying to achieve is that
we're entertainers and that wego out and we perform for
people.
And so you can neverunderestimate performance
quality and showing the audienceand showing the judges who you

(17:22):
are as a person and whatemotions you can bring to the
table.
Because, you know, I've seenperfect performances that make
you feel nothing.
And I've seen imperfectperformances that make you cry.
And if you have a choice, youwant to make people cry and
laugh and feel over, God, theydid nine pirouettes perfectly.

(17:46):
Yeah.

UNKNOWN (17:46):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (17:47):
So that should definitely be a focus.
And I think always impressesjudges is who are you as an
artist?
And that is ultimately whatseparates dancers at a certain
level.
Because you end up getting intoa room where everybody's
turning, everybody's jumping,everybody has feet and legs.

(18:09):
Who's the one who tells thestory?
Who's the one who can, likewe're doing Swan Lake right now,
who's the one who can portrayOdette and Odile and make it
real you know not just getthrough the steps really well so
that should always be at theforefront of your mind in your
training and especially when youget on stage to perform

SPEAKER_00 (18:31):
and in terms of training and in terms of talking
about kids that can jump andturn and everything you went to
the ABT school eventually like Imentioned at the age of 15, you
went to New York to trainfull-time at the JKO school.
And that's considered one of thebest schools in the world.

(18:51):
And I know that you're a fan ofthe movie Center Stage.
I know, because I've asked youthis question before, and it's
one of my favorite movies aswell.
And Center Stage is basicallybased off of ABT, except they
rename it American BalletCompany in the Center Stage
movie.
So you've lived that.

(19:12):
So for the enjoyment of ourlisteners and myself, could you
kind of describe on a generallylike what your daily life looked
like when you were studying atthe JKO school?
I know that you werehomeschooled, so.
that's a little bit differentbecause I think some of the kids

(19:32):
there go to like a professional,like education school,
performing arts school.
But what did, what did a dailyday in the life look like for
you when you went to thatschool?

SPEAKER_01 (19:42):
Yeah, it's funny you bring up center stage because my
family came in to see me dosomething like this last week
and my baby niece was here andshe had never seen center stage.
So I literally just watched itlike two nights ago and I hadn't
seen it forever.
And yeah, it's really such agreat, great movie and fun for
me to, watch it now because thelast time I watched it I was
like going to JKO and then now Iwatched it and I worked you know

(20:04):
I worked with Ethan and Sashaand Jillian Murphy I danced with
and Stella did my first WhiteSwan so to see them now after
I've worked with them in thatmovie is kind of funny and yeah
it really is kind of based uponI would say more like a cross
between ABT and City Ballet witha little Hollywood drama

(20:24):
sprinkled on top you know yeah

SPEAKER_00 (20:27):
and 2000s 2000s 2000s teen movie style, which I
love.

SPEAKER_01 (20:31):
Oh, yeah, the style.
It's so great.
But, you know, really excellentdance movie.
One of the best dance moviesmade.
And in terms of, you know, mydaily life there, yeah, it
depends.
I was really lucky to have myfather move to New York with me
from 15 to 17 and continuedhomeschooling me.

(20:53):
So I would do the schoolingduring the day and then go work
at J.K.O., you know, usuallyfrom like five to eight

SPEAKER_00 (21:01):
every day.
So it's evening, you weredancing in the evenings there.
Usually in the

SPEAKER_01 (21:05):
evening for JKL, yeah, from Monday through
Saturday.
And that was kind of my weeklyschedule for almost two years.
Obviously not in the summer, wehad the summer intensive.
But yeah, I know a lot of, mostdancers at that point, you know,
you're going to have to do someonline schooling online.

(21:26):
Um, or homeschooling, um, orlike you mentioned some dancers,
there's like performing artsschools in New York that you can
get up, be a part of.
Um, but not just there reallyanywhere that you move into that
level of that high level ofclassical training, you're going
to have to do some sort ofmoderated schoolwork.
Not that you're doing lessschoolwork, but that you're not

(21:48):
going to school, like, causeyour time is going to be really
focused on that training.
Um, So yeah, like I said, it wasreally just kind of school all
morning and afternoon and then,you know, ballet every evening
and along with, you know, modernand jazz and contemporary
character.
And then, you know, gettingready for the various
performances we would do aroundthe city or with the company.

(22:13):
And yeah, it was rigorous.
It was, it's tough, but, youknow, good things happen take
time and effort.
It's worth it.
It

SPEAKER_00 (22:29):
worked out really well for you.
Case in point.
For some of our listeners whomight be wanting to go to a
full-time ballet school and itdoes involve moving to another
city, uh, just like in yourcase, you moved to New York.
Um, what are some of the thingsthat they should be thinking
about?
So for example, like, is there achecklist that you recommend

(22:51):
that they like some things thatshould be on that checklist,
obviously schooling, figuringout what school you're going to
go to going to go to is huge.
And you've already spoken aboutthat.
Um, anything else that you canthink of?

SPEAKER_01 (23:03):
Um, I would have a, whatever city you're ending up
in, I would have a very goodunderstanding of the navigation
of the city.
You know, make sure that you canget around easily and you know
exactly how to get to and fromthe school.

