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BalletX feat. Keelan Whitmore · philly has heART

0:16
Hey, Lucinda. How are you? Great, great. Had
0:20
a lovely, relaxing, kind of extended weekend.
0:25
We went away, went down to Charleston, South
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Carolina. Amazing town, first time. Got to see
0:32
some historical homes, went on some tours, and
0:37
got to see some great galleries. Did you buy
0:40
anything? I did. I did. Don't tell John. But
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also got to go to the Gibbs Art Museum in Charleston.
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They had an amazing rotating collection that
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kind of called Statement Pieces. It was contemporary
1:01
fashion design and their Gibbs permanent collection
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kind of combined together. to create this amazing
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exhibit that brought Alexander McQueen and Gucci
1:16
fashion and paired it with a similar -like piece
1:21
of art from their permanent collection. There
1:23
was one tartan piece, I don't know if it was
1:26
Alexander McQueen or somebody, and then there
1:29
was a portrait of an older gentleman wearing
1:33
a tartan scarf. So it was cool to kind of see
1:37
the art. and the fashion kind of imitating each
1:40
other. They did a really good job. And kind of
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going back to what we saw at Boom, trying to
1:48
curate pieces of art with... fashion that was
1:54
of the time is just a really good way to kind
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of not only just put paintings or prints up on
2:01
the wall, but then make the space more 3D. It
2:06
really rounds out an exhibition. Yes. Then got
2:10
back on Sunday and what do we do? We went to
2:14
the opera. But before I dig into that, I have
2:16
to share that Robert went directly from his Charleston
2:21
flight to Philadelphia International to the Academy
2:26
of Music to see Don Giovanni. And though we did
2:32
not know what flight he was on, my husband found
2:35
the only flight from Charleston to Philadelphia
2:39
that morning, and I knew it was a direct one.
2:42
and we tracked you through FlightAware. Yes,
2:47
I love it, I love it. And as I was getting ready,
2:50
I was like, okay, how much time do I have to
2:52
dry my hair? 20 minutes totally can make this
2:55
happen. And sure enough, listen, pro tip, FlightAware
3:00
your friends. Yes, love that, love that. Okay,
3:04
so Don Giovanni, let's break it down. Yes. Sold
3:08
out show. And there were people in the highest
3:12
of balconies at the Academy of Music. Every time
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I've been to the Academy, I've never ever seen
3:18
people in the third tier. It was insane. People
3:21
were like leaning over to see the show. Yeah,
3:26
like, please, it's a long drop. But what an incredible
3:30
experience to be in the Academy and to see a
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sold -out show. Not only a sold -out show for
3:38
the opera, they sold out the entire season. The
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only opera company in the United States to do
3:45
so this year. So the story was really giving
3:48
dangerous liaisons a little bit. Yeah, I can
3:51
see it. I can see it. And there was a touch of
3:54
humor to the credit of the cast. So great. I
3:58
mean, this artistic interpretation of Don Giovanni
4:03
was incredible. The bouncing ball along the ride
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with us, yes. There was color and there was vibrancy
4:16
throughout the entire plot that really drew the
4:20
audience in and kept them engaged into the story.
4:23
I was thinking throughout how simple the backdrop
4:28
was, but with the use of the lighting and the
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props, it was able to transform from a garden
4:39
to a plaza and maybe an interior. Something that
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you mentioned last week during the outro was
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the subtitles on the screen. which is above the
4:52
stage. Oh, yes. And the opera is in Italian.
4:57
I do not speak Italian. Oh, you don't? Despite
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living in Italy for three years. In the 90s,
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thank you. What? Not even a lick? Did you get
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any of it? And that is... What time is it? Oh,
5:15
nice. May I have an ice cream, please? See, you're
5:21
getting it. Just the essentials. Yes. The fourth
5:23
grade essentials, like andiamo. That's something
5:27
that my parents used to yell at us all the time.
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Let's go. Andiamo, aspetta. Aspetta means stop.
