The Grace & Form Podcast

• Gilbert Bolden III: Making the Suit That Suits You

  Gilbert Bolden III is a newly minted principal dancer with New York City Ballet, a designer, choreographer, and an artist who brings joy, fluidity, and individuality into everything he does. Earlier this year, he ruptured his Achilles mid Scotch Symphony- but instead of spiralling into crisis, Gilbert met the moment with calm, humour, and an almost shocking amount of perspective. In this episode, we start right where he is today, and then trace the path that brought him here: dancing to Britney in his living room, discovering ballet later than most, rising through the ranks at NYCB, navigating identity inside a traditional institution, and building an entire creative world outside of dance - from drag to fashion to choreography. Through it all, Gilbert shows us what it looks like to stay grounded, stay yourself, and keep enjoying your life, no matter what chapter you’re in. Take class with one of our incredible Grace & Form teachers, here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Train with the best ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Try 7 Days Free and Download our App:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Launch the app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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• The Injury Episode P1: Craig Hall, Sara Mearns, Thomas Forster, Isabella LaFreniere, Alexa Maxwell, Cameron Gomez

  In this special episode of Grace & Form, we’re doing something a little different. This is Part One of our two-part deep dive into injury - a universal experience for dancers, yet one that’s rarely spoken about with honesty and care. In this episode, we hear voice notes and reflections from dancers around the world, each sharing what injury has meant in their lives and careers, from the first moment it happened to the long journey of recovery that followed. Featuring: Alexa Maxwell - New York City Ballet soloist Craig Hall - former NYCB soloist and current repertory director Sara Mearns - NYCB principal dancer whose career has redefined resilience and artistry Isabella LaFreniere - NYCB principal dancer Thomas Forster - American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Cameron Gomez - physiotherapist trusted by some of the world’s leading dancers, including those at New York City Ballet Indiana Woodward, Grace & Form co-founder and principal dancer with New York City Ballet, also shares her personal story — a look into what it truly means to recover, rebuild, and return to the art form you love. Stay tuned for Part Two, where co-founder Saskia Gregson-Williams will share her own experience, and we’ll explore the culture of injury through the eyes of directors, physiotherapists, and other leading voices shaping dance today. This episode is a reminder that even in stillness, artistry continues, and that sometimes, the body’s greatest lessons come in the pause. -- Take class with one of our incredible Grace & Form teachers, here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Train with the best ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Try 7 Days Free and Download our App:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Launch the app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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• Maria Kochetkova: A Career Around the World

  From Moscow to London, San Francisco to Copenhagen, Maria Kochetkova has built a career defined by courage, curiosity, and conviction. In this episode, she reflects on her early years at the Bolshoi Ballet School, leaving Russia to find artistic freedom, and the challenges of carving a path in an industry that often tries to box dancers in. Maria shares what it means to follow intuition over practicality, the importance of great teachers and truthful technique, and how motherhood has reshaped her relationship with dance. She talks about performing while pregnant, adapting her body through each decade, and creating new work that reimagines where and how ballet can exist. Honest, thoughtful, and full of quiet strength: this conversation traces a life in motion: the work behind the work, and the woman behind one of ballet’s most distinctive careers. Take class with one of our incredible Grace & Form teachers, here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Train with the best ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Try 7 Days Free and Download our App:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Launch the app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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• Craig Salstein: The Scaffolding of a Great Dancer

  Craig Salstein-NYCB repertory director, longtime ABT soloist, teacher, and Broadway collaborator-shares grounded, generous advice for dancers navigating the hard parts: injury, casting politics, and self-comparison. With trademark humor and clarity, Craig makes a case for “dancing smart”: build technique like scaffolding, obsess over landings and communicate clearly and kindly. He talks about keeping class light without losing discipline, how to turn professional envy into fuel, and why presence beats perfection. We also dig into his work with Justin Peck (from Carousel and West Side Story to Maestro), teaching everyone from company principals to total beginners, and the mindset that sustains a long career-onstage and off. If you need perspective, a plan for rehab, or just permission to breathe and keep going, this one’s a balm. You’ll learn: Practical steps for dancing through injury and returning smarter How to stay focused when you’re not first cast (and why it matters) Turning comparison into craft, not crisis Making the studio lighter while keeping standards high The “iterate” mindset for longevity in dance Take class with Craig, here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Train with the best ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Try 7 Days Free and Download our App:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Launch the app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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• Misty Copeland: Five Years Away and One Final Bow with ABT

  Misty Copeland joins Saskia Gregson-Williams and Indiana Woodward on the Grace & Form Podcast for an intimate, reflective conversation about stepping away, returning, and saying goodbye to ABT. After five years off stage, Misty shares the perspective she gained outside of ballet, the injuries and challenges that kept her away, and why she initially resisted the idea of a farewell. She talks about the decision to come back: and how gratitude, not finality, is what guides her farewell at ABT. With honesty and warmth, Misty reveals what movement means to her now, how she carries her legacy forward, and why perspective beyond dance has been such a wonderful teacher. Take class with one of our incredible Grace & Form teachers, here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Train with the best ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Try 7 Days Free and Download our App:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Launch the app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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