Margaret Fuhrer:
Hi, dance friends. I’m Margaret Fuhrer, editor and producer of The Dance Edit newsletter and podcast.
This time we have one of the ballet’s most brilliant performers with us. Jeanette Delgado was a principal dancer with Miami City Ballet for more than a decade; she gave electrifying performances in the company’s repertory of Balanchine ballets and other staples of the neoclassical canon. Since leaving the company in 2019, Delgado has begun exploring many different parts of the dance world. She appeared in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story film, and has danced in some high-profile commercials. She has also moved to the other side of the rehearsal studio, setting ballets and working with the young dancers of American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company.
In her new freelance life, as you’ll hear, Delgado has prioritized staying open to all kinds of opportunities—not setting a specific track for herself necessarily, but rather following her heart and gut. And recently, her path has led her back to the stage. This month, she’s performing alongside a bevy of other beautiful dancers in Twyla Tharp’s program at New York City Center. She’ll be dancing in two stone-cold Tharpian classics: In the Upper Room and Nine Sinatra Songs—both of which she also performed at Miami City Ballet.
So Delgado is both discovering entirely new worlds and re-discovering familiar worlds. But everything she’s doing emphasizes that process of discovery. Here she is.
[pause]
Margaret Fuhrer:
Hi, Jeanette. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast today.
Jeanette Delgado:
Hi, I’m so excited to be here! Thanks.
Margaret Fuhrer:
I’m talking with you at what feels like a full circle moment, in a way. I was remembering when Miami City Ballet made its debut at New York City Center back in 2009, and you had just been promoted to principal dancer, and In The Upper Room was on the program during that tour. And now here you are, 13 years later, back at City Center and you’re doing In The Upper Room for Twyla’s own program. It’s wild.
Jeanette Delgado:
Wow, that’s so beautiful. I mean, this experience with Twyla has felt a lot of full circle feelings. So, yeah. No, it’s wild the thought of being back on that stage, in this ballet, that’s just epic. It’s very exciting.
Margaret Fuhrer:
Yeah, a Twyla classic.
Well actually, yeah, that’s sort of a good place to start. Because let’s go back in time a little bit and talk about this incredible run that you had at Miami City Ballet. You danced a ton of really rich repertory there. So—this is a huge question, but can you talk a little about how being in that company, the artists that you worked with, the ballets you danced, how did that shape you as an artist?
Jeanette Delgado:
Well, I think actually, Twyla was the first choreographer that I got to work with, and she wasn’t creating anything new on us. But it was the first time that a choreographer was in the room and we were working on her works. And it was actually Nine Sinatra Songs, which will also be on the program.
And I was an apprentice. And I kind of waited the whole day just watching and soaking up every little bit of the day, thinking I would probably not get a chance to dance for her. And then the last 15 minutes of the day, she was like, “You in the back, come and do it.” And I was like, “Ahhh!” And it was just the coolest experience.
And I think, that was sort of the beginning of Edward bringing in Alexei Ratmansky, and Liam Scarlett, and then eventually Justin Peck came and worked with us. And I feel really grateful for the time I had, especially, getting to work with living choreographers. Because I had done a bunch of the greats, of Balanchine and Robbins, which I was so grateful to be able to do. And Edward would bring in a lot of the original dancers, Patty McBride, and they would come in and coach us, and Edward would coach us.
And that felt like just a huge learning and growing, but I was always trying to be someone else. Like, “This is this person’s role. This was this person.” And I would research, I would come to New York and watch all the videos and the archives at the library. But everything felt outside of who I was, kind of.
And I think, finally getting the chance to work with people creating in the room for each of us as dancers was just so beneficial as an artist. Because I finally got to feel, “Oh, yeah. Who am I in this? Who is this choreographer allowing to be born and to be seen?” And then, going back to some of those classics was even more fulfilling and refreshing, because then I could sort of be me in them for the first time.
And so, yeah. Those years in Miami, especially with Edward Villella was just… He was the kind of director that, he was fully present with you in the room, and he kind of asked you to be so present and so dynamic with each movement and the music. And so I think I became the dancer I am because of him and that group of dancers. He would always say, “We’re humans first.” And so, who are you? And what are we saying, and what are we sharing with an audience?
And I think those years were special, and all the dancers that I got to learn from and work with, as well. Miami was a company, I think, of passionate movers. There was, of course, all the technique and the lines and everything, and the rules of ballet. But I think mostly, the goal was, how are we moving? How are we using our bodies to really move through space and tell this story?
Margaret Fuhrer:
Yeah. Finding your own voice with which to tell this story, yeah.
Jeanette Delgado:
Exactly.
Margaret Fuhrer:
Well actually, so that sort of leads nicely into the next question. Because since leaving the company, you’ve explored all these different other places to use that voice. You danced in this Spielberg West Side Story film, you did that epic Dolly Parton “5 to 9” commercial, and then a more recent commercial for On Running—and actually, all of those projects with Justin Peck.
Jeanette Delgado:
Yeah.
Margaret Fuhrer:
And you’ve also staged ballets, you’ve worked with the ABT Studio Company, now you’re working with Twyla. What would you say sort of guides your decision making process as you’re choosing dance projects to take on now? What are you looking for?
