Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

Welcome to City Ballet The Podcast, an exploration of New York City Ballet introduced by Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford, where we'll journey through our history, delve into our new and existing repertory, and reveal insider tidbits.

The Rosin Box with Claire Kretzschmar and Aarón Sanz

The Rosin Box gives you the opportunity to listen in on candid conversations with members of the New York City Ballet. Hosted by NYCB Soloist Aarón Sanz and recently retired Soloist Claire Kretzschmar, these episodes take you behind-the-scenes, offering you exclusive insight into the lives of the Company’s dancers.

New Combinations with Wendy Whelan

During our performance season, New York City Ballet showcases recent works from some of the most influential choreographers working today. Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan hosts the New Combinations episodes, where she talks to the choreographers and other artists behind the unique new works premiering this season at New York City Ballet.

Hear the Dance 

Explore our expansive repertory, from the earliest Balanchine works to more recent classics, with an insider’s take on the Company’s rich history with Hear the Dance. Taking on a new ballet each episode, the host is joined by many key players, from original cast members to ballet masters to current NYCB dancers, who share their personal experiences performing and coaching works from our illustrious repertory.

See the Music with Andrew Litton

In See the Music, New York City Ballet’s Music Director Andrew Litton takes us off the stage and into the orchestra pit, giving listeners an in-depth look at the scores from some of our most notable ballets, featuring discussions with both orchestra members and commissioned composers.

  1. All Episodes
  2. Episode 146: Hear the Dance: The Goldberg Variations (Part 1)

Episode 146: Hear the Dance: The Goldberg Variations (Part 1)

Sep 22, 2025

In a special two-part Hear the Dance Episode, host Silas Farley leads us on a wide-ranging discussion of Jerome Robbins' 1971 ballet The Goldberg Variations. In this first part, Farley is joined by former NYCB Dancer Bruce Wells, an original cast member, and current Principal Dancer Emilie Gerrity, one of the ballet's present-day interpreters. Wells shares the challenges Robbins faced after an injury forced him to choreograph from a wheelchair, as well as highlights from the year-long creative process. Gerrity describes the "class" section of this monumental ballet as "simple but beautiful," and recalls learning the work from original dancer Christine Redpath, among other memorable coaches. (1:12:53)

Written by Silas Farley
Edited by Emilie Silvestri

MUSIC: 
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1931) by Igor Stravinsky
Aria with Variations in G, BWV 988 (1742), "The Goldberg Variations" by Johann Sebastian Bach
All music performed by New York City Ballet Solo Pianist Susan Walters

Quotations from the writings of Lincoln Kirstein are © 2019 by the New York Public Library (Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations)

Reading List:
Somewhere: The Life of Jerome Robbins by Amanda Vaill
Jerome Robbins, by Himself: Selections from His Letters, Journals, Drawings, Photographs, and an Unfinished Memoir Edited and with Commentary by Amanda Vaill
Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven by John Eliot Gardiner
Bach’s Musical Universe: The Composer and His Work by Christoph Wolff
Thirty Years: Lincoln Kirstein’s The New York City Ballet by Lincoln Kirstein
Repertory in Review: 40 Years of the New York City Ballet by Nancy Reynolds, with an Introduction by Lincoln Kirstein