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OK, moving on. So I don't speak Italian fluently
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anymore. I have a few key. Phrases and words,
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but what was really nice is that we had subtitles
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throughout the performance. It's very inclusive
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and what Anthony, the president and general director
5:58
has been able to do this year is really make
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sure that the barriers of entry have been broken
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down and every audience member feels comfortable
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to be at the opera, which is great to see. So
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do bring anyone who can read. Oh, yes. Yes. Do
6:17
buy an extra ticket. Bring a friend. Robert,
6:21
besides the opera, I didn't get into anything
6:23
last weekend. That's okay. You do a lot with
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your kids. They have a lot of activities. I was
6:29
on vacation. Yes. We'll go on to the conversation.
6:38
On to the conversation. This is Robert Marsh,
6:43
and you're listening to Philly Has Heart podcast.
6:46
In this podcast, we sit down with artists, gallerists,
6:50
educators, curators, and other creatives who
6:53
comprise the Philadelphia art world to discuss
6:55
upcoming performances, exhibits, and other events
6:59
and initiatives not to be missed. The art scene
7:03
in Philadelphia is so rich that it can seem daunting.
7:07
Consider this your weekend cultural recommendation.
7:10
With me always is my producer, Lucinda Daggerland.
7:13
Hello, hello. And today we have Keelan Whitmore,
7:18
Ballet X's rehearsal director and community liaison.
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We're so happy to have you here. I'm so excited
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to be here. Thank you again for the invitation.
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So Keelan, give us the Ballet X elevator pitch.
7:31
Ballet X pushes the boundaries of ballet. It
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moves it forward with visionary choreographers
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and collaborations with different designers from
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all over the world. And we're just trying to
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expand the vocabulary of contemporary ballet,
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which is something that makes it even more relevant,
7:48
even more. present more for today's audience
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and for yesterday's audience and for the future
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and for everything. So it's really, really fantastic.
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It's more, I would say, sort of like a choreographer's
8:00
Mecca. Oh, I love that. It's really, really fun
8:03
to come and work with our dancers because they're
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so versatile. They are, you know, well trained
8:09
in classical ballet, and they also have a contemporary
8:12
background that makes them even more powerful.
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So it's really, really fantastic. Lucinda and
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I on here. previously have mentioned how welcoming
8:22
Ballet X is to the audience member. To the audience
8:26
member that is brand new to ballet and may be
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the first experience to the ballet world, where
8:35
at the very beginning of each one of the shows,
8:38
there is an introductory video, there's a welcome
8:41
from the executive director, letting everyone
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know that they are in a safe space. that they
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have broken down any barriers and walls that
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could be found in other cultural institutions.
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And Ballet X has done a remarkable presentation
9:03
over the years in... kind of leaning more into
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sharing what it's like to put together a ballet
9:13
from beginning to end and bringing the audience
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on that journey with them. Yeah, inclusivity
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is something that... I think goes hand in hand
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with creativity. You know, whenever you're creating
9:25
something, you need the audience behind you.
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You need everyone and everything behind you in
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order to make sure that you're maximizing and
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leveraging all of your all of your your surroundings
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so that it can be a piece or a work that reflects
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what's going on in our lives. So that's exactly
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what Ballet X does. That's exactly what what
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art does, you know. And so this is what what's
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really about all the shows that we do including
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the one that's coming up. What would you say
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the mission of Ballet X is? It's exactly that
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you know bringing people together bringing together
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different people from different backgrounds different
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walks of life and and seeing how they can share
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a moment with something that is live you know
10:08
that is elusive almost you know something that
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is a bit fleeting perhaps and how we can all
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share in that moment together and leave and have
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a discussion about what it is and how it made
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you feel and how you're going to move forward
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with your life. That reminds me as well how the
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audience sticks around towards the end of each
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show because they want to be able to share what
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they experienced with the other audience members
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with the dancers as they come out with the staff
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and So. that they have a space to talk about
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what they just experienced. You don't always
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see that or have the opportunity. That also informs
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our work. You know, like having that discourse
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is really, really important to, you know, how
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we move forward as artists, you know, not just
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as society, but as artists. And so hearing what
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people have to say, hearing from, you know, the
11:05
small kid, what did you see on stage to our,
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you know, our supporters that have been there
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for many, many years? What did you think about?
