In 2019, after nine years as a student at the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, three ABT Summer Intensives, and a starring role as young Clara in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, Emilie Trauchessec decided to swap her pointe shoes for a textbook and enrolled at McGill University.  

Today, Emilie is a psychotherapist, specializing in providing mental health services for dancers and athletes, building on her professional ballet background to pave a career that supports other dancers. As we approach the 10th anniversary of The Nutcracker at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in California, SideBarre checked in with Emilie about this career transition, her relationship to dance today, and her time starring in The Nutcracker as a teenager. 

At age nine, Emilie joined the ABT JKO School Children’s Division, working her way through the School until her high school graduation. Emilie performed in The Nutcracker three times, as a Party Girl, Soldier, and, eventually, Clara. She looks back on those days fondly, particularly how much she loved getting to connect with the main Company members. Emilie shares that she remembers attending her first company rehearsal and being “so anxious,” but was immediately comforted as the dancers were “so nice and welcoming and all just wanted to help out.”  

Through her time at the ABT JKO School, Emilie found a family among her fellow dancers, relying on each other for support as they navigated the challenges that come with being a young dancer. This experience of communal support inspired Emilie’s decision to study psychology and sociology and go on to earn a Master of Social Work at Columbia University. “I saw a lot of people I was growing up with and dancing with struggling with their mental health,” Emilie shares, motivating her to pursue a career “making mental health care more accessible for the dance community.” 

Through her career as a therapist, Emilie has found new ways to integrate ballet into her life. This transition was not an easy one; she says, “I thought ‘who am I without dance?’ And so, when I took that step, at first, it was super scary. But then being able to continue to integrate dance into my life in different ways has been so eye opening and such a positive experience.” While dance is no longer her primary focus, she continues to take classes, see performances, and work with dancers as a therapist.  

As a Licensed Master Social Worker, Emilie works in a private practice, providing psychotherapy to a range of clients, with an emphasis on dancers and athletes. She sees the benefit of shared experience, having a personal understanding of high-pressure environments, performance anxiety, and injuries. Emilie is passionate about prioritizing mental health for professional dancers, telling us that mental health has traditionally been seen as taboo, but “now there’s a lot more discussion around it, a lot more resources at dance schools.” Emilie says that she thinks it’s important that these conversations are happening with young dancers, teaching kids from a young age to “be able to cope with the tough, competitive world they’re growing up in.” 

As her career progresses, Emilie’s dream is to open her own private practice focusing on dancers and athletes. She says, “because they have such unique experiences, I think a lot of dancers struggle to find therapists that they can connect with, because they feel like they need to explain a lot.”  

While her relationship with ballet has shifted over the years, Emilie has found the change to be positive. Working with dancers in a new way has helped her rediscover her love of ballet and help other dancers navigate the stresses of the industry. She says, “a lot of people think that once you’re no longer a dancer, that part of you is gone. But the way I see it, it’s still part of me. I think of it not as letting something go but finding a new way to integrate it into your life.” 

The writer, Lauren Trossman, is an ABT Press Intern for Fall 2025.

“Education is freedom, and the more you know, the more free you can be.”

As a middle-schooler in Missouri, Karilyn Ashley Surratt found a flyer at her local dance studio advertising a summer ballet intensive in New York City. Though her family decided that she was too young at the time for a summer in the city, years later Karilyn rediscovered that same flyer for American Ballet Theatre, still in a box at her mother’s house. Recalling this childhood dream, Karilyn decided to pursue a career in dance education, with the help of ABT. Since then, Karilyn has completed ABT’s National Teaching Curriculum, the ABT/NYU Master’s Degree, and is now a faculty member at the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School.

SideBarre spoke with Karilyn about her journey to ABT, her philosophy around teaching and arts education, and her experiences as a Black and Native American woman in the performing arts. Dance has played a crucial role in Karilyn’s life, saying that dance gave her “a sense of embodiment, that helped me put myself together and understand my whole self, so that I was not afraid to speak.”

Currently, Karilyn is on faculty at the ABT JKO School Children’s Division, in addition to teaching college classes at Pace University in tap and dance history, and tap dance at the Academy at Steps on Broadway. She is also in the inaugural cohort of the Ailey Horton Teacher Training program. After a long career performing in renowned dance and musical theatre institutions such as the Rockettes and The Muny, Karilyn is now focusing her career on education. To Karilyn, dance education is “the ultimate practice of freedom,” believing that “it re-embodies your physical self, your spiritual, mental, and emotional selves.”

Karilyn feels that as an educator it is her role to create possibilities for her students. She thinks it is “really important as teachers that we never limit our students, because we limit ourselves when we limit our students.” Karilyn emphasizes the reciprocal nature of teaching; she says, “you have to recognize that your students are experts in their experience and so, at whatever age they are at, you can always be learning from them.”