(23:25):
And first of all, you know, youwanna have, it's gonna be really
hard.
So you're gonna wanna make surethat you have Where's my grocery
store?
You know, how do I travel?
Kind of all the basics of youreveryday life.
You don't want that to be adrama.

(23:46):
You know, you want those, youwant to have a solid place to be
staying, whether you're withroommates or parents, you need
to have, you know, your food andyou need to have your travel
really kind of set becausethere's going to be a lot of
stress and you're going to betired and sore and you don't
want those things to, you know,be like, a difficult thing to be

(24:07):
dealing with.
So I would say that really makesure that your base structure
and your home is set up in a waythat is going to be comfortable
to work from.

SPEAKER_00 (24:20):
And in terms of, yeah, those are all like, uh
super important points and interms of the dancing itself um
some dancers they might comefrom a local studio where they
do syllabus work uh like here inin canada like rad the rural
academy of dance is huge so lotsof studios they do that syllabus

(24:40):
so kids kind of you know they dowhatever level they're in every
class so it's not they know theexercises inside and out for the
entire year uh getting ready fortheir exams at the end of the
year but when you go to uh majorballet school, it's I'm assuming
just like always open classes.
I know some places do syllabuswork as well, but for the most

(25:02):
part it's open class.
So a lot of kids I imagine haveto kind of like rewire their
brains in order to like get usedto that and just get used to
like taking in a lot ofchoreography, a lot of
exercises, a lot of new contenton a day-to-day basis compared
to what they might be used to attheir home studio.
So I mean, besides justimmersing yourself in it and

(25:25):
just getting used to it, do youhave any other tips that you
would recommend for that mentaladjustment?

SPEAKER_01 (25:33):
No, that's a good point.
The question of what syllabusyou train in or curriculum.
For instance, at ABT, I did thenational training curriculum
that they have there.
And that's what JKO runs under.
Some schools are strictlyVaganova or they...
follow Cicchetti or they havemore of a Danish Bournemouth

(25:54):
backing or like you said, RAD.
In terms of that, I wouldn'treally worry too much because
you all kind of end up gettingto the same place.
And if you call this arabesquefirst or that arabesque second,
you end up being able to do thesame steps.

(26:18):
But I think...
it's important to mold towhoever's teaching the class.
If you're getting a teacher thatis really more inclined for, you
know, they want more turns orthey want this or they want
that, try to mold to it becauseit's good practice to be

(26:42):
versatile, especially in this21st century of dance, you have
to be able to go from Swan Laketo Ruby, to Foresight or
Killian, to Martha Graham in acouple months.
You can't just be like, I'm onlygonna do Giselle for the rest of

(27:05):
my life.
So it's good practice to reallybe open and train yourself to be
able to mold quickly towhatever's happening at the
front of the room and what'sbeing asked of you.
So Don't be fearful of like, ohGod, why is that frappe being

(27:25):
shown differently than I've everdone it before?
Why are we starting plies insecond instead of first?
Or why are we not starting withplies?
Why are grand plies afterdegages?
You know, it's like justthere's...
probably a reason for all ofthose things.
And there's a logic behind it.
So be open to that.
And you may find, oh, wow,actually, that works better for

(27:46):
me.
Or that really doesn't work forme.
I'll do it in the class, butmaybe over time, I need to train
something different or think ofsomething different.
Everything that you're going tocome across is going to help
mold and shape your yourphysicality and your mentality
and understanding of how you,you work your body moving into

(28:07):
the future.
Um, and you got to kind of pickand choose everything to for
yourself to maximize what yourpotential is.
Um, as you move into theprofessional realm, because once
you get there, there's not goingto be as much help.
You're really doing everythingon your own basically.

(28:29):
So, um, I would say base, youknow, when you get to the bigger
schools, they're probably likeyou said, you know, you're
coming from a syllabus, but Iknow a lot of dancers that come
from like their teacher.
And it's like, they've had theirteacher for 10 years from five
to 15.

SPEAKER_02 (28:48):
And

SPEAKER_01 (28:49):
then it's like, they go to the big school and you
have a different teacher everyday, which is kind of like what
I did.
And you got to understand thatlike, That's just how it is.
Different schools are formulateddifferent ways.
So you also have to, before youmake that move, identify what

(29:13):
you feel is going to be mostconducive to achieving your
potential.
Is that going to be going tosomething like a Herod
Conservatory where it really isjust the school and not
necessarily feeding into aspecific company?
where you're gonna have the sameteachers for years?