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this piece? What did it make you feel? This is
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really, really a great way to continue to move
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the art form forward, I believe. You have some
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upcoming shows. We won't get into the summer
11:23
yet, but what do you have coming up in May? We
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have our exciting festival at the Man, Ballet
11:29
X's Festival at the Man, and this is going to
11:32
be, it's going to feature Jennifer Archibald's
11:35
full -length work called Maslow's Peak. And this
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is really, really an exciting time for us as
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an organization, for the dancers, for Jennifer
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herself. This is, as I said, a full length, and
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it's a production of massive scale. It's really,
11:53
really exciting. On a huge stage, in front of
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a huge audience. I mean, to go from, I don't
12:00
even know how many seats are in the Susan Roberts
12:03
Theater, and then now going to the Mann Center.
12:08
there last summer and you know you don't even
12:11
just have the seats to sit in you have the entire
12:13
lawn and you bring the entire community out to
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come and see ballet it's it's incredible to go
12:20
from what is like a more intimate space with
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the dancers in a smaller theater space to then
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this like kind of grand operation that has to
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happen at the man I have a question real quick
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Does the scale of the man permit this particular
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production in a way that the Suzanne Roberts
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theater would not allow? I'm just thinking in
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terms of set design and the plot of the ballet,
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which we haven't talked about and I don't know,
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can talk about it. I have a little bit of the
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inside track on that, but that's up to you. But
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back to the scale, would you say that this...
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Ballet is particularly suited for a larger venue.
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Well, this iteration is definitely created, you
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know, it's it's fabricated for the man for a
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massive sort of scale where whether you're in
13:14
the front row or in the back row or in the lawn
13:16
that you're able to really feel the intimacy
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and feel all of the storytelling that needs to
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transcend the proscenium that sort of frame that
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happens that's at the front of the stage there,
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but As with anything, any sort of constraint
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you have, if we were to move this to the Suzanne
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Roberts, we would find a way, you know, to make
13:36
it even better and to make it very special for
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the Suzanne Roberts. When you're going from that
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smaller stage to the bigger stage or the bigger
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stage, like, do the jumps get smaller? Do the
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movements get smaller? How does the dancer themselves
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have to change? Perhaps there's a little bit
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more space moving side to side because the proscenium
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is a little bit more narrow at the Suzanne Roberts
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than it is at the man. But as rehearsal director,
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I'm always asking the dancers to really always
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think about letting the energy really transcend,
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transform and move beyond the proscenium. It's
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really something that's really important because
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whether you're dancing for five people or for
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500 or 5 ,000 people, your energy wants to pierce
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through any sort of barrier that might be there.
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There's still tickets available for the May.
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I have mine. Lucinda has hers. A lot of my friends
14:35
have theirs as well. They're going fast, but
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we want to pack that place. It's going to be
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a really, really special moment in time, and
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you don't want to miss it. It's really, really
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fantastic. And then the audience can continue
14:48
to see you over the summer, which is very unique.
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for a ballet company who usually take the summer
14:53
off. Can you tell us a little bit about the summer
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programming? Yeah, the summer programming is
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also really, really exciting. I mean, in our
15:02
fashion of creativity and always moving things
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forward, we have two new premieres, one by our
15:10
choreographic fellow. Her name is Noelle Kaiser.
15:13
She comes from Chicago and she's going to be
15:16
doing a new work. And then we have another work
15:20
by Amy Hall Garner. She's been working with us
15:22
for the past few years under the Toolman Foundation.
