The Stage Rightside with James Whiteside

I join my friends from Conversations on Dance, Michael Sean Breeden and Rebecca King Ferraro, to discuss my retirement from American Ballet Theatre next summer, as well as my plans for the future.

In this episode of The Stage Rightside, James sits down with longtime friend and manager Garen Scribner for a candid conversation about life after dancing, career pivots, and what it really takes to build a sustainable creative life.

Garen shares his path from the stage to management and producing—through graduate school at Harvard, rejection, reinvention, and ultimately founding a practice built on long-term thinking and trust. Together, James and Garen unpack the difference between agents and managers, how artists can advocate for themselves, and why “success” doesn’t always look the way we’re told it should.

They also talk honestly about James’s own crossroads as a principal dancer preparing for what comes next, the challenge of making time for choreography while still performing, and the freedom (and fear) of imagining a future beyond the stage. Plus: dance film, illegal documentaries, lemon trees, and why having the right people in your corner changes everything.

In this episode, I read my latest Substack essay aloud and share some of the DMs it sparked—thoughtful, funny, and occasionally surprising. I also talk about the feedback I just received from my literary agent on my new book and what it’s like to sit with notes, doubt, and excitement all at once. A behind-the-scenes look at the writing life, the reader response, and the messy middle of making something new.

This week on The Stage Rightside, James checks in from rehearsal season—with a purring cat, a recovering back spasm, and plenty of opinions. As ABT prepares for tour with Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale, he reflects on jealousy, insecurity, and how most Shakespearean disasters could be solved with better communication.

Along the way: unhinged New York subway behavior, thoughts on the ethics of Free Solo, recent reads, and a deep dive into Part Two of his Substack series 31 Years a Nutcracker Prince. From dancing The Bear in Boston Ballet’s Nutcracker(yes, with aerial cartwheels) to confetti cannons, beloved dressers, and onstage chaos, it’s a nostalgic, hilarious solo episode about ballet, books, and life in the theater.

In this episode, I talk with my dear friend and fellow dancer Cassandra Trenary about what it means to leave a dream — not because it’s broken, but because you’ve outgrown it.

Cassie shares why she chose to leave her life as a principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre to join the Vienna State Opera, what it felt like to step into the unknown, and how injury, heartbreak, and stillness became the catalyst for change. We talk about restlessness, timing, courage, and the quietly radical question: How much time do I have?

If you’ve ever felt the itch to change something in your life — your job, your city, your relationship, or yourself — this conversation is for you.

James talks about his upstate writer's retreat and why Avatar needs a gay focus group.

James wishes Stage Rightside listeners a Happy New Year, tells tales of his Christmas, and reads a brand new kids' story called "Johnny Newcastle".

James does a post-show Nutcracker download with ABT Principal ballerina Isabella Boylston and reads his very first essay for Substack.

James talks about Met Season with ABT, Vail Dance Festival, and staging his ballet "New American Romance" in Mexico City.

James talks to ABT Principal dancer Cassandra Trenary about their performance of Giselle at the Metropolitan Opera House and her decision to leave ABT to join Vienna State Opera.