June 28, 2024 • 21 mins
Unlock the future of ballet in Delaware with our special guest, Joan Beatson, from First State Ballet Theatre. Learn how Delaware's only professional ballet company is revolutionizing the local arts scene, with their academy ranking in the top 5% of U.S. Ballet Academies. Discover the magic behind their intimate "Up Front on Market" series, offering a unique close-up experience for both dancers and audiences, and get an inside look at their dynamic team of choreographers who are set to bring fresh, innovative productions to the stage next season.
We also explore the theatre's commitment to expanding community access to ballet, from providing platforms for new choreographic works to opening a satellite location in Middletown. Hear about the rigorous routines of professional dancers and the importance of proper training for young students, underscored by the theatre's adoption of the Beau Biden Foundation Shield for safety and well-being. Plus, get a sneak peek into the exciting upcoming productions, like "Romeo and Juliet" at Copeland Hall, and learn how First State Ballet Theatre is enhancing Delaware’s cultural landscape—making world-class ballet accessible without the need to travel to larger cities. Don’t miss this enriching conversation about the vibrant future of ballet in Delaware.
The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is committed to supporting the arts and cultivating creativity to enhance the quality of life in Delaware. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. Learn more at Arts.Delaware.Gov.
Delaware State of the Arts is a weekly podcast that presents interviews with arts organizations and leaders who contribute to the cultural vibrancy of communities throughout Delaware. Delaware State of the Arts is provided as a service of the Division of the Arts, in partnership with NEWSRADIO 1450 WILM and 1410 WDOV.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Andy Truscott (00:08):
We're Delaware State of the Arts.
I'm Andy Truscott.
My guest today is Joan Beatson,with First State Ballet Theater
.
First State Ballet Theater,delaware's professional ballet
company, has written anunparalleled charter of artistic
, educational and financialachievement in Delaware's dance
(00:29):
history and presents a statewideseason with regular
performances in theaters andschools in all three counties
from Wilmington to the beach.
In September of 2008, firstState launched Delaware's only
professional ballet company andhave grown the roster every year
to their current 20 dancers.
Today we'll speak about theirupcoming 2024-2025 season and
(00:52):
their expansion of their danceschool into the town of
Whitehall.
Let's kick it off a little bit.
Tell us how First State BalletTheatre's 23-24 season went and
what you're most excited for in24-25?
.
Joan Beatson (01:05):
We just came off a great season at the Grand.
We're seeing a lot of growth,increased ticket sales after
COVID, new dancers, newchoreographers.
Our school was recently namedin a nationwide study by
Northeastern University as oneof the top 5% US Ballet
(01:26):
Academies in the country.
So things are going great.
Andy Truscott (01:31):
So for those that may not be intimately aware of
First Dates season, it is notjust what you see on the stage
of the Grand, but also you guysproduce and perform performances
in other locations, such asschools down at the beach, but
also kind of in a more intimatestudio up there at the Grand.
Talk a little bit about howthose smaller performances
(01:55):
provide opportunities for yourdancers that then lead to kind
of the big stage.
Joan Beatson (02:00):
Every season we do a performance that we call Up
Front on Market.
It's in Studio One in the BabyGrand and it's about 75 seats
and it's an opportunity for theaudience to sit very close.
Different experience than beingin a Copeland Hall, in a big
theater, where you're lookingmore at the big picture of the
(02:20):
proscenium and what theproduction looks like and in
this case you really get to seethe dancers up close.
And it also provides thedancers an opportunity to
perform very challenging work,maybe push themselves out of
their comfort zone.
A lot of times we hirechoreographers to create new
pieces for the company and it'ssomething that dancers really
(02:40):
look forward to.
It's also one of the goals ofour artistic director to develop
the talent of these youngartists, so by giving them roles
that they might not get to doon that big stage, they're
having the opportunity to growas artists and performers.
Andy Truscott (02:57):
You've got a core group of dancers, but I'm
imagining that your choreographyteam kind of rotates throughout
the year so that not everyperformance is choreographed by
the same individual.
Would that be a fair statement?
Joan Beatson (03:10):
Yes, that's true.
Andy Truscott (03:11):
Many of times guest artists, guest
choreographers, come in.
Any of those this upcoming year.
Joan Beatson (03:18):
Yes, we work frequently with Viktor Platnikov
and he's a choreographer that'svery well established and very
creative and sets the bar reallyhigh for the dancers and the
audiences.
His work really speaks to ouraudiences and he's done a few
full-length ballets storyballets we call them full-length
(03:39):
where there's a story likeDracula We've done that ballet
of his and then he also setsshorter pieces on the company.
He will be doing a piece for usthis year for our triple bill
in next February, and we're alsoopening our season with his
full length production of Romeoand Juliet.