15:26
So this is her second time with us and she's
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going to be creating a new work called Petrushka
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Reimagined and this is also in collaboration
15:35
with Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and with
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Ensemble 132 which is a string ensemble based
15:45
out of New York so this is going to premiere
15:47
in January of next year but we are doing sort
15:51
of a first iteration of that this summer then
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we'll have we'll finish the program off with
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with Matthew Neenan's The Last Glass, which is
15:59
an audience favorite with music by Beirut. That's
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gonna be incredible. Oh my gosh. So you gotta
16:05
get your tickets to that as well. Yes. I have
16:08
tickets to one of those. So you have three works,
16:12
one older and then two premieres. And this summer
16:16
series is going to be in July at The Man. At
16:20
the Susan Roberts Theater. Oh. So the performance
16:25
this summer is July 16th through July 20th at
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the Suzanne Roberts Theater. I'm going on July
16:31
19th. Nice. Is that a Friday? Saturday. That's
16:36
Saturday. Belly X does so well with their collaborations.
16:40
Lucinda and I had the pleasure of going to the
16:44
I believe was the winter series where there was
16:46
an amazing jazz band. on stage that just showed
16:51
up in the third act, which was incredible to
16:55
see as the curtains went up and there was a band
16:58
on stage. We were all blown away. Quite amazing.
17:02
The audience was blown away in that moment. You
17:05
heard a gasp. And the piece was just powerful.
17:08
Incredibly powerful, incredibly intimate. incredibly
17:11
touching as well, yeah. What's the process of
17:14
trying to find these partnerships and to pair
17:17
them with the... with the dance pieces. It's
17:22
really a matter of there being a need. We want
17:25
to collaborate. We would like to have certain
17:27
elements coming together. And so with the artistic
17:31
team or with people that we know in the community,
17:34
we'll reach out and we'll start searching for
17:37
someone who might be a good fit or someone that
17:39
we don't know. And we see how the... interaction
17:44
happens. And I mean, that's the power of collaboration.
17:47
Yeah. You know, like you never know what's going
17:49
to happen. It's always going to be something
17:51
new because those two people, those two organizations,
17:55
these two entities never came together. And so
17:58
they're creating something very new. So something
18:00
new was born every time, which is really, really
18:03
exciting. That's incredible. Yeah. And so with
18:07
that piece, Christine reached out to different
18:10
people. And then we got Luke. O 'Reilly's name.
18:14
And then we paired him with Gregory Dawson, who
18:17
was the choreographer. And that was a long process
18:20
of, you know, figuring out, you know, who they
18:22
are and what what works for them and what their
18:25
mediums are and how they can let all that go.
18:28
Right. Yes. Which is really, you know, that's
18:32
the part that's the hard part of collaboration,
18:35
the challenging part. But that really does, you
18:37
know, you walk away having learned something
18:39
new, you know. Keelan, can I ask you a question
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real quick? Was it you who got a shout out from
18:45
Gregory Dawson in the pre -show film? Yes. I
18:50
thought so. We all came from the same school.
18:54
Well, we danced in the same company, not at the
18:57
same time. But we both danced in Alonzo King
19:01
Lines Ballet, which is based out of San Francisco.
19:04
And Alonzo King is a visionary choreographer
19:07
of our time right now. And so I was very fortunate
19:10
to We were both very fortunate to work with him.
19:13
And so we come from this same sort of ideology
19:16
or sort of same approach to dance. And so working
19:19
with Gregory was wonderful. It was like being
19:22
at home. OK, we're going to get back to ballet
19:26
acts in a second. But Keelan, I wanted to maybe
19:30
get your e -true Hollywood story, your origin
19:33
story. How did you get into dance and how did
19:37
it lead you to ballet acts? Yeah, that's a story
19:41
that began long time ago. You don't look a year
19:45
over 21. Stop it some more. I went to a creative
19:51
and performing arts school in sixth grade. And
19:55
so instead of gym class, we would take dance
19:57
class. And so this curriculum behind learning
20:01
dance was learning dance, becoming a dancer and
20:04
choreographing. went hand in hand so we would
20:07
learn a step and then we'd work on that step
20:10
throughout the week and then we were tasked with
20:13
the the responsibility of creating a dance around
20:17
that step and so it was practice and theory you
20:20
know going hand in hand and then we also whether
20:23
you built the stage or you performed on the stage
20:26
or you ran the show you were a part of this show
20:29
at some point. So this was a really, really fantastic
20:32
school that I came from. And then I continued
20:35
that started dancing. They needed guys for Nutcracker.
