David Marchese

You know, something you said right at the beginning of your first answer was that it sounded like kind of your natural inclination would have been to just fade away quietly. Is that telling about the kind of person that you really are?

You know, something you said right at the beginning of your first answer was that it sounded like kind of your natural inclination would have been to just fade away quietly. Is that telling about the kind of person that you really are?

It might be difficult for you to judge or difficult for you to judge at this point in time, but when you talk about the idea of your legacy, do you have a clear sense of how... effective that legacy has been. The way somebody put it to me once is that, you know, on the nights when you were dancing, the house was noticeably more diverse than on nights when you weren't dancing.

It might be difficult for you to judge or difficult for you to judge at this point in time, but when you talk about the idea of your legacy, do you have a clear sense of how... effective that legacy has been. The way somebody put it to me once is that, you know, on the nights when you were dancing, the house was noticeably more diverse than on nights when you weren't dancing.

Do you have a sense of whether or not, you know, that's still the case or whether that will be the case moving forward?

Do you have a sense of whether or not, you know, that's still the case or whether that will be the case moving forward?

This is sort of like maybe a slightly larger philosophical question that connects to a debate that's been around for a long time in the ballet world, but sort of on the idea that choreographers might have in mind a certain way for their dancers to look that they feel best brings to life their choreographic ideas. You know, obviously we know that race shouldn't be a criteria for that, but...

This is sort of like maybe a slightly larger philosophical question that connects to a debate that's been around for a long time in the ballet world, but sort of on the idea that choreographers might have in mind a certain way for their dancers to look that they feel best brings to life their choreographic ideas. You know, obviously we know that race shouldn't be a criteria for that, but...

there are criteria for that, whether, you know, it's height or muscularity or whatever it is. So how do you think about the question of when is it okay to be exclusive in pursuit of one's aesthetic ideals?

there are criteria for that, whether, you know, it's height or muscularity or whatever it is. So how do you think about the question of when is it okay to be exclusive in pursuit of one's aesthetic ideals?

I apologize for moving the conversation in the direction I'm about to move it so early, but it's impossible for me to listen to what you're saying without thinking of the wider political and social context in which you're saying it. You know, you're talking about things like the benefits of diversity and representation at a time when, certainly in Washington, the whole...

I apologize for moving the conversation in the direction I'm about to move it so early, but it's impossible for me to listen to what you're saying without thinking of the wider political and social context in which you're saying it. You know, you're talking about things like the benefits of diversity and representation at a time when, certainly in Washington, the whole...

notion of something like DEI is being seen as something that is actively to be ramped down. Has your thinking about the work that you want to do changed as a result of the world we're now living in?

notion of something like DEI is being seen as something that is actively to be ramped down. Has your thinking about the work that you want to do changed as a result of the world we're now living in?

And do you feel a sense of embattlement or at all discouraged from, you know, the fact that, you know, things like institutions that explicitly say they are supporting DEI, like risk losing funding or, you know, federal funding for the arts in general seems under attack?

And do you feel a sense of embattlement or at all discouraged from, you know, the fact that, you know, things like institutions that explicitly say they are supporting DEI, like risk losing funding or, you know, federal funding for the arts in general seems under attack?

And I think it's fair to say that there's a certain type of historical or cultural nostalgia that suffuses ballet, certainly in the popular imagination. And that's why companies will program Swan Lake, Giselle, or The Nutcracker over and over again, because those are the performances that will sell tickets. How might the balance be adjusted so that...

And I think it's fair to say that there's a certain type of historical or cultural nostalgia that suffuses ballet, certainly in the popular imagination. And that's why companies will program Swan Lake, Giselle, or The Nutcracker over and over again, because those are the performances that will sell tickets. How might the balance be adjusted so that...

Ballet might start to look more different in the future than it currently does, even maybe at the cost in the short term of people not buying quite as many tickets as they did.

Ballet might start to look more different in the future than it currently does, even maybe at the cost in the short term of people not buying quite as many tickets as they did.