So he's someone that we workwith a lot.
(04:03):
We also are working with areally exciting up-and-coming
choreographer, zachary Capellick.
He's a former dancer withBallet X, which is a
contemporary ballet company inPhiladelphia.
Zach is a super talented,creative, young choreographer
who the dancers love workingwith because he really pushes
them to do new things.
He's going to be creating ournew production, the world
(04:25):
premiere of A Midsummer Night'sDream, next April.
Andy Truscott (04:28):
When patrons think about ballet or just dance
in general, unlike theater,where you come to the table with
an already written script, insome cases an already written
score, it's my assumption thatsome of the performances they
would see at first date ballettheater, this is one of the only
times an audience member maysee this kind of exact piece on
(04:49):
stage, because everychoreographer has a different
take on each kind of performance.
Joan Beatson (04:54):
Yeah, I think it would.
There's always a framework inthe classical ballet, the
classical ballets that First AidBallet Theater presents.
The choreography is has beenset, but there are always
different versions and tweaksthat are done for individual
dancers and companies, based on,you know, the individual.
(05:15):
If it's a principal role, youknow, maybe there's a strength
of that particular performerthat that the artistic director
would want to bring out.
And it's also based on thenumber of dancers you have.
You know, if we're doing aproduction of Sleeping Beauty
and we have, you know, 12 femalecorps de ballet dancers, we're
going to be using 12.
Whereas if you go to AmericanBallet Theater you're going to
(05:37):
see, you know, 40.
So there's always going to besome variations within that
classical framework, but we tryto to stick to the historical if
possible, because that's whatthat's kind of our specialty.
Our director trained at theVagadam Academy in St Petersburg
, russia.
So he that history is in hisbones, so he's passing that
(06:01):
along to the next generation and, you know, a direct connection
to the history that he grew upwith.
Andy Truscott (06:07):
As you think to why it is that you love dance
and ballet.
What is it that you think isimportant for families with
young, maybe aspiring performersor dancers, or even just the
general public?
Why is something like having afirst aid ballet theater in
Delaware so important?
Joan Beatson (06:27):
Well, if you think about it, everybody loves to
dance.
I mean, every as soon as a babycan hear, they react to music.
It's something that's innate inall of us, as is a response to
music.
We all respond to music, and Ithink for me it's very rewarding
in my role at First Aid Balletto have the chance to talk to a
(06:48):
lot of people who bring theirchildren to the ballet, but also
people who have never been tothe ballet before, and you know
their experience.
Coming to see us in the theater, it opens up a whole new world
for them.
They might not think they wouldlike ballet because they've
never really been to the ballet,or they equate it with, maybe,
(07:08):
somebody's dance recital, whichis not the same thing at all.
So I think if you're a personthat has experiences art, live
performance you will understandthere's nothing like being there
while the art is being created,to draw you into that other
world as well as connect you tothe other people that are
experiencing something in thatmoment.
(07:30):
You know, obviously I have apassion for dance.
I grew up as a dancer and mostall of us that work at First Aid
Ballet feel the same way, butwe really enjoy sharing that
with the audience, because weget so much great feedback from
the people that come that arenew and that people that come
back year over year and ouraudience continues to grow.
If we can educate people, putit in front of people.
(07:53):
That's why we try to do so manycommunity performances, free
performances up and down thestate, in schools, in community
centers, in the library.
We're performing at theDelaware Art Museum in a few
months, their Sculpture GardenHappy Hour, just to get in front
of people and help them seethat they can enjoy it.
Andy Truscott (08:11):
One of the performances we haven't talked
about quite yet, and maybe themost popular, is your annual
production of the Nutcracker inDecember.
Talk to us about what aperformance like that does, not
only for your audience growthbut for your growth of the
school, your growth of thecompany, acquiring either
(08:32):
interested dancers in thecompany or even just community
support.
Joan Beatson (08:36):
Well, you're right about Nutcracker it's very
popular, it's the cornerstone ofevery American ballet company
because it's their biggestselling production of the year
and it's a gateway into theworld of ballet.
But I it was interesting I waswriting an article about it for
the news journal and Iinterviewed some of our students
(08:57):
who've been in it.
Some were new to the productionand some had been in it for a
number of years and what theysaid surprised me.
They all said they enjoyed theNutcracker.
So I'm looking forward to it somuch because of the sense of
community holiday spirit, beingwith friends and family.
It wasn't really about thedancing, it was about what it
represented coming together forthe holidays, and that's the
(09:20):
spirit that we see in theaudience and it just, it just
lifts people up and that's on,you know, the performers and the
audience, the performers feelthat too.
So it's a special.
It's a special thing we reallyenjoy doing.