As both a performer and teacher, Karilyn sees her cultural background as an inherently important component of her practice: “I’m a dancer who happens to be Native American and Black and that is a part of the artistry.” Her background informs her teaching style, as she comes from “a family of teachers,” and was raised in her family’s tradition of passing on ancestral knowledge.

Karilyn holds the honor of being the first Native American Rockette. When asked how she feels about this title, she says that it means more to her now than it did at the time, and, in fact, she did not even know that she was the first until her final year with the company. While she always included her Indigenous background in her press materials, it was often overlooked, and she feels that this was a missed opportunity, especially in her time on tour; Karilyn is passionate about community outreach and advocacy and laments the lost chance to connect with Native American groups throughout the country.

As a performer with mixed ancestry, she has felt tokenized by productions as “ethnically ambiguous,” and felt her offstage skills as a dance captain and assistant choreographer were underutilized for the sake of onstage diversity. While performing as a Rockette, Karilyn was at times provided with nude tights and costumes that did not match her skin tone. However, she feels that there have been some improvements over the years, especially with inclusive costuming, and continues to have hope that productions will fully appreciate the wide skill sets of their talent, regardless of skin color.

Ultimately, Karilyn feels that her role as an educator and a role model to younger performers, especially young women of color is both a great honor and a great responsibility. In teaching dance history to her college students, she is sure to always emphasize her own history of teachers, instilling a sense of legacy in her students. She says, “I want to be true to the legacy that has been instilled in me from my teachers, from their teachers, and from their teachers.”

Whether her classes are filled with young children in their first dance class or college students on the cusp of a professional career, Karilyn wants her students to know that the legacy they carry through dance is very valuable—“it’s valuable to them as an individual, it’s valuable to their families, and it’s valuable to society and culture at large.”

The writer, Lauren Trossman, is an ABT Press Intern for Fall 2025.

A new choreographic force is rising at American Ballet Theatre, and, this time, it’s one of ABT Studio Company’s own dancers.

Brady Farrar, a member of ABT Studio Company since 2022, recently premiered his original choreographic work Night Falls – a pas de deux set to Frédéric Chopin’s Nocturne No. 19 in E Minor No. 1. – at The Joyce Theater with ABT Studio Company.

The Joyce Theater engagement also featured another one of Brady’s original works titled Flight of the Bumblebee, a challenging and rapid solo for a male dancer, set to the iconic Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov score.

Brady was overjoyed when his pieces were picked for ABT Studio Company to perform, as it was the first time his choreography was danced in a Company program.

“It gave me more confidence and reassurance that I’m doing something right, which in turn makes me less afraid to express my feelings authentically,” he said.

This Summer, Night Falls will be featured at the BAAND Together Dance Festival, part of Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City program. BAAND features pay-what-you-want performances from New York City’s most prominent dance companies: Ballet Hispánico, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem.

When Brady heard that Night Falls was chosen for BAAND, he was speechless.

“It was a milestone moment for me,” he said. “With every piece of my choreography that I showcase, there is some self-doubt, but for my work to be recognized and licensed by my dream company, it gives me even more inspiration to push the boundary of what I can do.”

For Brady, original choreography has been a part of his dance journey since the early days.

Since he was 16 years old, Brady has been choreographing works for dance schools to use for showcases or competitions. His knowledge of the “choreographic process” came from his dance teachers, Victor Smalley and Angel Armas, who he accompanied on choreography bookings.

Brady said that his own choreographic process begins with the musical score. “Picking music that takes the audience on a journey is important. I try to match the steps to the music, so it looks as if the dancer is completely embodying what the musician is playing,” he explained.

For Flight of the Bumblebee, Brady tried to “make the movements frantic and fast, to resemble what a bee would look like during flight.” He called the solo his “playful interpretation” of the Rimsky-Korsakov score.

For Night Falls, he was inspired by Chopin’s Nocturne No. 19 and how it “sets the tone of an intimate setting between two characters.”

“In my head,” said Brady, “the pas de deux is a representation of what happens when your day starts to slow down, the tranquil few hours from dusk to dark. As the sun sets, and night falls, how does the light change affect the mood and energy of oneself.”

For Brady, working with ABT Studio Company and teaching them his choreography was “something very special,” as he loves to see his peers’ unique interpretations of his work.

However, for BAAND, Brady was required to teach members of the main Company his choreography: Principal Dancers Thomas Forster and Chloe Misseldine, Soloist SunMi Park, and corps de ballet member Joseph Markey. Although he was nervous at first, he soon became inspired by their artistry.

“Their work ethic and desire to perfect each movement is very inspiring; I loved being able to see how professionals learn and pick up choreography,” said Brady. “They each have their own beautiful ways of hearing the music and executing the steps. Every time I step into a rehearsal with them, I am in awe.”

For Brady, having his original work chosen by ABT is only the beginning of his journey.

