1. Coping in Current Times I- A conversation with Principal Dancer Elizabeth Barreto

·25 min·2 clips

Anne Mueller welcomes Principal Dancer Elizabeth Barreto to share her journey from a small-town start to professional ballet.

This episode features Ballet Idaho Artistic Associate Anne Mueller and Principal Dancer Elizabeth Barreto discussing her career and the company's current operations. They explore how dancers are adapting their craft and personal lives during a period of widespread public health restrictions. The conversation provides a personal look into the professional ballet world from inside a regional company. Elizabeth Barreto recounts beginning ballet at age three at her mother's dance studio in Eastern Oregon. She describes attending summer programs at American Ballet Theater in New York and Anaheim Ballet in California, noting her shock at seeing 14-year-old peers execute "insane numbers of turns." Her professional journey included dancing with Oregon Ballet Theatre and Ballet Idaho before a two-year stint with Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. Barreto returned to Ballet Idaho as a principal dancer, a role she has held for several seasons. A significant portion covers the company's shift to creating digital content, including filming performances without a live audience. Barreto details the mental adjustment required to perform for a camera rather than a responsive crowd. She explains how dancers maintain their physical conditioning through at-home workouts and solo rehearsals in personal spaces like garages. The episode reveals the company implemented a pod system, where small groups of dancers rehearse together to minimize health risks. Barreto shares that the unusual circumstances have led her to appreciate simpler daily routines, like making coffee at home. She reflects on the unique challenge of finding artistic motivation and emotional connection in isolation. The conversation highlights the collaborative effort between dancers, staff, and filmmakers to produce virtual performances. Barreto expresses a strong longing for the energy of a live theater and the presence of an audience. The tone is informal, conversational, and introspective, focusing on personal experience and adaptation. The style is interview-based, with a host guiding a colleague through her professional narrative and current challenges. Listeners interested in the behind-the-scenes realities of professional dance, especially during a time of crisis, will find this episode compelling. Those seeking highly produced narrative or technical dance criticism might find the casual, company-specific focus less engaging.

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