You know, even if it's not theballet that might be the most
challenging for an artist, it'san experience that's joyful and
(09:44):
that really kind of defines theholidays for the dancers.
Andy Truscott (09:48):
And then, kind of right on the tail end of those,
in February, you've got yourtriple bill coming up which
talks about launching threeworld premiere pieces by
choreographers.
Talk to us about why FirstState finds it so important to
provide that opportunity forchoreographers to premiere or
present their new work.
Joan Beatson (10:08):
You know it's important to keep the art alive
by presenting, giving artists anopportunity to present their
work.
You know we've had a number ofchoreographers that have gone on
to great careers that startedat First Aid Ballet Theater on a
smaller scale, and that'ssomething that we're proud of.
Matthew Neenan is a verywell-known, successful
(10:29):
choreographer.
He first did a piece way backwhen on First Aid Ballet.
We feel like Zach Capellach whois doing our Midsummer Night's
Dream.
He's going to have a tremendouscareer.
So it's new work for theaudience.
It's a challenge for the dancersagain as an opportunity to grow
as an artist, and some of ouraudiences, you know, prefer more
(10:50):
contemporary work as opposed toclassical.
What's really cool to me, andy,about our audiences is that
they start to kind of followparticular dancers and feel like
an ownership in that artist'sgrowth and then an ownership in
the company.
So they really enjoy coming tosee what the artists are going
to do.
You know, differently in adifferent performance.
(11:11):
I always compare it to like abaseball team and people think
I'm crazy, but it's like okay,you have the Phillies.
Like you have your favoriteplayers, you're always going to
see their games.
You want to see what they do.
That's how I like to think ofFirst Aid by Light in our
community.
Andy Truscott (11:24):
So talk to us about what a typical day looks
like for one of thoseprofessional dancers in your
company.
I'm assuming it is not justthem showing up to a night
rehearsal and then the rest oftheir day they're just kind of
hanging out.
I'm sure there's some level ofpedagogy and training that goes
with it.
So clue us in a little bitabout what their day might
entail.
Joan Beatson (11:45):
Okay, well, for a dancer, you know they have to,
they have to dance every daythey're.
They're also athletes, and Idon't like to stress so much the
athleticism because it is anart form.
At the end of the day, you know, they're making the audience
feel things, but their mediumfor expression is classical
(12:05):
ballet or ballet and it isextremely athletic.
So they have to fine-tune theirbody every day.
The first thing they do is havea daily company class with our
artistic director or some of ourfaculty, and that's basically
keeping their body fine-tuned,developing their skills over
(12:26):
time and keeping up theirstrength.
They'll have rehearsals for afew hours, maybe till two or
three o'clock in the afternoon,for usually for the what's
coming up.
But for example, when we haveViktor Platnikov coming to the
studio in August, his piecewon't be performed until
February, but that's, he wasavailable in August.
So to the studio in August, hispiece won't be performed until
February, but he was availablein August.
So he's coming in August, thedancers will work with him.
(12:47):
Then that continues through theseason, the weeks of the
performances.
There are rehearsals in theevening in the theater, but
basically they're here for five,six hours, five days a week,
dancing five, six hours, fivedays a week dancing, and we are
(13:09):
able to offer a contract justfor the season.
In the off season they have tostay in shape themselves and
most of them work other jobs,which is often the case in a
ballet company, unless it's oneof the major, major ballet
companies.
Andy Truscott (13:21):
And, with that being the case, some of their
other jobs could quite literallybe for either other ballet
companies or other artsorganizations.
Joan Beatson (13:26):
Yeah, yeah, a lot of them teach.
Some of them teach at ourschool or other schools up and
down the state of Delaware.
Some of them work at arearestaurants.
You can see them anywhere inyour travels.
But a lot of them work inrestaurants because of the hours
.
You know they're workingevening hours because they're in
(13:47):
the studio during the day.
Andy Truscott (13:48):
You know I mentioned the school and that
was a perfect tee up, so thankyou.
Let's talk a little bit aboutwhat the school at First State
Ballet Theater looks like andwhat people may expect from
either sending their child orsending themselves there to
learn about the artwork.
Joan Beatson (14:03):
We are very fortunate to have three studios
at the Grand Opera House.
They're pretty muchstate-of-the-art and we're right
in the building on the thirdfloor.
We can literally pop downstairsand go perform.
It's a wonderful facility fordance training and I think
Delawareans are really lucky tohave this resource.
We start ballet training atabout age four in our studios at
(14:27):
the Grand Ballet is a wonderfulart form for children.
It teaches them discipline,poise, teamwork, cooperation.
There's so many benefits, aseverybody knows, to physical
activity, but there's somethingabout dancing that really
creates a sense of poise andself-confidence in young
(14:48):
children.