(29:34):
Or is it gonna be better to lineyourself up in a company that
you want to dance in?
I think that that is a bigquestion that people should be
aware of.
Companies are very focused onpipelines.
They want a connection betweenthe school, the trainees, the

(29:56):
second company and the company.
Obviously, financially, it'sgood for the organization.
It raises money for the company,and then you're building the
dancers you want.
So going to ABT at 15 helped meget into the company because I
was on the radar.
If you want to go dance for SanFrancisco Ballet or Houston or

(30:17):
Boston or Philadelphia Ballet,it's going to help to be on the
radar younger.
than maybe just showing up at alarge audition or even coming in
for a private class audition.
If you want to go to Europe, Ithink it's an even more
important move to move to thatschool at a young age.
If you want to dance for Royal,you got to go to Royal Ballet

(30:38):
School at 15 at least, you know,or wherever in Europe.
It's really good to kind of getinto that system young.
That said, ultimately, you knowdirectors are going to be
picking the dancers that theylike based upon how good they

(30:58):
are their tastes um and that'sanother thing not to get down on
yourself about just because onedirector doesn't choose you or
doesn't want you doesn't meansomebody else doesn't love you
you know there's a lot ofcompanies and it's a big world
and you know keep moving forwardjust because you dream of

(31:19):
dancing at San Francisco Balletand at some point the director
doesn't think that you're rightfor that company doesn't mean
you're not perfect for anothercompany.
And that's another thing at theend of the day, it's a career.
And ultimately what you shouldbe looking at is the roles you
wanna perform and being aware ofyour everyday life and the city

(31:42):
you wanna live in as well, youknow?
And those are all even biggerquestions.
Do I want to go live and dancein Canada?
Do I want to come to the UnitedStates?
Do I want to go live in Europe?
Because you also then have tothink about...

(32:03):
the reality of living in thatcity, how much money you're
going to make, where you'regoing to live, health insurance,
on and on and on and on.

SPEAKER_00 (32:09):
Yes.
Yeah, definitely.
Yeah.
Those are things that someoneshould consider on their
checklist as well in this wholeprocess.
And sorry, I laughed a littlebit when you said, do I want to
move to the United States?
I only laughed because of thepolitical situation right now.

SPEAKER_01 (32:24):
That's why I said that.

SPEAKER_00 (32:26):
Yeah.
Okay, good.
Glad we're on the same page.
But yeah, so you did it.
You moved into the company atABT and I do have to say like
sometimes kids might just luckout and they happen to like be
born and raised in New York andyou know ABT or City Ballet
that's just like their localballet school so they just like
the audition and that's justlike normal life but I think

(32:48):
like most cases like studentskids they audition for schools
that might not be the same placethat they live and they're drawn
to those schools because of thethe company that it pipelines
into new york city balletamerican ballet theater houston
ballet san francisco ballet whathave you um and for you like it

(33:08):
worked out well you got into thesecond company or this the
studio company at abt uh righton time like it happened when
you were 17 uh so at the end ofyour high school years um and
for that did you have toaudition for it or or are you
just like invited to be in thestudio company?

SPEAKER_01 (33:26):
Yeah, so that's one thing that, you know, Kevin
McKenzie, the former director ofABT, had really put a lot of
focus on around the center stagetime, you know, the early 2000s,
is how do we build more of apipeline from the school into
the company?
More like how City Ballet isstructured, where SAB is older

(33:46):
than the company and, you know,Balanchine and Lincoln Kirsten
were very intelligent of, youknow, getting the school and the
theater together.
and then making the ballets andthen having the company kind of
whereas ABT basically startedwith the opposite of like hiring
the biggest stars and making bigballets and renting all the time
which is still an issue for theorganization but you know Kevin

(34:08):
did a good job of setting up apipeline that I just kind of
climbed through I was found inthe audition and I didn't need
to do a single competition forit, frankly.
And I only did, I've actuallyonly auditioned one time my
entire career.
I auditioned for ABT SummerIntensive in Colorado in 2006.

(34:30):
That was it.
Oh, great.
Yeah, no, I mean, because fromthere they gave me a full
scholarship to New York.
I went to New York and then theyput me on the National Training
Scholarship Program.
So they gave me an automaticscholarship for the next year.
I did that for five years.
They gave me the BenderFoundation Scholarship from
there, which is anotherdesignation, brought me to the

(34:52):
school on full scholarship.
And then from my graduatingclass, I was the only person to
be selected for ABT2.
There was no formal audition.
They had just watched me.
And then from ABT2, which now isstudio company, I was the last
year of ABT2 and I was the onlyperson from ABT2 to be hired

(35:12):
into the company.
So you know, that's anotherthing you gotta be aware of is
like I said, it's verycompetitive.

SPEAKER_00 (35:19):
It's very competitive,

SPEAKER_01 (35:20):
yeah.
I just kind of, you know, I'mnot gonna apologize.
I worked really, really hard andalways focus, still focus on
improvement constantly.
And I think that that has gottenme where I am and hopefully
continues to get me where Iwanna go as an artist and
dancer.
But there's also factors oftiming.

(35:43):
You know, I was a good candidateFor the ABT2, I was happy to be
selected there.
And part of the reasons I wasselected for the main company
was because of my height andwhat they needed at that exact
moment.
And somebody had gotten injuredand I replaced that injury.
So timing is also a factor.
And I've seen, I think they haddecided they were going to hire

(36:06):
me, but having been hired thatearly, I had actually been
offered to join the studiocompany that they were changing
it to.
And then a week after that, theywere like, actually, we need you
for the Met season.
So join the company.
So I've also seen dancers, youknow, that don't get in at that
certain time.
And then they come back fullcircle back into the company

(36:26):
that they originally wanted tobe in, you know?
So you got to understand that.
this is another thing that isimportant for dancers to
understand when you start movinginto the professional realm, is
that you are the most importantpart of the organization because

(36:49):
that's what the organization is,is putting on ballets, but you
are also a dancer.
And a dancer is a piece that youput in, this person can do
Siegfried, this person is doingPeasants, this person's been
doing Aristocrats.
And it's like, at the end of theday, all the stuff that the
organization is dealing with tostay alive and function, they

(37:10):
kind of just need somebody to doit, do their job.
And I think when you're a dancerand you're so like, we're so,
it's not just our profession,but it's our passion, it's our
life, it's everything we careabout.
And then we're swallowed up intothis very contained world of
training and ballet, ballet,ballet, and dance and being a
professional dancer.