20:39
And as they always do. And then I started thinking,
20:43
what is this ballet thing? I was really, you
20:45
know, very lost, 15 year old and a class full
20:49
of young younger people, younger girls mostly.
20:53
And then my teacher was like, you need to go
20:55
away and train more rigorously. And so I went
20:58
to Interlaken Arts Academy for my senior year
21:00
of high school. And then I was sort of following
21:04
the crowd and going to college. I went to new
21:06
school, Joffrey Ballet School, new school university
21:09
in New York for two years. And then got a job
21:12
with Kansas City Ballet, where I danced for five
21:15
seasons. And then I also co -founded a dance
21:18
company in Kansas City called Quixotic Performance
21:21
Fusion. And then I relocated to San Francisco
21:25
and danced with Alonzo King Lyons Ballet. for
21:27
seven seasons. And after seven seasons there,
21:30
I moved to Europe. I moved to Germany and danced
21:33
there for almost 10 years. Which company was
21:36
that? In Germany, it was called Stadttheater
21:38
Münster, Tanztheater Münster. So I started out
21:43
classical, I went to contemporary ballet, and
21:45
then I did this German Tanztheater thing, which
21:48
sort of rounds out my career of having a classical
21:53
background. sort of expanding that and bending
21:56
the rules and then throwing all those rules away
21:59
going to Europe and bringing meaning, bringing
22:02
even more storytelling to dance which was really,
22:05
really fantastic in Germany. That was really
22:07
fun. So that's my story. And then I retired actually
22:11
Gregory Dawson, the choreographer of that piece
22:14
with the jazz band. He introduced Christine and
22:17
I and Christine Cox and I had a conversation
22:20
and it was like old friends meeting. We both
22:23
had goosebumps thinking about what we could do
22:27
for dance in the dance world and the dance community
22:30
with the organization itself. It was really,
22:33
really a fantastic meeting. And now I've been
22:35
with the company for about a year and a half.
22:37
I'm coming. up on two years in August. We're
22:40
going to go into some rapid fire questions. Wonderful.
22:44
If you could describe the Philly art scene in
22:47
one word, what would it be? Fast. Ooh, I like
22:50
it. No one's ever said that. I like that. There's
22:52
a lot going on. I've barely scraped the surface.
22:56
You're at every show that I go to. So you're
23:01
trying to scrape the surface. Well, there's a
23:05
lot to offer, and it's all very authentic and
23:09
all very... honest and and and and it's trying
23:13
it's trying some things out and i really really
23:15
like that because then it's getting my head to
23:17
you know um yeah think about other things in
23:22
different ways so it's really really fantastic
23:24
i'm very fortunate to be here is there a production
23:27
you wish you could have seen in its original
23:30
iteration yeah i was thinking about this question
23:34
for Ballet X or anyone? Anyone. Anyone. Open
23:38
-ended. Yes. Open -ended. Well, I was thinking
23:41
about, you know, because art... is always challenging
23:44
society. And it would have been nice to be at
23:47
the premiere of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring
23:51
because it was so controversial. I mean, people
23:54
did not, people thought, what is this? This noise,
23:57
you know, and we're celebrating it now, you know?
24:01
So the power, the transformative power of art,
24:04
even though it might be, you know, a few decades
24:07
or a millennia, you know, later when you are
24:10
celebrated, when it is celebrated. That's something
24:13
very powerful. So anything that could have been
24:16
really, really controversial back in the day
24:18
and now it's being celebrated. It helps silence
24:21
any critics, very much so. Very much so. Because
24:24
it just might not be the time. Right, right.