We also have open classes,which means that you know adults
of any age training backgroundcan come and take the class.
It's great exercise.
It's a great way to take amental break for an hour and
listen to beautiful music, andthe school's been in the Grand
Opera House since 2003.
This coming fall we're veryexcited that we're going to be
(15:12):
opening a satellite location inMiddletown in the town of
Whitehall.
We've been working closely withEDIS, who's the developer of
the town of Whitehall.
It's a large planned communityright outside of Middletown and
they're working hard to make ita really livable, wonderful
community for families.
(15:33):
So we're super excited aboutthat.
We'll be able to reach a lotmore people, because we've heard
from a lot of people that theywould love to have access to our
training but they're, you know,in Dover or downstate and
couldn't you be closer?
And so people outside ofWilmington, southern Newcastle
County and Kent County soon willhave great access to our
(15:58):
training, and we believe it'sreally important to train
children correctly physicallyand socially, emotionally for
children.
The first performing artsorganization in the country to
adopt the Beau Biden FoundationShield of Protection, creating
policies to prevent child abuse,and this is something that is
(16:21):
really really, really importantto what we do.
I can't say enough about theirprogram.
It's essential.
Every youth-servingorganization should be doing
this program.
If you're not familiar andyou're listening to this, please
go to their website and checkit out.
That's something we take veryseriously and all parents should
kind of look at that whenthey're choosing their child's
(16:42):
dance education.
You know what kind of policiesare there for children.
Andy Truscott (16:46):
Part of that expansion and that move is about
quite literally making theballet form more accessible to
the broader audiences.
Are there any other programsthat First State does that you
think also kind of couchesitself into that ability to make
the art form just moreaccessible to a Delawarean
statewide?
Joan Beatson (17:05):
Absolutely.
I mean, you know, as any artsorganization will tell you any,
any leaders in the arts.
You know you have to keep theart form alive by creating
awareness and developing thelove for it in your community.
I think you can talk to anyartist and they can tell you
exactly when they fell in lovewith their art.
(17:27):
You know we take that reallyseriously because that's what
keeps the art thriving.
You have to see it in person.
You can watch it on TV, not asgood.
We've been performing downstateat the Freeman Arts Pavilion.
This will be our 16th year thatwe're going down.
We always go down around LaborDay.
It's a free performance andlast year we had over 1,000
(17:48):
people.
This program started with maybeabout eight people, maybe I
don't know.
But if you're not familiar withthat organization, check it out
.
They've done an absolutelyincredible job down there.
They're down in Selbyville.
We do that every year.
We're performing in a communityevent outside of Dover at
(18:08):
Loblolly Acres, anotherwonderful outdoor venue,
up-and-coming venue.
We try to do as many pop-ups aswe possibly can.
I mentioned the Delaware ArtMuseum.
We love working with them.
That's a fantasticcollaboration.
We go to libraries, communitycenters, schools and offer as
many free performances as we canto help expose people to the
(18:29):
art and let them know we're hereand come and check us out.
Hopefully they'll come andcheck us out at the grant.
Andy Truscott (18:36):
As you think about not only First State
Ballet Theater but maybe thecraft of ballet overall, where
do you see the future of itheading?
And or maybe what are you mostexcited for in the next, say,
one to three years planning forthe organization?
Joan Beatson (18:52):
Well, we're really excited about this school that
we're opening because we knowwe're going to be able to reach
a lot more people.
It's a very thriving communityin Middletown, obviously a lot
of young families and exposingpeople to ballet training and
the best, you know, performancesthat we can offer we feel is
(19:14):
going to really strengthen, notjust for state ballet but the
love and appreciation of the artform.
You know I always think of itlike like I go back to the
Phillies Okay, well, they'rePhiladelphia.
But I mean, why can't we be thebeloved institution of Delaware
where Delawareans have pride inwhat we offer?
(19:35):
As I mentioned before, we're inthe top 5% of US Ballet
Academies.
That's a pretty big deal in myopinion.
So I think Delawareans we wantDelawareans to be proud that
they have this resource here.
You know it's just reallyexciting for children.
You know it gives them so manyopportunities and just people to
enjoy the arts in their ownbackyard.
(19:57):
Yes, we can all go to New Yorkand DC and Philadelphia, but you
know we hear feedback from ourpatients I go.
It's so great I don't have todrive to Philly, I can go right
here.
Andy Truscott (20:08):
For our listeners .
A reminder their season openswith Romeo and Juliet on
Saturday and Sunday, october19th and 20th of 2024, over at
Copeland Hall at the Grand, withthen performances coming in the
middle of November, the middleof December, end of February and
beginning of April in 2025.