(37:31):
And it starts to become veryinsulated and the highest
importance, you know?
And I think that I got a reallygood experience of seeing things
from different angles becausewhen I was in the Corps at ABT,
I was doing Corps solos andprincipal roles, and I never had
a show off.
I never watched a show.

(37:51):
I was always on stage.
And then when I came to Philly,it went from that to I was the
lead once a week.

UNKNOWN (38:01):
Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 (38:01):
And so I got to watch shows, and it really kind
of allowed me to get space frombeing in there and actually see
what the performance is.
And it did a couple things forme.
It first of all put things inperspective of, like I said,
what we do, which is ultimatelyjust entertainment for people.
And it's our lives and ourpassion, but most people go,

(38:24):
they enjoy the ballet, and thenthey move on with their life.
You know, it's not necessarilylike this, like lifetime
achievement award situation.
And the other thing that itreally helped with is like not
being hung up so much on asingle mistake in a performance
or like not hitting that oneturn when you see it's a
performance, it's a whole thing.
And what's, you know, what we,the standards we're putting

(38:47):
ourselves through is you know,that's good, but you also have
to look at what was the fullexperience and what do people
actually remember from thatperformance?
You know, was it that you didn'tquite hit that thing the way you
wanted to, or was it that theyenjoyed the performance and,
and, you know, um, going back tothe competition stuff I was
talking, I know I'm kind ofgoing on a tangent.

SPEAKER_00 (39:09):
It's totally fine.

SPEAKER_01 (39:10):
Um, uh, going back to what I was saying about
performing.

SPEAKER_02 (39:15):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (39:17):
Um, you know, a lot of people don't know necessarily
the details and the technicalaspects of what we're doing.
And they're there more to feelthe performance.
And even if you didn'tnecessarily hit it the way you
wanted, if you gave everythingyou had and people walk out
feeling good and clapping aboutit, you achieved it, you know?

(39:39):
So that perspective hasdefinitely been, you know,
helpful.
for me and I think can behelpful for people listening.
Put pressure on yourself in theright way.
Positive improvement pressure,but don't get hung up on petty

(40:04):
inner company issues and gettinghard on yourself about things
that aren't really a problem oraren't really affecting the
performance.
that's something to be aware ofas you evolve and grow in your
training.

SPEAKER_00 (40:19):
And like you said, when you're so immersed in
something like that becomes yourwhole world and it's, it's hard
not to get really wrapped upinto things.
So definitely like opening one'sperspective I think it's like
super important.
And as you mentioned, once youbecame principal, you were able
to step back and watchperformances and kind of like

(40:40):
open your perspective a littlebit in terms of the whole, like,
mental the mental game of youknow being let's say someone's
in a school at the moment andthat's, you know, their entire
lives.
Are there other things that youwould recommend for them to be
able to kind of like manage thatand kind of not get caught up

(41:01):
too much in, you know, all thethings happening at the dance
studio and try to maintain awider perspective?
Because it can be really hard ifyou're training for your dream.
So yeah, like what is, do youhave any other advice for being
able to manage that mentalchallenge?

SPEAKER_01 (41:18):
Yeah, managing the obsession of ballet is a good
question and a difficult thingto achieve because, you know,
like I'm a bunhead.
I just, I'm so like zoned in andfocused all the time.
And, you know, I've had to worka lot on finding like space from

(41:41):
your work.
And I think it's reallyimportant for everybody to
pursue their outside hobbies andinterests.
And even in conversations withfriends, you don't always have
to be gossiping about the otherkids in the competition or the
other kids in the class.
Talk about something else.

(42:01):
Find different topics ofconversation.
Do you like drawing?
Go home and draw instead offreaking out about the turn you
missed in class.
Do you like to read?
Do you like to watch your showor whatever?
also go experience life becausewhat we're trying to portray on
stage is, you know, metaphoricaland symbolic of what we

(42:24):
experience in life.
And if you don't live a fulllife, you know, experience a
full spectrum of emotion, how doyou think you're going to be
able to portray that on stage ina ballet like Romeo and Julia,
you know, so be open to life'sexperiences and, and pursue them
and understand that, ballet ordance in general is just one

(42:47):
aspect of the totality of theexistence that we can
experience.
And be mindful of not beingswallowed into a tunnel of this
is all there is.

SPEAKER_00 (43:01):
Well, you know what?
People often...
have the assumption that balletdancers are sheltered, that
like, it's, it's been a commoncomment that I've heard from
people like, oh, yeah, that's aballet dancer, they've lived a
really sheltered life.
And understandable, because ofhow much like discipline and
training it takes to be a balletdancer.

