Transcript
Speaker: I'm Chris Ferenthal, director of Madison Ballet's Special Projects, and this is At the Bar, your behind-the-scenes look at the ideas, stories, and creative processes shaping Madison Ballet's work.
Speaker: Each episode brings our community a little closer to the dancers, choreographers, and collaborators who are making ballet in Madison right now. Whether you're a seasoned ballet domain, current or former dancer, or simply curious about how dance gets made, we warmly invite you into the room where it happens.
Speaker: Welcome back to At The Bar with Madison Ballet Special Projects. I'm Chris Ferenthold, Director of Special Projects, and we're here with a special summer edition of the podcast.
Speaker: The company of Madison Ballet is currently on summer layoff, but that doesn't mean that dancing and training and teaching don't still happen. And so today I'm delighted to be joined by Lauren Thompson, who is a company artist with the company and also making something of a role debut, I think herself, in helping to conceive of and put on and dance Summer Suite, a special event that we will be putting on at Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra Center, the WISO Center on Saturday, August from 3 to 6.
Speaker: We'd love to see you there and we'll talk a lot more about the program a little later on. But first I wanna welcome Lauren to the podcast. It's good to see you. Good to see you too, k Chris. Thanks so much for having me. Yeah, of course. We've had many of your colleagues on over the past season. In fact, a couple that you live with. Yeah, i think you've zoomed into every room of our apartment. Yes, James and and Ben, James Wainwright and Ben Rose were both a lot of fun to chat with and you're no exception. Before we get into SummerSuite and what dancers do in the off season, if that's what we want to call it, I'd like to learn a little bit more about you and your journey into dance and to Madison. So how and when did you get started dancing and how did you find your way into ballet? Well, you know, I think I started in the same way that most female ballet dancers get started. I was four and I saw the tutus and the pink leotards and I was very enamored by that. And I begged and begged to be put into ballet. So yeah, at four years old, I started at Ballet Hawaii and I stayed there up until I was 13 or so.
Speaker: And then when I was 13, Romi Beppu, who was a former principal with Boston Ballet and Ballet West, came back home to Hawaii and she started her studio. So I went there, smaller class sizes and a little bit more one-on-one and private instruction, which was really good for me. Four to 13, like straight, ah just doing dance? Or were there other artistic or athletic activities that you got into as well? I did a few other things. I played the piano for a very long time.
Speaker: I did gymnastics, swimming, taekwondo. kind of tried a little bit of everything, but ballet is what stuck. It sounds like no matter you know whether you start playing soccer or something else, eventually the demands of the craft force you to specialize at an earlier age than other artists generally have to.
Speaker: On your way to Madison, where else have you stopped off in your trainings? Well, I did the PTD program and the training program at Ballet West. So I was there for two years and that's where Ben Rose and I became friends.
Speaker: And then i was with Nashville Ballet's second company for a season. And then I kind of hit a wall in my professional career where i kind of reached my ceiling and it became apparent that I had to fix some foundational issues in my technique.
Speaker: And that's when I found Eddie Bray in Oconomowoc. And I trained with him for three years. He's been an incredible mentor in my dance career. I trained there for three years. And then Tom Mattingly, who used to be the ballet master here, reached out to me and said, Hey, I noticed you're in Wisconsin. You should audition for Madison Ballet. That's how I got the job here. Yeah, it's been great. Yeah, i think you and i started at about the same time in fall of 2021. That out at Delafield was my first show. What was it that you found made you able to, if not break through that wall or climate? What changed? What did you work on with Eddie to reach the heights that you're now capable of reaching? It was really going back to square one. It was relearning my plies and tendus and fixing my alignment, which is why as a teacher now I'm so passionate about the basics and my class can be very boring, but I'm quite the stickler for proper alignment and correct use of turnout.
Speaker: I'm curious if you always wanted to be a teacher of ballet or if it was sort of a recent development after you did learn the importance of the foundational principles and really sticking alignment, or is that just something you've always been anxious to do when you could in the studio?
Speaker: You know, I actually decided I wanted to be a ballet teacher before I knew I wanted to be a professional dancer. I've always loved teaching and it was very fulfilling for me. But I think having the experience of kind of reaching my ceiling and then having to relearn the basics made me that much more passionate about ballet technique and teaching it correctly.
Speaker: And I don't know that I would call your class boring, at least, you know, when I've observed it, it was plenty interesting to me. I mean, plies and tendus are plies and tendus. Those were my older kids. But when I, whenever I first get a class, it's really boring. Ah, okay. Okay. I see. Well, before we, you know, get too far from the stage, what are the roles that you've been able to dance or what music have you been able to dance to that you've particularly loved in your dance career so far?