24:27
That's great. Everything with a grain of salt.
24:29
Is there a Philly -based dancer, any company,
24:32
whom the world is sleeping on? Or that might
24:36
be too close to home, too. Don't know if I've
24:40
really been in Philadelphia long enough to answer
24:43
that question, because there are a lot of artists
24:46
that I'm still getting to know and I'm still
24:48
fanboying over them. You know, a lot in Philadelphia
24:52
Ballet and also in Caresh and many different
24:56
companies all over Philly. But I think what arts
25:00
organizations all over the world, especially
25:03
in the States and especially where we are now
25:06
with what's going on in our society. and the
25:09
shifts that are happening, I think organizations
25:12
can think of this idea called cooperation, where
25:16
you're cooperating and you're competing together,
25:19
which is something that's going to bring organizations
25:23
together even more so, bring those audiences
25:26
together, create. more interesting work, and
25:31
it's going to help us sort of hunker down in
25:34
this moment right now. I love it. You know, sort
25:35
of this cooperation where we're coming together.
25:38
We can still be our own entities, but we can
25:41
sort of stick together even more. I think that's
25:43
something that we don't want to sleep on too
25:45
much. I love that. I love that. Very well said.
25:49
I think that is happening across the entire country
25:53
as a solution to what's happening, right? Collective
25:58
bargaining is real. What is your favorite Philadelphia
26:03
neighborhood? I'm sorry, I gotta go with my neighborhood.
26:06
I'm in Point Breeze, and Point Breeze is where
26:09
it is. South Philly is really just something
26:12
that I'm still... unpacking. There's just so
26:16
much going on. There's so much history. There's
26:18
so many different people living there. And I
26:20
know, you know, any sort of shift that's happening,
26:24
especially towards gentrification is always a
26:28
bit tricky. But there is something. That's happening
26:32
down there that I just don't quite get but I
26:35
love it. I've never experienced it before I've
26:37
never lived in a neighborhood like that. So that's
26:39
really fun. I would hope we get it Well, we are
26:41
getting a grocery store now. You're getting an
26:44
Aldi But in Germany Germans love Aldi really
26:50
and a few more restaurants down there. Okay.
26:53
Yeah. Yeah I love the Keith Haring mural down
26:58
there. I live right down the street from it.
27:00
Yeah, it's really beautiful. Fantastic. Cheesesteaks,
27:04
with whiz or without. I will have to admit, hopefully
27:10
I can walk out of here with. That's okay, it's
27:13
all right, you're trusted. I have only had, I
27:16
think I've had two cheese steaks since I've lived
27:18
here. It's from, can I say where it's from? You
27:20
can say. Oh, what's the place on Snyder Boulevard?
27:26
It's a small little shack. This is James Beard
27:29
Award, Joe's Pork. John's pork? Joe's pork? John's
27:34
pork. No. It's across the street from Target,
27:37
like Target is over there and Ikea. I know what
27:42
you're talking about. I know, it is a little
27:44
Shaq too and it is delicious. John's pork, no.
27:48
John's roast pork? John's roast pork? John's
27:52
roast pork. Nice. 14 East Snyder Avenue. Yeah,
27:56
I don't think they have any whiz on their cheese
27:59
whiz on it, but they do a good seasoning on their
28:04
meat. I'm thoroughly impressed. This is a Lucinda
28:08
question. Are you a Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte
28:13
or Samantha? Just kidding, you don't need to
28:18
answer that. I would have to say all of them,
28:21
but maybe a little bit more Samantha. Nice, excellent.