(43:23):
But to your point, if someonedoesn't have the life
experience, then that's going toaffect them, prevent them from
really getting to that you know,the elite level, being able to
really perform, perform the,like the Romeo and Juliet's and
whatever else, because theydon't have like the emotion, the
life experience to draw from.
Have you, is that something thatyou've noticed before?

(43:44):
Like, I mean, even as you're inyour role as an adjudicator
where some kids, they might havelike all the technical ability,
but they just don't have, theycan't connect with the material
because maybe they don't havethat maturity or life experience
yet.

SPEAKER_01 (43:57):
That's a good question.
And I want to touch on thesheltered.
Because that is a very commonthing that people say about
dancers.
And I like to often comparethings to sports, especially in
the US, because people are soobsessed with sports.
And it's like, nobody ever, likethe Philadelphia Eagles just won

(44:18):
the Super Bowl.
Nobody ever says, God, all thesefootball players are so
sheltered.
I'm obsessed with football.

SPEAKER_00 (44:26):
Never heard that before.

SPEAKER_01 (44:27):
Or like Kobe Bryant, when he would talk about his
6-6-6, like six days a week, sixhours a day for six months
preparation for the season.
Nobody was ever like, God, he'sso sheltered.
And it's like, just because youwork really hard at one thing to
achieve a high level ofphysicality doesn't mean you're
sheltered.
It means that you're dedicatedand focused on achieving a

(44:50):
physical greatness.
And that's the same, thephysical aspect of ballet is the
same as a sports.
What's different from sports isthe artistic.
And that's where you have to putin the hours that a professional
athlete does in that level ofintensity.
You have to demand of yourself.
I think the sheltered aspect iswhen you leave that physical

(45:15):
space and your mental spacestays stuck on that thing.
And that can happen to athletestoo, where it's like they're all
they can function through isbasketball or all they can
function through is baseballinstead of like, Oh, let's talk
about politics or let's talkabout, you know, pop culture or
whatever.
Yeah.

(45:37):
You can see that in a player.
I think that, you know, insports, you can see if a player
has almost an artistic qualityto the way they play the game,
then a really zoned in stuck wayof playing the game, you know?
And I think that's the samething in ballet.
You can see somebody who's likemaybe too stuck in, God, I take

(45:59):
class every day and I go to bedat this time and I do this and I
never break the rules.
And then you kind of dance likethat.
And you can see it like as ajudge or when I watch a
performance, well, there's thatBaryshnikov quote where he says,
dance for two minutes and I'lltell you who you are.
I think it's a littleassumptive, but there's some

(46:20):
truth in it.
You can kind of tell if a danceris a more fully rounded person,
a person who's been throughthings or not.
somebody who's more just reallystuck in executing and you can

(46:40):
see that in a competition whenthey get on stage it's like one
person maybe they're the sametechnical level but one person
they come out on stage and theother person stays in the
technique and then thattranslates into professional
performances like i've said youknow every company there's going

(47:01):
to be dancers that just reallyopen up everything they've
experienced in their life onstage.
I just did Siegfried openingnight and yesterday, Sunday, and
I feel like I'm journeyingthrough every heartbreak to
love, to experience I've had intwo and a half hours on stage.

(47:24):
And when I get there, the reasonI do that 666 training all the
time is so that when I get tothe performance, I can just
enjoy it.
And I can fully immerse myselfin the emotion of it and let my
body take over the physicalaspect of it.
And so, yeah, again, you have tohave those life experiences, you

(47:46):
have to be open to the thingsoutside, because then that will
shape the performance that youput on stage, just like You
can't just do ballet.
You have to take jazz.
You have to do modern.
You have to do character.
You should try tap dancing.
You know, everythingcounterbalances and helps
itself, helps the other.

(48:06):
Makes you a fully rounded dancerand fully rounded person.
And that's what people want towatch on stage.

SPEAKER_00 (48:12):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Agreed.
Now let's talk about what yourlife looks like now.
Um, all these, we talked aboutyour life at ABT, um, But all
these years later, now you're aprincipal with Philadelphia
Ballet.
You've been there for nine yearsnow.
I think this is your ninthseason.
As you mentioned, you're doingSwan Lake right now, playing
Siegfried.
What does a day in your lifelook like now?

(48:38):
Because I know that you mustincorporate self-care into your
routine.
You probably do a lot ofstructured, healthy things like
having a set bedtime and amorning routine and that kind of
stuff.
So Curious as to what a day inyour life looks like these days.

SPEAKER_01 (48:52):
Yeah, so like I said, I kind of went through a
bit of a transition period goingfrom ABT to here because it's a
different work, you know, frombeing in the core where you're
doing a spectrum of roles tobeing just that role, you know,
once a week.

(49:13):
So there's a lot more free timeof...
and kind of basically waiting,you know, like waiting for that
show to happen.
Yet when that show happens, likefor my former director would
say, there's a differencebetween being in the show and
being the show.
And it is, it's different, youknow, it's like you step up and

(49:36):
you step out on stage and it'slike, okay, here we go.
And, you know, it is a differentlevel of pressure where
everything is leading up to thatone show.
So I kind of had to change how Itrain instead of just like boom,
boom, boom, boom, boom all thetime and just like never
stopping to kind of how do Ipace myself?