Speaker: Let's see. That's a great question because i you know I just love every time I get to be on stage. It's the best feeling in the world. But I think as a professional, the most fulfilled I have felt performing was when we did Act II of Giselle in the Timeless Production.
Speaker: I've never felt that way on stage before. That's definitely a career highlight for me. And to be clear, you were dancing Giselle in that act too, Giselle.
Speaker: Yeah. I can imagine and getting to watch from the wings your first appearance as an undead Willie. I'm not sure. As Willie. Yeah. What do you call that spinning step that you do when you just keep going around and around around?
Speaker: The attitude c chugs. Attitude chugs. Okay. That doesn't sound French, but yeah. It doesn't sound very ah graceful. Oh, but it's it's really quite something to see. That makes sense to me. I really enjoyed that production as well. So we're here in August of 2026 talking about a program and it's not a Madison Ballet main stage season program. It's something different. It's SummerSuite that we're putting on one day only.
Speaker: on Saturday, August 22nd. So can you tell us what SummerSuite is and then how it came to be? Yeah, I mean, SummerSuite is a fundraiser for the School of Madison Ballet Scholarship Fund, and it consists of a beginner open ballet class, and then we'll have some refreshments, a silent auctions, and a raffle.
Speaker: And then it will conclude with a performance that features both some of the professional dancers in the company and some of the students of the School of Madison Ballet. You know, we we had a much smaller scale version of this last year, which I put on independently with the help of many of my friends in the company, because my two cats, Leo and Boba, got very, very ill very suddenly and racked up quite the vet bill.
Speaker: And, you know, being in layoff and not having that income from the ballet. made it very stressful. So Ja was very generous and let me use the studio to host a fundraiser for them. Partway through this season, he asked me if I'd be doing it again. And I said, well, I sure hope not. I hope my cats don't get sick again. but he said, no, you should just do something similar, but for a different cause. And that's when I reached out to you and Caitlin. And I knew that if I wanted to do something a little bit higher caliber than last time, I would need some professional assistance. And you guys have just been incredible in helping to put this whole thing on. Well, we're happy to be aboard. And this is really exciting as well for the ballet and the larger ballet community here. I should say that your first program last year was called Pa de Shaw, a wonderful, you know, ballet pun on the step and the cats. So you already had an administrative eye for cute pun titling of your events. I think most of the credit goes to Emily Dietz for that. It's fascinating that Jamalik came to you and wanted to sort of expand on the idea of a fundraiser program that you put together, and we've expanded it into Summersuite. And I should say that that's Summersuite, S-U-I-T-E. s u i t e In the sense that a suite is a gathering of things, whether it's dances or different styles of music. And so this event is a suite of different, well, it's got a class, like we said, a beginner ballet class. Will you be teaching that class?
Speaker: I think Caitlin and I still have to make the final call. Well, and that's also because there is a performance later on that you will also be dancing in. So you're wearing many hats and doing many roles and in this piece. And then we'll also have, like you said, a raffle and a silent auction and refreshments. And so it's a wonderful three hour celebration of ballet and the School of Madison Ballet. And the performance will include both professionals in the company as well as students, some of them your students. Pretty much all of them. Oh, are they all?
Speaker: A couple of them are not currently my students, but I've taught their level in the past. But most of them are my current students. And that does seem like one of those particularly rewarding aspects of teaching in a ballet company where you get to see your students pass through everything from creative movement to hopefully trainees and apprenticeships one day. hopefully getting into the company, the goal. Yeah. Let's talk about what's on the program because this is a different job than what you're normally tasked with, which is go dance this choreography. Here you have selected the program in consultation with your professional dancer friends. So what do we have to look forward to seeing on stage at WISO? We will be seeing the Floristan or the Jules Pas de Trois from Sleeping Beauty, danced by ben Rose, Dana Sheldon, and Sarah Martin.
Speaker: And then we will have several variations performed by the students. And then the White Swan Pas de Deux, which is a sneak peek for next season, because the company will be performing acts two and four of Swan Lake. So it's kind of a special treat to get to see it a little early. And then I thought it would be a nice contrast to do the Black Swan pas de deux as well, since we're not putting that on on the main stage. And then we'll also be doing the Fairy Doll pas de trois, which is a very Russian ballet that's not often done in the US.
Speaker: But Ben Rose actually suggested it for our household and we thought it would be pretty funny and entertaining. Does it make it easier to rehearse when all trois of the Pas de Trois are there together? Or does it are you still tracking them down? You'd think it would be easier, but it's really not. It's very difficult to keep track of the boys. Well, you're you're now experiencing some of the administration and production difficulties that go into putting on ballet and not just dancing your part.