28:27
And so where can we find Ballet X, both online
28:31
and in real life? You can go to our website,
28:34
balletx .org. BalletX .org. You can find us on
28:40
social media. We're definitely on Instagram and
28:43
Facebook and on YouTube. We have a YouTube channel
28:46
as well. Our website also has access to a lot
28:50
of our former productions. So you can go and
28:52
look at our BalletX Beyond, which is really,
28:55
really exciting as well. So awesome. And I'll
28:57
put links to all those in the show notes. There's
29:00
another thing that I want to kind of plug is
29:02
our digital flash mob that's coming. called One
29:05
Dance, One Philly, which is really, really exciting.
29:08
It's a shared choreography. So on our YouTube
29:12
channel, on our website, you will find a tutorial
29:15
to learn a dance that will culminate later this
29:19
summer in a digital flash bob. If you're at the
29:23
Mann Center, we are going to have rehearsal for
29:27
this flash mob. It's going to be really, really
29:29
exciting. Our dance exchange, which is our educational
29:32
program, our teaching artists from dance exchange,
29:35
two of them came up with the work and some of
29:38
our company members have learned it. Our dance
29:39
exchange students have learned it. We're just
29:42
trying to get as many people involved with this
29:45
as possible. It's going to be great. I think
29:47
I saw a video of this or of part of it on Instagram.
29:52
Spotted Eli in it. Oh, nice. Friend of the pod.
29:56
Yes. Yes. We have a few videos up right now on
29:59
our Instagram, one where Eileen is learning the
30:03
dance without seeing the dance. So she has her
30:06
own interpretation. So that's a way to, you know,
30:09
everyone can do it, whether you are, you know,
30:11
a dance lover, a professional dancer, retired
30:14
dancer like myself, or you can learn it and you
30:16
can be a part of this shared choreography. One
30:20
dance, one Philly. I love that. Oh, that's incredible.
30:23
Robert, will you learn the dance with me? Yeah,
30:25
we can do it. Can we put it on the stories? Sure.
30:28
Yes. Sure, why not? I'd love to see this. We'd
30:30
love to do it. You guys heard it here. He promised.
30:36
Bonded for life. I did want to go back. I know
30:41
we might be running out of time, but I wanted
30:45
to touch a little bit more on Ballet X's community
30:49
partnerships and community initiatives. Could
30:52
you share a little bit about what Ballet X is
30:55
doing with their community? Yeah, with our community,
30:59
we are partnering with many, many different organizations
31:03
throughout the year, but specifically at The
31:06
Man. We are really trying to get as many people
31:09
to experience this work and to experience the
31:13
festival. It's a festival. You know, festivities
31:15
are fun and they're exciting and they bring people
31:17
together. And we have an initiative for $25 tickets.
31:22
That's one initiative that we have. We are also
31:25
in five different public schools in Philadelphia.
31:27
where we use the National Dance Institute curriculum
31:31
or methodology for teaching third and fourth
31:35
graders dance. And we go into... five different
31:39
schools twice a week is really, really exciting.
31:41
We just actually finished the season with the
31:44
kids and that culminated in an end of the year
31:47
performance at the Mandel Theater. Wow. Which
31:50
was really, really exciting. So their parents
31:52
and their family members and friends could come
31:54
and see them dance on stage. Oh, wow. They rocked
31:57
it out. It was great. I was backstage the entire
32:00
time for all of the shows just to see how they
32:04
come together to make the dance happen. You know,
32:06
they showed us how they warm up and some games
32:09
that they play. And then they have a dance that
32:11
they show us. And this was really, really exciting
32:14
to see because you have children from all backgrounds
32:18
and with all different capabilities. And this
32:22
is really, really fantastic to see how students
32:26
are helping each other. plain and simple and
32:29
how invested they are, you know, and how expressive
32:32
they can be. Right. So this is really, really
32:34
exciting. Oh, that's great. The community partnerships
32:37
part is is always it's my favorite. Yeah, it's
32:42
really, really great. And we also have our young
32:44
Xers, which is really, really exciting. And that
32:47
is the Young Friends program. That is the I sent
32:49
us that, Robert. Excellent. Yes, I'm all in.
32:51
Yeah, this is really, really exciting. I'm a
32:55
little too old for it, but I still go to office.