(50:00):
How do I build up to that momentover time?
Which is a different thing.
And I've always been a hardworker and I like to just during
the week stay within thestructure.
I always take class in themorning.
And then depending on myrehearsal schedule, I usually

(50:22):
during training weeks, as I callthem, I'll swim three times a
week and run twice a week.
I do a lot of stretching.
I've taken more advantage of PTlately with massage and stuff.
You know, obviously being awareof diet, being aware of, you

(50:44):
know, Free time also, one thingI've had to learn for myself is
actually how to, like I said,pace myself instead of
exhausting yourself up to thepoint of the show.
So leading up to the week of theshow, I'll be really pushing and
exhausting myself withinrehearsals and outside the

(51:08):
studio training.
But then going into the week ofthe show, I'm really doing
minimal work.
minimal class, a lot morestretching.
I'm not training then.
I'm just conserving for thatperformance.
The other transition I've hadfrom New York to Philly is that

(51:29):
I have the summers off.
Instead of having the Metsseason in the summer and more
time off in the fall and spring,now I'm working straight from
August to June and then I'm offfor three months.
That's when I started teachingmore.
in the summers.
And I've been on the faculty ofthe School of Philadelphia

(51:49):
Ballet since 2017.
And I also got involved with theUnion, our Union American Guild
of Musical Artists, which coversmost companies in the country.
I was a delegate for three yearsfor the union, so I learned a
lot.
there another perspective momentof kind of seeing how things
run, you know, from the moreadministrative side and, you

(52:13):
know, making sure that thecollective bargaining agreements
are being followed and dancersare protected and things are
running smoothly and goingthrough negotiations with with
executive directors and askingfor more money and all that
process.
So I learned a lot from that.
And then also just doing a lotof outreach things with schools

(52:33):
in the area through the school,a lot of work with donor
outreach.
I do speeches and kind of donorcultivation, which is huge in
the US because basicallyeverything is funded by private
donations.
So I feel very, since I've comehere, a more fully formed person

(52:56):
in the art form because I don'tfeel like I'm just a dancer.
I feel like I've learned kind ofa spectrum of how the
organization runs and that I'vebeen involved in all of those
things.
I've wanted to get involved inall those things.
Also working with social media,projects and creating content,
which is a big part of the worldnow.

(53:16):
So I think I've tried to takeadvantage of that extra time,
not always doing every role, toexpand my mind in all those
aspects of the organization,which has been very satisfying.
And I just want to keep learningabout that because I hope to

(53:37):
dance for another decade.
But we can't dance forever.
And I would like to move into arehearsal director, artistic
director position at some pointsomewhere.
Because I really love this artform.
I love dance in general.
And I want to be a part of thenext generation of leadership

(53:57):
that is maybe even more aware ofhow to manage companies and
dancers and people's health.
along with their own, you know?
And so I'm just trying to learnas much as I can every day.

SPEAKER_00 (54:16):
Amazing.
Thanks for sharing all of that.
And yes, it definitely soundslike you've really evolved to a
leadership position now with allthe things that you're involved
with and also teaching.
I think that's really amazing.
I think that in a way thingsdefinitely things have come full
circle for you because I've seensome of your social posts of you

(54:37):
teaching at the school withthose young kids.
And that's really cool.
They must love you to have, youknow, for them, it must be so
amazing to have such a strongrole model such as yourself.
So that must be super rewarding.
And then I know that you judgecompetitions as well.
So that's amazing that you shareyour knowledge in that way.
And your social media is reallyon point.

(54:59):
I have to say, I've reallyenjoyed all of the content that
you've been putting out allthese reels.
And there was that one reel whenthe Super Bowl, when
Philadelphia won the Super Bowl.
And you guys, your company, youdid that fun little reel.
That was like super cute.

SPEAKER_01 (55:14):
Yeah, I made that.
I've organized a voluntary groupwith the company that helps our
marketing department kind ofbrainstorm and create content
for the organization.

SPEAKER_02 (55:26):
Because

SPEAKER_01 (55:27):
a lot of dancers, they want to, you know, be a
part of that, even though it'snot our job, you know,
especially now because it's sucha big part of the world.
You know, I think dancers shouldhave a say in what's being put
out there.
And yeah, we made that video.
I just kind of filmed peopleafter class and put it together
with the song and it turned outreally well.
And then the ladies put togetherthe next one we posted, you can

(55:48):
go to the Philadelphia Balletum, social media and watch both
of them.
They did really well on socialmedia and they were just really
fun to make.
Um, and yeah, for me, socialmedia can have some, you know,
negative aspects to it, but itcould also have a lot of
positive things.