Speaker: Hi, Madison. Caitlin Sloan, strategic advisor for MBSP here, popping in to make sure you know that our SummerSuite silent auction is now live. And while we would love to see you at SummerSuite, even if you can't make it to the event, you can still bid in the silent auction.
Speaker: Tap the link in our show notes to browse incredible packages featuring local restaurants, wellness experiences, family adventures, arts and entertainment, and so much more. Every bid directly supports scholarships for students at the School of Madison Ballet, helping make dance education accessible to more young dancers in our community.
Speaker: Thank you so much to all the local businesses who have supported us in this silent auction. You are not going to want to miss this. Visit the link in our show notes to explore the auction and start bidding today. Well, this is exciting. I'm glad to see that there's such a ah mix of classical ballet that we'll get to see. Things that you don't often see on stage, and then also sort of, if not crowd favorites, then the iconic pas de deux of the Black Swan and White Swan. And now we can officially say, since the season has been announced, that yes, we will be performing acts two and four from Swan Lake. So Jamalik will be staging his adaptation of Marius Petipa's choreography. So in this sneak peek, did he stage the pas de deux for you and Ben? Actually for Michaela and James. Oh, okay. And you're dancing the black swan.
Speaker: What could you tell from Jamalik's staging of the White Swan Pas de Deux that we might be able to understand about his vision for Pétipa's ballet? I think it really honors the classical version.
Speaker: It shows his reverence and respect for the classical version. But there's a lot of emphasis on the emotion and the feeling of the choreography with the music and really leaning into that dramatic side as well.
Speaker: Wonderful. Well, that's exciting. We're looking forward to seeing it. What else on the program might a ballet audience in Madison that doesn't often say see staged? What would you like them to be aware of when they come to the event and are seeing these things danced? Or is it just come and experience something completely new?
Speaker: I think it's that. I think it's come with an open mind. I know it's very different than what the company normally does. This is where all the contemporary stuff comes from. The contemporary stuff is an exaggeration, an extension of the classical, but we're kind of going back to home base with this program.
Speaker: As someone who has been now asking favors of your colleagues and scheduling rehearsal space and signing contracts with vendors, is this kind of a foretaste of something that you would like to do after your dancing career is over, the administrative production kind of thing? Or are you just happy to see a larger piece of the pie and then kind of want to dance and then teach? What have you taken away from this experience? It's been a great learning experience for me.
Speaker: You know, my ultimate goal post dance career is to be in charge of a school such as the School of Madison Ballet. So I'm sure this will be part of my responsibilities if I succeed in that goal. But you my heart really lies in teaching and educating the kids. It's funny how um when you do something and then do something well, people will often ask you to do it again. This is what you've experienced with pas de chou growing into summer sweet. But I do think it's really amazing and important when we can identify within ourselves what both we're passionate about and what we're good at. And so I've always been fascinated at those dancers who are also good teachers because those are two different skill sets. And yet all of you take class, you know, during the season five or six times a week. So you are constantly being in a room where teaching is happening or at least correction and instruction.
Speaker: And even in rehearsals, you know, we're either learning the choreography or we're getting corrected on the choreography. It's just your whole life as a dancer is receiving correction and trying to apply it. That's true. We're able to shine another spotlight on another aspect of dancer life with this program, which is what do professional dancers do during the summer?
Speaker: And the answer is, unfortunately, if we're not in the season, you're not generally drawing a salary. And that's standard within everything except very large companies.
Speaker: So this is something that we're hopeful provides a way to put professional dancers on stage in Madison. But also it's it's something for you guys to be rehearsing and applying your trade and getting paid for. What are...
Speaker: The typical things that dancers do during a summer or during any layoff, what do you do to stay a professional dancer, but also feed and house yourselves? you know, I can't speak for everyone. I think we all have different strategies about the summer.
Speaker: For me, I really try to save as much as I can while we're in season and have a good little nest egg for the summer layoff. And I do that because I teach a lot while we're in season.
Speaker: And then once we get into the layoff, I'm often very tired from all the dancing and all the teaching that I did in season. So I take a couple of weeks and usually I'm still teaching in the evening, but I'll take a couple of weeks completely off from dance from most physical activity if we're being completely honest.
Speaker: And then over the next couple of months, I'll kind of ease my way back into the gym to class. And then i go take Eddie Bray's summer intensive where I trained for three years. I'll take his intensive. I'll fill in if he needs me to teach some classes.