(20:29):
If you'd like to learn moreabout First State Ballet Theatre
(20:53):
, visit firstaidballetorg.
Delaware State of the Arts is aweekly podcast that presents
interviews with artsorganizations and leaders who
contribute to the culturalvibrancy of communities
throughout Delaware.
Delaware State of the Arts isprovided as a service of the
Delaware Division of the Arts inpartnership with News Radio,
(21:16):
1450 WILM and 1410 WDOV.
The Delaware Division of theArts, a branch of the Delaware
Department of State, iscommitted to supporting the arts
and cultivating creativity toenhance the quality of life in
Delaware.
Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts
(21:37):
Council, the Divisionadministers grants and programs
that support arts programming,educate the public, increase
awareness of the arts andintegrate the arts into all
facets of Delaware life.
To find out more about theDivision, visit artsdelawaregov.
We're Delaware State of the Arts.
I'm Andy Truscott.
My guest today is Joan Beatson,with First State Ballet Theater
.
First State Ballet Theater,delaware's professional ballet
company, has written anunparalleled charter of artistic
, educational and financialachievement in Delaware's dance
(00:29):
history and presents a statewideseason with regular
performances in theaters andschools in all three counties
from Wilmington to the beach.
In September of 2008, firstState launched Delaware's only
professional ballet company andhave grown the roster every year
to their current 20 dancers.
Today we'll speak about theirupcoming 2024-2025 season and
(00:52):
their expansion of their danceschool into the town of
Whitehall.
Let's kick it off a little bit.
Tell us how First State BalletTheatre's 23-24 season went and
what you're most excited for in24-25?
.
Joan Beatson (01:05):
We just came off a great season at the Grand.
We're seeing a lot of growth,increased ticket sales after
COVID, new dancers, newchoreographers.
Our school was recently namedin a nationwide study by
Northeastern University as oneof the top 5% US Ballet
(01:26):
Academies in the country.
So things are going great.
Andy Truscott (01:31):
So for those that may not be intimately aware of
First Dates season, it is notjust what you see on the stage
of the Grand, but also you guysproduce and perform performances
in other locations, such asschools down at the beach, but
also kind of in a more intimatestudio up there at the Grand.
Talk a little bit about howthose smaller performances
(01:55):
provide opportunities for yourdancers that then lead to kind
of the big stage.
Joan Beatson (02:00):
Every season we do a performance that we call Up
Front on Market.
It's in Studio One in the BabyGrand and it's about 75 seats
and it's an opportunity for theaudience to sit very close.
Different experience than beingin a Copeland Hall, in a big
theater, where you're lookingmore at the big picture of the
(02:20):
proscenium and what theproduction looks like and in
this case you really get to seethe dancers up close.
And it also provides thedancers an opportunity to
perform very challenging work,maybe push themselves out of
their comfort zone.
A lot of times we hirechoreographers to create new
pieces for the company and it'ssomething that dancers really
(02:40):
look forward to.
It's also one of the goals ofour artistic director to develop
the talent of these youngartists, so by giving them roles
that they might not get to doon that big stage, they're
having the opportunity to growas artists and performers.
Andy Truscott (02:57):
You've got a core group of dancers, but I'm
imagining that your choreographyteam kind of rotates throughout
the year so that not everyperformance is choreographed by
the same individual.
Would that be a fair statement?
Joan Beatson (03:10):
Yes, that's true.
Andy Truscott (03:11):
Many of times guest artists, guest
choreographers, come in.
Any of those this upcoming year.
Joan Beatson (03:18):
Yes, we work frequently with Viktor Platnikov
and he's a choreographer that'svery well established and very
creative and sets the bar reallyhigh for the dancers and the
audiences.
His work really speaks to ouraudiences and he's done a few
full-length ballets storyballets we call them full-length
(03:39):
where there's a story likeDracula We've done that ballet
of his and then he also setsshorter pieces on the company.
He will be doing a piece for usthis year for our triple bill
in next February, and we're alsoopening our season with his
full length production of Romeoand Juliet.
So he's someone that we workwith a lot.
(04:03):
We also are working with areally exciting up-and-coming
choreographer, zachary Capellick.
He's a former dancer withBallet X, which is a
contemporary ballet company inPhiladelphia.
Zach is a super talented,creative, young choreographer
who the dancers love workingwith because he really pushes
them to do new things.
He's going to be creating ournew production, the world
(04:25):
premiere of A Midsummer Night'sDream, next April.
Andy Truscott (04:28):
When patrons think about ballet or just dance
in general, unlike theater,where you come to the table with
an already written script, insome cases an already written
score, it's my assumption thatsome of the performances they
would see at first date ballettheater, this is one of the only
times an audience member maysee this kind of exact piece on
(04:49):
stage, because everychoreographer has a different
take on each kind of performance.
