Ruby Friday / Arts & Context | The State of the Art of Ballet
Open To The PublicA conversation between award-winning choreographer Stefanie Batten Bland—at Duke to create a new dance on the American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company—and the company’s artistic director, Sascha Radetsky.
About Ruby Fridays
Ruby Fridays are casual art talks offered at noon most Fridays during the semester in the Rubenstein Arts Center’s Ruby Lounge. Speakers include Duke faculty and students who are creating or exhibiting work in the Ruby, visiting artists from far and wide, and local creatives. Learn about the amazing art being created on Duke’s campus, the behind-the-scenes aspect of the creative process, careers in the arts, and more. A free lunch is included!
About the Speakers
Stefanie Batten Bland is a multidisciplinary choreographer who, at the helm of Company SBB, creates site-specific dance theater installations and multimedia pieces that explore the relations of humans to each other and to the natural world. Her numerous awards and fellowships include an 2016 Jerome Robbins Award. Currently she is movement director at The Public Theater, choreographer for Juilliard “New Dances 2018,” and a 2019 NYU Center of Ballet Arts Fellow. As a performer, Batten Bland has danced for PunchDrunk, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Paul Frenak, Sean Curran Dance Company, Kraig Patterson, Georges Momboye, Cie Linga, Pina Bausch Tanztheater Wuppertal, Lar Lubovitch, Julie Taymor and Angelin Preljocaj.
Sascha Radetsky, a former soloist with American Ballet Theatre, is currently artistic director for American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company. In addition to his work with ABT, he has danced as a principal or guest principal with the Dutch National Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Berlin Staatsballett, Ballet San Jose, Ballet do Theatro Municipal of Rio de Janeiro, and the Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Ballet. He is currently the director of the ABT/NYU Master’s in Ballet Pedagogy Program, and teaches regularly for American Ballet Theatre and American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company. He starred in the films Center Stage and Center Stage 3, and in the Starz television series Flesh and Bone.
Michaela Dwyer (moderator) works between Duke Performances and Duke Arts as Community Engagement Coordinator; she is also a dance critic, scholar, and educator.