“It shows me that the future can be bright, and that there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“Como agua para chocolate” is a Mexican idiom: translating to “like water for chocolate” in English, it essentially means “your emotions are in danger of boiling over,” referring to the repetitive process of bringing water to the brink of boiling before it can be used to make hot chocolate. Inspired by Laura Esquivel’s novel of the same name, the title phrase of Christopher Wheeldon’s full-length ballet, Like Water for Chocolate, alludes to the intense emotions simmering just beneath the surface in a tale of family saga and forbidden love set on a Mexican ranch during the Mexican Revolution. In this modern classic of magical realism, cooking and the kitchen’s heat suffuse the production, transforming rising passions into balletic movement set to music of a distinctly Mexican essence.

When composer Joby Talbot undertook the monumental task of scoring Like Water for Chocolate, his goal was clear: to infuse the score with a “DNA” of Mexican sound, rather than merely imitating it. Just as Mexican cuisine is rich and varied, Talbot’s score is seasoned with various rhythms from traditional Latin dances to trace the emotional turmoil of the lovesick central character, Tita, and the dramatic influence her impassioned cooking has on those around her.

In Act I, Tita prepares a dish of quail drizzled in rose petal sauce to the slow tempo of a danzón, a sensual dance rhythm that originated in Cuba at the end of the 19th century and later spread to Mexico. This amorous musical tone parallels Tita’s physical desire for her neighbor, Pedro, which manifests as an aphrodisiac in her cooking and consequently has an erotic effect on her sister, Gertrudis.

In another scene, alongside a climactic encounter between Tita and Pedro, Talbot recreated a sentimental petenera, one of the most melancholic and romantic styles of flamenco music. The origins of the petenera are older, dating back to the 17th century with ties to the zarabandas, another dance form popularized in Spain and the Spanish colonies.

The joropo, a much livelier Latin rhythm, provides a festive melody to which the troops commanded by Gertrudis energetically dance around a fire at the conclusion of Act II. A grand mixture of African, Indigenous, and European roots, the joropo is a traditional couple’s dance from Venezuela characterized by quick turns and jaunty footwork. According to Mexican conductor and music consultant Alondra de la Parra, Talbot’s musical arrangement for this scene aligns more with cumbia, known for its percussion-heavy, upbeat rhythm with Afro-Colombian roots.

While the blend of diverse Latin rhythms in Talbot’s score brings the characters’ earthly passions to life onstage, the mystical fusion of pre-Hispanic instruments with the orchestra introduces a new musical texture that embodies the essence of magical realism. Playing an indispensable role in the compositional process, de la Parra suggested incorporating the ocarina, a type of Aztec ceramic flute that lends the work a deep, ethereal quality reminiscent of birdsong. The percussion section of the orchestra expanded greatly under de la Parra’s guidance, with the inclusion of two types of Aztec drums—the teponaztli and the huéhuetl—as well as the marimba, featured in a challenging solo piece. Talbot’s complex yet whimsical compositions for the harps further amplify the thread of magical realism that reverberates throughout the work.

The main characters in the ballet are meaningfully tied to specific instruments in the composition, akin to a leitmotif: Tita with the delicate ocarina, Nacha with the warm cedar flute, Mama Elena with the tempestuous wooden rattles and chimes, and Pedro with the sultry guitar. Perhaps at the core of this entrancing whirl of sound is the guitar, strummed by Mexican musician Tomás Barreiro to the beat of Mexican sones and other Latin rhythms, both as a solo performance onstage and in the orchestra pit.

For the final pas de deux between Tita and Pedro, Talbot turned to an unconventional musical source, rarely found in the classical ballet repertoire: the human voice. Composed for a mezzo soprano, Talbot’s vocal piece features Spanish lyrics from the 1957 poem “Piedra del Sol,” or “Sunstone,” by Mexican Nobel Laureate Octavio Paz. The soaring soprano section brings the passionate tale of Like Water for Chocolate to a close, delivering a powerful performance about the cyclical nature of time and the transformative power of love, reserved only for those who recognize its constant return.

Sources:

Azar Boldo, Lázaro. “A Well-Seasoned Composition…” Program for Christopher Wheeldon’s Like Water for Chocolate, London, The Royal Ballet, 2022.

Royal Ballet and Opera. “Insights: Like Water for Chocolate – Music and Design.” YouTube, 27 May 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrWsYo8fU9g.

The writer, Jackeline Fernandes, was an ABT Press Intern for Summer 2024.

Returning for a second year in a row, Frederick Ashton’s The Dream retells Shakespeare’s classic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, through the scope of ballet—a mystical journey through the forest filled with fairies, mischief, and entanglements of the heart.  

The beloved Shakespeare tale has seen many transformations throughout time, transporting the characters from Ancient Greece to Victorian England and from the stage to screen and back again. Here are seven retellings of Shakespeare’s comedy of errors, ranging from 1980s rock operas to early 2000s teen comedies.