Joan Beatson (04:54):
Yeah, I think it would.
There's always a framework inthe classical ballet, the
classical ballets that First AidBallet Theater presents.
The choreography is has beenset, but there are always
different versions and tweaksthat are done for individual
dancers and companies, based on,you know, the individual.
(05:15):
If it's a principal role, youknow, maybe there's a strength
of that particular performerthat that the artistic director
would want to bring out.
And it's also based on thenumber of dancers you have.
You know, if we're doing aproduction of Sleeping Beauty
and we have, you know, 12 femalecorps de ballet dancers, we're
going to be using 12.
Whereas if you go to AmericanBallet Theater you're going to
(05:37):
see, you know, 40.
So there's always going to besome variations within that
classical framework, but we tryto to stick to the historical if
possible, because that's whatthat's kind of our specialty.
Our director trained at theVagadam Academy in St Petersburg
, russia.
So he that history is in hisbones, so he's passing that
(06:01):
along to the next generation and, you know, a direct connection
to the history that he grew upwith.
Andy Truscott (06:07):
As you think to why it is that you love dance
and ballet.
What is it that you think isimportant for families with
young, maybe aspiring performersor dancers, or even just the
general public?
Why is something like having afirst aid ballet theater in
Delaware so important?
Joan Beatson (06:27):
Well, if you think about it, everybody loves to
dance.
I mean, every as soon as a babycan hear, they react to music.
It's something that's innate inall of us, as is a response to
music.
We all respond to music, and Ithink for me it's very rewarding
in my role at First Aid Balletto have the chance to talk to a
(06:48):
lot of people who bring theirchildren to the ballet, but also
people who have never been tothe ballet before, and you know
their experience.
Coming to see us in the theater, it opens up a whole new world
for them.
They might not think they wouldlike ballet because they've
never really been to the ballet,or they equate it with, maybe,
(07:08):
somebody's dance recital, whichis not the same thing at all.
So I think if you're a personthat has experiences art, live
performance you will understandthere's nothing like being there
while the art is being created,to draw you into that other
world as well as connect you tothe other people that are
experiencing something in thatmoment.
(07:30):
You know, obviously I have apassion for dance.
I grew up as a dancer and mostall of us that work at First Aid
Ballet feel the same way, butwe really enjoy sharing that
with the audience, because weget so much great feedback from
the people that come that arenew and that people that come
back year over year and ouraudience continues to grow.
If we can educate people, putit in front of people.
(07:53):
That's why we try to do so manycommunity performances, free
performances up and down thestate, in schools, in community
centers, in the library.
We're performing at theDelaware Art Museum in a few
months, their Sculpture GardenHappy Hour, just to get in front
of people and help them seethat they can enjoy it.
Andy Truscott (08:11):
One of the performances we haven't talked
about quite yet, and maybe themost popular, is your annual
production of the Nutcracker inDecember.
Talk to us about what aperformance like that does, not
only for your audience growthbut for your growth of the
school, your growth of thecompany, acquiring either
(08:32):
interested dancers in thecompany or even just community
support.
Joan Beatson (08:36):
Well, you're right about Nutcracker it's very
popular, it's the cornerstone ofevery American ballet company
because it's their biggestselling production of the year
and it's a gateway into theworld of ballet.
But I it was interesting I waswriting an article about it for
the news journal and Iinterviewed some of our students
(08:57):
who've been in it.
Some were new to the productionand some had been in it for a
number of years and what theysaid surprised me.
They all said they enjoyed theNutcracker.
So I'm looking forward to it somuch because of the sense of
community holiday spirit, beingwith friends and family.
It wasn't really about thedancing, it was about what it
represented coming together forthe holidays, and that's the
(09:20):
spirit that we see in theaudience and it just, it just
lifts people up and that's on,you know, the performers and the
audience, the performers feelthat too.
So it's a special.
It's a special thing we reallyenjoy doing.
You know, even if it's not theballet that might be the most
challenging for an artist, it'san experience that's joyful and
(09:44):
that really kind of defines theholidays for the dancers.
Andy Truscott (09:48):
And then, kind of right on the tail end of those,
in February, you've got yourtriple bill coming up which
talks about launching threeworld premiere pieces by
choreographers.
Talk to us about why FirstState finds it so important to
provide that opportunity forchoreographers to premiere or
present their new work.
Joan Beatson (10:08):
You know it's important to keep the art alive
by presenting, giving artists anopportunity to present their
work.
You know we've had a number ofchoreographers that have gone on
to great careers that startedat First Aid Ballet Theater on a
smaller scale, and that'ssomething that we're proud of.
Matthew Neenan is a verywell-known, successful
(10:29):
choreographer.