(56:09):
Like for me, it's a, it's a partof my performance.
Now I like to share, you know,my dancing, um, with audiences
that may not be able to see mein person.
And if you like to follow alongand see, you know, my
performances or things that I'mexperiencing or doing, it's nice

(56:30):
to be able to share it throughthat medium again with the
world.
And I think in a way that hasbeen a positive thing that it's
connected the ballet worldinternationally in a way that
it's never been done in thepast.
And I think is actually growingthe number of people that are
interested in being involved indance, especially boys, I think

(56:51):
it's helped because people arejust more exposed to it and are
seeing really what it is andthat it is an option to be a
professional and have a life,you know?
So I think that it's importantthat we keep, you know,
promoting the beauty of this artform through the social media

(57:11):
channels and, you and try to bea beacon of our best selves in
this world we're living in.

SPEAKER_00 (57:18):
Definitely.
Oh, yeah, I definitely agree.
Well, because to your point, alot of boys growing up dancing,
they might There might not be alot of immediate role models for
them in the dance world.
Or anyone of any gender whowants to accomplish something,
they might not immediately havesomeone that they can see
themselves aspiring to be intheir everyday life.

(57:41):
So to have social media, to havesomeone like you posting your
experiences to anyone online,who has access to a device that
can see that, that makes such ahuge difference.
I'm sure that makes a hugedifference to the lives of so
many young people seeing intoyour world through social media.
Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 (58:02):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (58:03):
Yeah.
Well, awesome.
Well, I have a few fun, quickfire questions for you that I
want to fire off to you.
So don't think too much aboutit.
Don't stress.
Don't stress too much aboutthese questions.
They're just for fun.
All right.
Sterling Baca, are you teamElphaba or team Glinda?

SPEAKER_01 (58:24):
Oh, my goodness.
I'm sorry.
I don't know what you're talkingabout.

SPEAKER_00 (58:27):
Okay.
I might edit this question outthen.
Elphaba, Glinda, they're themain characters in Wicked,
right?

SPEAKER_01 (58:39):
Oh, God, I'm sorry.
Yeah, I don't.
I haven't followed Wicked.
I don't even know.
So

SPEAKER_00 (58:44):
I'm so surprised.

SPEAKER_01 (58:46):
Okay.
Okay.
Do you want to go through thesequestions?
And then you can edit this partout and then I can know how to
answer.
Okay.
So Alphaba was which one?

SPEAKER_00 (58:56):
She's the green one.
Okay.
In the movie, Cynthia.
Okay.
Cynthia Erivo played her in themovie.
Okay.
Okay.
yeah yeah okay okay i'msurprised you don't know about
this because it was a huge thingwhen the movie came out like so
many wicked fans dressed up ineither green or pink to go to
the movie theater to show likeyeah team alpha or team glenda

(59:17):
okay what's your favorite dancemovie i feel like we've already
asked this but just to confirmis it center stage

SPEAKER_01 (59:25):
center stage

SPEAKER_00 (59:26):
Okay.
Yes.
Cool, cool, cool.
I approve.
Who are some of your fave danceinfluencers?
So on social media, I'm sure youfollow a bunch of influencers.
I do as well.
Like in the dance world, likewho are some of your favorite
dance influencers?

SPEAKER_01 (59:42):
Honestly, my biggest influences are the people that I
work with in person every day.
My director, my rehearsaldirector, Charles Askegaard.
Yeah.
I think there's so manyinfluencers now, it's hard to
pick one.

SPEAKER_02 (59:58):
That's

SPEAKER_00 (01:00:00):
a very diplomatic answer.
So I know you haven't doneBroadway yet.
Would you ever consider doingBroadway if the right project
came up for you?
That's the question.
I

SPEAKER_01 (01:00:14):
mean, maybe.
I started with musical theater.
I think it would be fun torevisit.
I just would have to check in onmy voice.
I haven't sung for so long.
It may not be very good.

SPEAKER_00 (01:00:23):
Well, it could be a dance musical.
I believe there have been somemusicals recently like Illinois
that I think Justin Peckchoreographed.
So there are some musicals justfor dancers these days.
So you might want to keep thaton your radar.
I would

SPEAKER_01 (01:00:37):
definitely be interested.
Absolutely.
Yeah, I would love to dance.
Yeah,

SPEAKER_00 (01:00:42):
cool.
And you know what?
Maybe if it did involve singingand acting, you could brush up
on your singing and your actingtoo.
Yes,

SPEAKER_01 (01:00:51):
yes.

SPEAKER_00 (01:00:52):
speaking about voice, because I get lots of ads
on my Instagram now.
Maybe Instagram's trying to tellme something about how to
improve your speaking voice orhow to improve your singing
voice.
So FYI, if you ever make it toBroadway, we can set you up with
some of these apps.
Perfect.
What's your favorite food?

SPEAKER_01 (01:01:12):
Greek.
Greek food.
Greek food, yeah.
Because I lived in Astoria,Queens most of my time in New
York.
And it's a very Greekneighborhood.
And I just, I love the cuisineis so fresh and healthy and, you
know, olive oils, lots ofvegetables and fruits and fish.
And yeah, it's a really greatcuisine that definitely top of

(01:01:38):
my list.

SPEAKER_00 (01:01:40):
Great answer.
And following up to thatfollow-up question to that, how
do you like organize and manageyour, diet these days.
Do you have like a meal prepservice that you order from or
do you make everything yourselfor get takeout?