Speaker: And then I teach at Madison Ballet. I teach private lessons, just earn some money where I can. But usually I'm living off of my savings from the season. This is part of what I'm hoping we can make more clear to our public.
Speaker: These great artists, of which you are one, these ballet dancers are expected to, in season, be able to perform at their best. And that also means that your body has to recover during the summer. and Yet you also are expected to hustle many different gigs or many different jobs.
Speaker: And it's it's a different kind of artistry than, say, painting or poetry or something where you don't have to physically cope with the struggle that you go through during the season. But also just the economics of being a professional dancer is so contingent on whether there's a season going at all.
Speaker: And yet, because you're spending, you know, eight, nine months being a dancer, it doesn't really lend itself to career development in those few weeks of the summer. that you have off. So just one of those things that I think here at Special Projects, we're trying to translate this entire art form to our public and make folks aware of just how special it is that we have artists like you in our community. And a way that you can support those artists and the artists coming up through the school is to come to SummerSuite from 3 to 6 on Saturday, August 22nd. After SummerSuite, how long do you have before rehearsals begin for the main company?
Speaker: I believe it's two weeks. We will start rehearsal for Jekyll and Hyde. Wow. The summer's really kind of gone by, hasn't it? It's gone by so fast.
Speaker: Yeah. Well, before we head out, I did want to ask a couple of things first, whenever we have a dancer who dances on point, I'm curious, what is your shoe? What do you wear and how did you arrive there? What was your shoe journey? It's really funny because I'm in the exact same shoe that I started in when I went on point. Oh, wow. I've tried most of the other shoes that exist. And somehow I've circled back around to the Nikolai 2007. When I first went on point, it was the Grishko 2007. But then they did a rebrand. And yeah, I'm right back where started.
Speaker: Oh, that's funny. You've tried others and they just don't support the same, don't feel the same. What what was it? Your feet change a lot depending on your age. I went on point probably a little too young. I was nine. i mean, definitely too young. To any of my students listening to this, that was way too young.
Speaker: And then throughout my training, I had different needs. I maybe needed a more flexible shoe or I needed a wider shoe at some points. So I tried Blog, Copizio, Gaynor Minden, Suffolk, Freed. And I think when I joined the company, I was in Suffolk.
Speaker: And then after my first year or year and a half with the company, the amount of time you spend in a pointe shoe changes your foot. I hadn't really noticed anything. anything was wrong, but Jamalik was looking at my feet one day and he said, Lauren, please go get refit. You need different shoes that don't look good on you. You know, I had a bit of a crisis because I'd been in the Suffolk for such a long time. But yeah, then I went to the store and I tried on basically every shoe that they had in the store and i ended up back in the Nikolai It's just always fascinating to me that, again, well, well we do sock ballets and you dance barefoot from time to time. But as artists, you guys also have to engage with technology to the tune of hundreds of dollars you know at a time for for these shoes that can support what you do in the air and on the ground. I'm also curious, I know you gave some advice, namely don't go on point at nine, but if there is a piece of advice that you think would be useful to dancers of any age, both, you know, your students and something that you've learned as a professional that still you would have liked to be reminded of as often as you can, what advice might you have to starting dancers or just continuing professionals?
Speaker: Let's see, I think I have two things. One is align your pelvis. And number two is to really understand why you love what you do. Ballet is such a crazy thing to decide to do with your life. You're in physical pain every day and you don't make a lot of money.
Speaker: So you have to know why you why you love it. And for me, getting let go at 19 from National Ballet, it really reaffirmed for me how much I love what I do because I knew I would be willing to continue doing it and pursuing it regardless of if I was paid or not. And I knew that i still needed to try. i was willing to go back and be humble and start from scratch a little bit.
Speaker: It's because of this very deep love that I have for what I do. I completely agree. That's beautiful. Align your pelvis and know why you do what you do and make sure you love it. Yeah. oh Well, thank you so much, Lauren, for joining us. I look forward to seeing you on stage and backstage, both at SummerSuite and throughout the upcoming season. I really appreciate you coming and joining us.
Speaker: Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker: Thank you for tuning in to At The Bar with Madison Ballet Special Projects. If you enjoyed this episode, we invite you to experience Madison Ballet in person by joining us at one of our upcoming performances or community events.
Speaker: From accessible, innovative productions to in-depth conversations with artists, our goal is to create welcoming spaces where everyone can experience ballet in a meaningful way.
Speaker: You can find performance dates, event details, and ticket information on our website and social media platforms. Whether it's your first time attending or you're a long-time supporter, we'd love to see you in the audience and share the experience with you live.
Speaker: Thanks again for listening. We hope to see you at the ballet soon.