He first did a piece way backwhen on First Aid Ballet.
We feel like Zach Capellach whois doing our Midsummer Night's
Dream.
He's going to have a tremendouscareer.
So it's new work for theaudience.
It's a challenge for the dancersagain as an opportunity to grow
as an artist, and some of ouraudiences, you know, prefer more
(10:50):
contemporary work as opposed toclassical.
What's really cool to me, andy,about our audiences is that
they start to kind of followparticular dancers and feel like
an ownership in that artist'sgrowth and then an ownership in
the company.
So they really enjoy coming tosee what the artists are going
to do.
You know, differently in adifferent performance.
(11:11):
I always compare it to like abaseball team and people think
I'm crazy, but it's like okay,you have the Phillies.
Like you have your favoriteplayers, you're always going to
see their games.
You want to see what they do.
That's how I like to think ofFirst Aid by Light in our
community.
Andy Truscott (11:24):
So talk to us about what a typical day looks
like for one of thoseprofessional dancers in your
company.
I'm assuming it is not justthem showing up to a night
rehearsal and then the rest oftheir day they're just kind of
hanging out.
I'm sure there's some level ofpedagogy and training that goes
with it.
So clue us in a little bitabout what their day might
entail.
Joan Beatson (11:45):
Okay, well, for a dancer, you know they have to,
they have to dance every daythey're.
They're also athletes, and Idon't like to stress so much the
athleticism because it is anart form.
At the end of the day, you know, they're making the audience
feel things, but their mediumfor expression is classical
(12:05):
ballet or ballet and it isextremely athletic.
So they have to fine-tune theirbody every day.
The first thing they do is havea daily company class with our
artistic director or some of ourfaculty, and that's basically
keeping their body fine-tuned,developing their skills over
(12:26):
time and keeping up theirstrength.
They'll have rehearsals for afew hours, maybe till two or
three o'clock in the afternoon,for usually for the what's
coming up.
But for example, when we haveViktor Platnikov coming to the
studio in August, his piecewon't be performed until
February, but that's, he wasavailable in August.
So to the studio in August, hispiece won't be performed until
February, but he was availablein August.
So he's coming in August, thedancers will work with him.
(12:47):
Then that continues through theseason, the weeks of the
performances.
There are rehearsals in theevening in the theater, but
basically they're here for five,six hours, five days a week,
dancing five, six hours, fivedays a week dancing, and we are
(13:09):
able to offer a contract justfor the season.
In the off season they have tostay in shape themselves and
most of them work other jobs,which is often the case in a
ballet company, unless it's oneof the major, major ballet
companies.
Andy Truscott (13:21):
And, with that being the case, some of their
other jobs could quite literallybe for either other ballet
companies or other artsorganizations.
Joan Beatson (13:26):
Yeah, yeah, a lot of them teach.
Some of them teach at ourschool or other schools up and
down the state of Delaware.
Some of them work at arearestaurants.
You can see them anywhere inyour travels.
But a lot of them work inrestaurants because of the hours
.
You know they're workingevening hours because they're in
(13:47):
the studio during the day.
Andy Truscott (13:48):
You know I mentioned the school and that
was a perfect tee up, so thankyou.
Let's talk a little bit aboutwhat the school at First State
Ballet Theater looks like andwhat people may expect from
either sending their child orsending themselves there to
learn about the artwork.
Joan Beatson (14:03):
We are very fortunate to have three studios
at the Grand Opera House.
They're pretty muchstate-of-the-art and we're right
in the building on the thirdfloor.
We can literally pop downstairsand go perform.
It's a wonderful facility fordance training and I think
Delawareans are really lucky tohave this resource.
We start ballet training atabout age four in our studios at
(14:27):
the Grand Ballet is a wonderfulart form for children.
It teaches them discipline,poise, teamwork, cooperation.
There's so many benefits, aseverybody knows, to physical
activity, but there's somethingabout dancing that really
creates a sense of poise andself-confidence in young
(14:48):
children.
We also have open classes,which means that you know adults
of any age training backgroundcan come and take the class.
It's great exercise.
It's a great way to take amental break for an hour and
listen to beautiful music, andthe school's been in the Grand
Opera House since 2003.
This coming fall we're veryexcited that we're going to be
(15:12):
opening a satellite location inMiddletown in the town of
Whitehall.
We've been working closely withEDIS, who's the developer of
the town of Whitehall.
It's a large planned communityright outside of Middletown and
they're working hard to make ita really livable, wonderful
community for families.
(15:33):
So we're super excited aboutthat.
We'll be able to reach a lotmore people, because we've heard
from a lot of people that theywould love to have access to our
training but they're, you know,in Dover or downstate and
couldn't you be closer?
