Tag Archives: choreographer

Podcast Episode 20: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa – Doña Péron

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Welcome to Episode 20 with my guest Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. This is the first repeat guest for the podcast. Why a repeat? Well, it’s Women’s History Month, she has a new full-length ballet based on the life historical political figure Eva Perón which is making its Chicago debut this weekend, she’s a badass female choreographer, and honestly, I just love talking with her. You can listen to her interview on Episode 9 here. Ticket for the performances of Ballet Hispánico in Doña Perón at the Auditorium Theatre (March 26 & 27) are available here.

Annabelle has been choreographing since 2003 following a 12-year career in various contemporary dance companies throughout Europe. She has created works for 60 dance companies worldwide. In 2012, her first full-length work, A Streetcar Named Desire, originally created for the Scottish Ballet, received the Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for “Best Classical Choreography” and was nominated for a prestigious Olivier Award for “Best New Dance Production” the following year. Annabelle was the recipient of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award in 2019. You can read her full bio here.

Ballet Hispaníco. Photo by Christopher Ash.
Photos by Christopher Ash.

Podcast Episode 1: Christopher Wheeldon

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I’m so excited to finally share the first episode of the Rogue Ballerina podcast! I chatted with the ever-charming Christopher Wheeldon about two of his “reimagined” ballets, his upcoming project on Broadway, and what has kept him busy and sane during the pandemic.

You can access the first episode on Apple Podcasts (which includes Overcast, Castro, Castbox, Pocketcasts, and Podfriend apps), Spotify, and PodcastAddict. It will be available soon on other platforms. Stay tuned for updates. Or, you can listen to it right here!

Choreographer/Director Christopher Wheeldon. Photo by Angela Sterling.

Welcome to the Rogue Ballerina podcast. My first guest is Christopher Wheeldon. If you haven’t heard of him, then you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of decades. He studied and danced at The Royal Ballet, he was a soloist and the first resident choreographer at the New York City Ballet, he was on the cover of Dance Magazine, he founded his own company Morpheses, he choreographed the closing ceremony for the Olympics, and he has has created numerous ballets for companies and operas around the world.

His many awards include an O.B.E. designation from Queen Elizabeth II and a Tony Award for Best Choreography for An American In Paris. If I were to list all of his accolades, we would be here all day, so to learn more go to his website at christopherwheeldon.com. Aside from his many professional accomplishments, he is one of the nicest and most down-to-earth people I know. You can listen to our conversation here.

Photos of Swan Lake and The Nutcracker by Cheryl Mann, courtesy of The Joffrey Ballet.

The Joffrey Ballet’s YouTube page offers many behind-the-scenes videos for Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. You can read the program from the 2016 world premiere here, and you can view the Emmy Award-winning documentary The Making of a New American Nutcracker at wttw.com/nutcracker. The Art on the Mart exhibition mentioned in the podcast was also featured in the Chicago Tribune.

HUGE thanks to Christopher Wheeldon for being such a gracious guinea pig and my brother – Michael Crain – for writing my theme music and sound editing. You can learn more about Ross Rayburn’s yoga classes at Peleton and follow him on Instagtram @rossrayburnyoga.

Don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast on your favorite platform, and follow me on social @rogueballerina.