Time to hear from the dancers!

In this all-new Nutcracker chat, we start with three of our dancers - Talbot Rue, Anna Orzulak, and Abby Zinsser, who tell us what dancing in The Nutcracker every year means to them, both artistically and nostalgically. Then, we join Jim and Karen for a discussion on bringing new elements to this year's staging of the Christmas classic.

En Avant is a five minute ballet segment, hosted by Karen Gibbons-Brown, which airs during Rob Nylund's Classical Connection Review, every Saturday evening on Fort Wayne's 89.1 WBOI. This version has been modified from its broadcast edition to accommodate musical copyright.

We know and love The Nutcracker, but was it always so popular? Marius Petipa and his assistant, along with Tchaikovsky, created a holiday classic that wasn't initially well received. 

En Avant is a five minute ballet segment, hosted by Karen Gibbons-Brown, which airs during Rob Nylund's Classical Connection Review, every Saturday evening on Fort Wayne's 89.1 WBOI. This version has been modified from its broadcast edition to accommodate musical copyright.

In this segment, Karen overviews the career of famed choreographer Marius Petipa, who essentially created the Classical Era of ballet.

En Avant is a five minute ballet segment, hosted by Karen Gibbons-Brown, which airs during Rob Nylund's Classical Connection Review, every Saturday evening on Fort Wayne's 89.1 WBOI. This version has been modified from its broadcast edition to accommodate musical copyright.

In this segment, Karen notes the transition from the Romantic Ballet era into the Classic.

As we continue working on all-new podcast content, here's the best of the best! 

Jim Sparrow hosts this introspective look back at past Kinetic Conversations, all about our favorite Holiday show, The Nutcracker! This episode originally released in November of 2023.

En Avant is a five minute ballet segment, hosted by Karen Gibbons-Brown, which airs during Rob Nylund's Classical Connection Review, every Saturday evening on Fort Wayne's 89.1 WBOI. This version has been modified from its broadcast edition to accommodate musical copyright.

This episode notes the first rising stars of ballet - the ballerinas of the Romanic Period.

En Avant is a five minute ballet segment, hosted by Karen Gibbons-Brown, which airs during Rob Nylund's Classical Connection Review, every Saturday evening on Fort Wayne's 89.1 WBOI. This version has been modified from its broadcast edition to accommodate musical copyright.

This episode first aired on October 26, 2024, and discusses the trademarks of the Romantic Era of ballet.

En Avant is a five minute ballet segment, hosted by Karen Gibbons-Brown, which airs during Rob Nylund's Classical Connection Review, every Saturday evening on Fort Wayne's 89.1 WBOI.

This episode first aired on October 19, 2024, and discusses the early French roots of the ballet and its terminology.

En Avant is a five minute ballet segment, hosted by Karen Gibbons-Brown, which airs during Rob Nylund's Classical Connection Review, every Saturday evening on Fort Wayne's 89.1 WBOI.

This episode first aired on October 12, 2024, and continues the discussion on Fort Wayne Ballet's latest staging of Don Quixote.

Jim Sparrow and Karen Gibbons-Brown discuss what they agree can be called Ballet's best-beloved romantic comedy, as Fort Wayne Ballet prepares to perform Don Quixote, this weekend at the brand new Pearl Street Arts. Jim and Karen review the characters and synopsis of the show and the challenges and opportunities of staging in a non-traditional new space.