The Adult Ballet Studio

This month’s guest became a professional ballerina, not because someone told her she could, but because someone told her she couldn't. When an early ballet teacher told young Emily Sayre Smith that her leg shape meant she’d never make it, she did what any stubborn kid would do: she set out to prove them wrong. And she did.

Emily is a former pro dancer and memoirist, and she’s in the studio this month! She’s danced her way across two continents and discovered that even the most disciplined ballerinas aren’t perfect—they’re brave. Emily is a classically trained ballet and modern dancer who found an escape in ballet, a way to move out of the fear and chaos of her life and into her body and the music. She earned scholarships, traveled to London to dance at the Stella Mann College of Performing Arts, and ultimately, found love waiting for her in the dance studio and on stage.

Her debut memoir, Smartass: Memoir of a Mouthy Girl, published this year in October and is a blend of humor, grit, queerness, art, and survival—written, as Emily admits in this interview, because she really, really didn’t want to clean her house. Emily’s own journey includes addiction, sobriety, reinvention, and more than a few brushes with dance royalty. She speaks about how ballet shaped her, saved her, and sometimes nearly broke her. She also discusses body image in the ballet world, the culture shock of dancing abroad, what it meant to come out as gay as a young ballerina in 1981 during the AIDS crisis, and why she thinks everyone - even basketball players - should try ballet. Check it out!

What happens when a kid with a dream steps onto a Broadway stage for the first time? It’s pure magic. Wesley Wray is a an actor, musical artist, and BFA student at the University of Michigan, who is making his broadway debut this season in the Tony award winning show Buena Vista Social Club, and he joined the studio this month!

His career path has already spanned ballet, Afro-Caribbean movement, modern dance, music, theatre, film, and beyond. He shared his experiences in Buena Vista Social Club, backstage stories, and the audition process! And in a beautiful full circle moment, he talked about the Broadway dance workshop he recently taught at Ailey Extension, which invited dancers of all ages and levels to learn choreography from the show and experience the power of dance as community.

Wesley has roots with Alvin Ailey, studying at The Ailey School’s professional division summer intensives and AileyCamp Miami. He shared what his time studying at Alvin Ailey taught him about establishing safe dance spaces to explore multi-disciplinary training, and how that can shape you as an artist.

We also talked about his experience working with Tony winning choreographers Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck on Buena Vista Social Club and how ballet technique supports hybrid movement styles in the show. And he gives his best advice for adult dancers, emerging artists, and anyone who has the courage to try something new. Check it out!

Kadeem Alston-Roman is in the studio this month! He is a Brooklyn, New York-based wellness coach, choreographer and theater artist who helps people find balance, peace, and happiness in their daily lives. What makes Kadeem’s work especially powerful is the way he bridges the worlds of dance, wellness, and theater. After spending more than a decade creating performances that fuse movement and mindfulness through Full Force Wellness and Dance Repertory, a company he co-founded, he later founded his wellness company, Kadeem One.

In this episode, we dive into Kadeem’s journey as a dancer and choreographer, how his work in the wellness space continues to shape his artistry and teaching, and the importance of creating a sense of belonging in ballet - a field that can feel very exclusive. Kadeem shares his advice for dancers who are still finding their place in that world. For all of the adult ballet dancers listening, Kadeem has a message for you: stop worrying about what other people think, and dance because you love it. Whether at the barre, on stage, or simply moving through life, Kadeem reminds us through this conversation that purpose and joy are always worth pursuing. Check it out!

Choreographer Stefanie Nelson is in the studio this month! This year marks a milestone for her impactful and groundbreaking contemporary dance company -  the 25th anniversary of Stefanie Nelson Dancegroup. Founded by Stefanie in New York City in 2000, the company has been described as instinctual and untamed, pushing the boundaries of performance while creating meaningful connections between artists, audiences, and communities.

Stefanie has staged work all over the world from Lincoln Center and Jacob’s Pillow to international venues across Italy. She is also the founder of Dance Italia, a summer program in Lucca, Italy.

Stefanie’s impact extends far beyond the stage as well. In collaboration with AHRC NYC, she launched the Everyone Dance program, providing weekly classes and performance opportunities for dancers with intellectual and developmental disabilities across New York City. This spring, that work took center stage at Columbia University’s Miller Theater with Everyone Dance: Spring 25, a free performance featuring original works by award-winning choreographers—and an audience dance party to close it out.

Stefanie also founded The Moving Memory Project, an ongoing initiative that brings together artists, caregivers, and seniors to explore memory, identity, and dementia through performance.

She joined The Adult Ballet Studio to talk about 25 years of creating dance — her vision, her collaborations, and how her company continues to bring movement into new spaces of joy, healing, and transformation. Check it out! 

What does it mean to create movement that lasts a lifetime—work that outlives trends, resonates across genres, and moves audiences for generations? World-renowned choreographer Lar Lubovitch joined the studio for a mid-month episode to talk about his creative process and his upcoming projects!

For more than six decades, Lar has shaped the landscape of dance with works that are both technically masterful and deeply human. His own company, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, founded in 1968, has created more than 120 works performed in more than 40 countries.

Lar says that from the moment he started dancing, he knew he would be a choreographer. But dance is a journey he began relatively late at 19. He spoke about the freedom his later start in dance gave him to experiment, mix styles, and create work that bridges the divide between ballet and modern dance. All of this propelled him into success as a groundbreaking choreographer. 

In this interview, he discusses the intersections of his background as a painter and sculptor with his choreography, which he views similarly in brushstrokes and shapes that illustrate the music. He shares that the initial spark of joy seeing dancers move on stage that inspired him to explore dance in the first place is still inspiring him to this day. And he talks about how, at 82, he sees himself as an adult dancer needing to stay engaged with dance even while his experience with the art form evolves as he ages.

He also spoke about his work on Broadway, including staging the original Broadway production of Into the Woods, which earned him a Tony nomination, The Red Shoes, winning an Astaire Award, and the Tony-winning revival of The King and I. He has also made contributions to choreography in the field of ice-dancing, creating dances for Olympic skaters and choreographing two ice-dances for television: The Sleeping Beauty (PBS) and The Planets (A&E, nominated for an International Emmy Award, a Cable Ace Award, and a Grammy Award). 

Finally, he shares the vision behind his new program, Art of the Solo, in which his solo works are brought to life by a cast of dancers as part of The Guggenheim’s Works & Process Series in New York. Check out the conversation!