32:57
As you should. You deserve to. You're putting
33:00
in the work. Yeah. No, it's exciting. Meeting
33:03
lots of different people, you know, young professionals
33:06
who are interested in doing something with their
33:08
time that is, you know, benefiting themselves
33:11
and the world around them. That's really, really
33:13
fantastic to meet people like that, like you
33:15
guys. Oh, thank you. Oh, that's beautiful. Beautiful.
33:19
Well, Keelan, thank you so much for your time
33:21
today. And everyone, please check out Ballet
33:24
X and pick up your tickets to The Man on May
33:28
2nd and 3rd for the festival at The Man. Thank
33:31
you so much. Thank you for having me. to this
33:48
weekend, Robert. Oh, it's First Friday. So First
33:53
Friday is going to be happening all over the
33:55
city, but we're going to focus our First Friday
33:59
in Old City. We've made some great friends and
34:02
we're going to go and check them all out. Mm
34:05
-hmm. We are hitting all of the galleries and
34:08
topping it off with dinner. Yes We are and we'll
34:11
probably also see not just galleries, but we'll
34:13
probably also make it to Meg's ministry of all
34:16
Oh, we are absolutely gonna make it there. Yeah
34:19
Last year you made fun of me for picking up.
34:23
I think it was a I think I drank a lot What is
34:30
the one beer you we used to drink in college
34:34
Perhaps Blue Ribbon? Yes, I had a PBR at the
34:38
Ministry of Art last year. Yes, you did. Yes,
34:41
you did. But we also participated in the art.
34:45
We made part of the wallpaper. I forgot about
34:48
that. Yes. Why do you forget? I think it's going
34:55
to be a warm weekend and can't wait to spend
35:00
it going gallery to gallery. Yes, and then on
35:03
Saturday. Oh on Saturday I'm going to Ballet
35:06
X at The Man. Yes. Now they have performances
35:10
both on Friday and on Saturday. This is their
35:13
festival at The Man and the show is going to
35:17
be absolutely incredible. There are still tickets
35:20
I believe so you should get them as soon as possible.
35:23
More things this weekend and beyond. South Street
35:27
Live, a family -friendly community -rooted event
35:30
offering live performances, immersive art, local
35:34
vendors, and cultural experiences is scheduled
35:38
for Saturday, May 3rd from noon till 6th at Front
35:41
Street to 8th Street. And that's a production
35:44
by DaVinci Art Alliance. Cecilia Paredes, by
35:48
my side or back of me, opened about two weeks
35:51
ago and continues to be on view until July 19th.
35:55
at the print center. There are two exhibitions
35:59
at the DaVinci Art Alliance that are opening
36:01
this week. A solo exhibition by Dominique Smarco,
36:04
Philly Dreamin, and Becoming on view from tomorrow,
36:08
May 1st through the 25th. And a BYO print portfolio
36:14
exchange. What's next on view from tomorrow,
36:18
May 1st through the 25th. Keep May 10th available
36:21
for works on paper galleries. show opening. More
36:25
to come as we're going to hear from Evan from
36:29
Works on Paper next week. Tickets for Wall Ball,
36:33
the mural arts fundraiser, on Friday May 9th
36:36
are still on sale. I believe only general admission
36:41
are left. This may sell out, so you'll want to
36:45
get tickets as soon as possible. Tickets for
36:49
La Selfide and Etudes, a Philadelphia Ballet
36:52
double bill for next week are still available
36:55
sparingly? I think. We have a cheat code for
37:00
you. Follow our Instagram, at Philly Has Heart,
37:03
to enter a giveaway for tickets for two for the
37:06
Saturday night production and lock in the entry
37:10
in our Instagram stories. And for an extra entry
37:14
to the giveaway available only to our podcast
37:17
listeners, DM our handle again at phillyhasheart,
37:21
the word prima. That's P -R -I -M -A. As always,
37:28
Philly has heart. And art!