SPEAKER_01 (01:01:54):
So me and my wife, we cook a lot.
Basically during the week, we'realways cooking.
We kind of have three stapledishes that we do.
One is kind of a gnocchi dishwith chicken.
Another is like a bean dish.
base with vegetables, and then Imake an eggplant dish.

(01:02:14):
So we're primarily kind ofvegetarian.
And during the week, I like tojust cook because I know exactly
what's going into it.
And I like the process ofcooking.
It's kind of a meditative,relaxing point of the day to
zone into cutting everything andmaking it yourself.
And it's very satisfying to kindof calm the day down with

(01:02:38):
cooking your own meal at night.
And then we save going out morefor the weekend, picking a new
restaurant.

SPEAKER_00 (01:02:48):
Cool.
And are there any TV shows thatyou're currently watching?
And if so, what are they?

SPEAKER_01 (01:02:56):
So one thing that we've really been diving into is
we love watching DesperateHousewives.

SPEAKER_00 (01:03:03):
Yes, me too.
It's one of my favorite shows ofall time.
Are you like re-watching itthen, like throughout all the
seasons?

SPEAKER_01 (01:03:09):
This is my first time watching it and I didn't
know that I would like itbecause my wife Scarlett, she,
you know, her mom watched itwhen she was growing up and but
never really let her watch it.
So this is her first time reallywatching it.
Yeah.
I love it.
I think it's just like, youknow, it just keeps the drama
going.

SPEAKER_02 (01:03:27):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (01:03:28):
You know, every episode.
So it's, it's fun to keep upwith.

SPEAKER_00 (01:03:31):
Oh yeah.
I love that show.
The first two seasons are alsodark too.
Like there's a dark aspect tothem with like, that lady who
like died and like the wholestory behind like what happened
there with like the fire stickpoker or whatever like it's like
it's like there's a lot going onit's a lot going on

SPEAKER_01 (01:03:48):
really i mean that's the thing is i think some people
just kind of dismiss it becauseit's like oh that's just some
like silly girly show and it'slike well there's it really
covers a spectrum of humanemotion and issues and stuff in
this one place you know it'skind of a microcosm of us It's
pretty good, yeah.
And they really never stophaving ideas.

(01:04:10):
It just keeps moving.

SPEAKER_00 (01:04:12):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It kind of went, I don't know,like in the last season, you
could kind of tell that it waskind of, it was time for it to
end because their ideas weren'tlike maybe the best.
But for most of it, it ran forlike 10 years or whatever.
So like for most of it, it waslike really top notch.
Awesome.
And then final question.
What's your...

(01:04:32):
Favorite song to work out to?

SPEAKER_01 (01:04:36):
You know, actually, I don't usually listen to music
when I work out because I run orI swim, so I like...
It's kind of a meditative statefor me.
The one song I like to listen toif I do listen to music when I'm
running is actually...
from Rocky, Go the Distance,Going the Distance.

(01:04:59):
Is

SPEAKER_00 (01:05:00):
that the famous, is that like the main song, like
the theme song?

SPEAKER_01 (01:05:03):
It's not the da-da-da-da, it's the other one.
It's the one that happens at thefinal fight in the first movie.
It's called Going the Distance.
And I really, I actually, when Iteach, when I teach like, uh,
uh, fitness classes, uh, forschools.

(01:05:24):
I have, I have a Rocky workoutand it's like a two and a half
minute cardio thing to thatmusic.
And it just always gets mepumped.
And I like it cause I live inPhiladelphia.
Yeah.
So it's like, yeah, it gets megoing.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (01:05:38):
Cool.
Awesome.
Well, uh, Sterling, if peoplewant to follow you online, where
should they go?
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (01:05:46):
Yeah, so I have on Instagram, you can follow me at
Sterling Baca.
And then I also have a dancerpage on Facebook, Sterling Baca.
It's all my name.
And you can also followPhiladelphia Ballet at
Philadelphia Ballet on Instagramand Facebook and keep up with

(01:06:07):
our upcoming performances andmore.

SPEAKER_00 (01:06:11):
Amazing.

SPEAKER_01 (01:06:13):
Hope you'll follow along.
And anybody who's listening,maybe I'll meet you in person
someday.

SPEAKER_00 (01:06:19):
Amazing.
Well, Sterling, it's been apleasure speaking with you.
Thank you so much for your time.
I wish you the best of luck witheverything.
And I look forward to continuingto follow you on social media
and to follow your journey.

SPEAKER_01 (01:06:31):
Well, thank you so much for having me, Vince.
And I hope you have a good restof your evening.
And we'll be in touch.

SPEAKER_00 (01:06:39):
Thank you.
Bye, Sterling.
Bye-bye.
Thank you so much for joining mein today's episode of Boys Dance
2.
Stay tuned for more as we get tohear from a different
professional male dancer in eachepisode.
I am so excited to have you withme on this journey.
Your support really means theworld to me.
Please follow and share thispodcast on your preferred

(01:07:00):
podcast app and follow BoysDance 2 podcast on Instagram.
And remember, no matter whatyour gender is, if you are
passionate about something, gofor and don't let anyone stop
you.
And no matter what, keepdancing.