And so people outside ofWilmington, southern Newcastle
County and Kent County soon willhave great access to our
(15:58):
training, and we believe it'sreally important to train
children correctly physicallyand socially, emotionally for
children.
The first performing artsorganization in the country to
adopt the Beau Biden FoundationShield of Protection, creating
policies to prevent child abuse,and this is something that is
(16:21):
really really, really importantto what we do.
I can't say enough about theirprogram.
It's essential.
Every youth-servingorganization should be doing
this program.
If you're not familiar andyou're listening to this, please
go to their website and checkit out.
That's something we take veryseriously and all parents should
kind of look at that whenthey're choosing their child's
(16:42):
dance education.
You know what kind of policiesare there for children.
Andy Truscott (16:46):
Part of that expansion and that move is about
quite literally making theballet form more accessible to
the broader audiences.
Are there any other programsthat First State does that you
think also kind of couchesitself into that ability to make
the art form just moreaccessible to a Delawarean
statewide?
Joan Beatson (17:05):
Absolutely.
I mean, you know, as any artsorganization will tell you any,
any leaders in the arts.
You know you have to keep theart form alive by creating
awareness and developing thelove for it in your community.
I think you can talk to anyartist and they can tell you
exactly when they fell in lovewith their art.
(17:27):
You know we take that reallyseriously because that's what
keeps the art thriving.
You have to see it in person.
You can watch it on TV, not asgood.
We've been performing downstateat the Freeman Arts Pavilion.
This will be our 16th year thatwe're going down.
We always go down around LaborDay.
It's a free performance andlast year we had over 1,000
(17:48):
people.
This program started with maybeabout eight people, maybe I
don't know.
But if you're not familiar withthat organization, check it out
.
They've done an absolutelyincredible job down there.
They're down in Selbyville.
We do that every year.
We're performing in a communityevent outside of Dover at
(18:08):
Loblolly Acres, anotherwonderful outdoor venue,
up-and-coming venue.
We try to do as many pop-ups aswe possibly can.
I mentioned the Delaware ArtMuseum.
We love working with them.
That's a fantasticcollaboration.
We go to libraries, communitycenters, schools and offer as
many free performances as we canto help expose people to the
(18:29):
art and let them know we're hereand come and check us out.
Hopefully they'll come andcheck us out at the grant.
Andy Truscott (18:36):
As you think about not only First State
Ballet Theater but maybe thecraft of ballet overall, where
do you see the future of itheading?
And or maybe what are you mostexcited for in the next, say,
one to three years planning forthe organization?
Joan Beatson (18:52):
Well, we're really excited about this school that
we're opening because we knowwe're going to be able to reach
a lot more people.
It's a very thriving communityin Middletown, obviously a lot
of young families and exposingpeople to ballet training and
the best, you know, performancesthat we can offer we feel is
(19:14):
going to really strengthen, notjust for state ballet but the
love and appreciation of the artform.
You know I always think of itlike like I go back to the
Phillies Okay, well, they'rePhiladelphia.
But I mean, why can't we be thebeloved institution of Delaware
where Delawareans have pride inwhat we offer?
(19:35):
As I mentioned before, we're inthe top 5% of US Ballet
Academies.
That's a pretty big deal in myopinion.
So I think Delawareans we wantDelawareans to be proud that
they have this resource here.
You know it's just reallyexciting for children.
You know it gives them so manyopportunities and just people to
enjoy the arts in their ownbackyard.
(19:57):
Yes, we can all go to New Yorkand DC and Philadelphia, but you
know we hear feedback from ourpatients I go.
It's so great I don't have todrive to Philly, I can go right
here.
Andy Truscott (20:08):
For our listeners .
A reminder their season openswith Romeo and Juliet on
Saturday and Sunday, october19th and 20th of 2024, over at
Copeland Hall at the Grand, withthen performances coming in the
middle of November, the middleof December, end of February and
beginning of April in 2025.
(20:29):
If you'd like to learn moreabout First State Ballet Theatre
(20:53):
, visit firstaidballetorg.
Delaware State of the Arts is aweekly podcast that presents
interviews with artsorganizations and leaders who
contribute to the culturalvibrancy of communities
throughout Delaware.
Delaware State of the Arts isprovided as a service of the
Delaware Division of the Arts inpartnership with News Radio,
(21:16):
1450 WILM and 1410 WDOV.
The Delaware Division of theArts, a branch of the Delaware
Department of State, iscommitted to supporting the arts
and cultivating creativity toenhance the quality of life in
Delaware.
Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts
(21:37):
Council, the Divisionadministers grants and programs
that support arts programming,educate the public, increase
awareness of the arts andintegrate the arts into all
facets of Delaware life.
To find out more about theDivision, visit artsdelawaregov.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!