Jeanette Delgado:
I would say, number one, is the community that I’m working with. Because I think, when you leave a company that’s, I think to me, the biggest loss, is just this feeling of, you wake up every day and you go take class with people you love. And that sort of ritual of always constantly being a part of a group, is in a weird way… I miss performing, yes, and all that, but that community is what I miss the most.
And so, I now am just opening up to opportunities where I’m looking at who the group is that is involved in this. And these are dancers that are going to inspire me, that I’m excited about getting to connect with even more on a personal level and on a professional level. And so, I think that really is a driving force, right now, as I open up to so many new things.
Margaret Fuhrer:
What has been surprising to you about this new chapter in your life—good surprises, not so good surprises—and how has that all changed you as an artist, if it has? I mean, maybe it hasn’t, maybe it has sort of confirmed things you already knew about yourself.
Jeanette Delgado:
I would say, one of the biggest things I’ve, at least in the dancing version of projects, the fact that I can fully immerse myself, and then there’s a little bit of time to heal and to process. I think in a company, when you sign a contract for 30, 40 weeks plus, there is a stress that comes with having to rely on your body and your fullest self for that consistent and that long and that hard of a period. And so, the fact that I know these projects are for a certain period of time and then I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I’ve been given the ability now to really push myself to the fullest as an artist. And always, not just physically, but immerse myself completely knowing that I will have a little bit of time to recuperate. So that’s been, I think, something so beautiful and refreshing.
On the other hand, I think with these kinds of freelance opportunities, there’s always that sort of, “This one ended. What’s next? I don’t know if another one will come.” And so, that is a little bit of a challenge. But I think being in New York really helps because the community feels like it’s so open and like it’s such a small world.
So just putting myself out there and opening up to lots of different things too. Because I’ve been doing dancing that feels like not something I’ve trained all my life for sometimes. And that can be scary. And so, I think I’ve just been opening myself up to being a beginner.
And too, the West Side Story movie, we were on a film set for Steven Spielberg. It was like, “What life am I my living? Who am I? I don’t know how I got here.” [laughter] And I think that, that was really cool at a certain point in my career, to sort of go back to being fresh and learning from everyone around me, and not having to feel like I need to know exactly what I’m doing. As scary as it was, it also was—I feel like I’ve been growing a lot and learning so many new skills. And I’ve really been loving it.
Margaret Fuhrer:
Can you talk a little bit too about how this particular opportunity with Twyla arose? I mean, at the risk of asking a very obvious question, what about this project appealed to you?
Jeanette Delgado:
Oh. Well, so many things! But it was actually a really fun connection, because I had the opportunity last year to work with ABT Studio Company, which was such a beautiful and fulfilling space, working with Sascha Radetsky and those incredibly talented young dancers. I had never really been on the other side of the room, and not as a rehearsal director. And so, to have my first opportunity be there, it was just unreal.
And so, they were doing a piece of Twyla’s, and they were going to film it to kind of have her approval and notes from her. And so I peeked my head in to just kind of say, “Hi.” And from there, it just all… She asked Sascha like, “Wait. Jeanette’s in New York? Is she dancing?” Such a cool way to get on the phone with her. And then she was like, “Let’s do this.”
And at first I thought it was going to be the “stompers” in Upper Room, because I’ve done that role before. And then she was like, “No, no, no. I want you in pointe shoes.” And I was like, “Oh, boy. Haven’t done that in three plus years!” So that was sort of a leap of faith knowing that, just to get to work with Twyla right now and these works at this point in her career, is just such a gift. I’m just grateful that she called me and asked me.
Margaret Fuhrer:
Oh, what a cool path that is. That feels like something was written in the stars, that that all came together that way.
Jeanette Delgado:
Yeah.
Margaret Fuhrer:
So, In The Upper Room and Nine Sinatra Songs, the two works on this program, I mean they’re some of the greatest of Twyla’s greatest hits. And they’re also, as you’ve said, they’re both familiar territory for you, although, now you’re exploring different angles of them. But first of all, from your perspective, what do you think makes these two works “new classics”? Why are they so enduringly appealing?
Jeanette Delgado:
Hmm. I guess, it’s a bunch of things. At least for In The Upper Room, I think there’s so much of it that is the dancers doing it. Not only is there a whole generation of young people that have probably never seen it, but there’s a whole generation that hasn’t danced it.
And so, one of the incredible qualities of Twyla, is that she gets in the room with who’s in front of her, she’s working with the dancer that she’s working with in that moment. Just like that great documentary that came out during the pandemic, Twyla Moves. It was like she almost always was… people were navigating towards her, because she’s such a force. And they were dancers from so many different walks of life and different styles. And it was all about her working with who was in front of her and seeing what they had to say, and her getting them to also say what she wanted to say.
And so, I think that this will always be current if you always have a new generation, a different generation of dancers coming to it. It’s going to be theirs, and they’re going to make it current and evolve it into their own experience. Well, and the Philip Glass music is just so, it’s so meditative, and so, you’re on such a journey. That, I think too, it’s that abstract art where it can be what it is and people can make of it what they need to make of it in that moment. It can mean whatever is important at the time. Because there is so much power and endurance and that feeling of like, “Oh my God, will this end? And we’re in this struggle and it’s real.” And so I feel like, that is humanity. That will be forever, we will have these moments in our lifetime. And so, it encompasses so much. That’s Upper Room.
But Nine Sinatra Songs…I mean, Sinatra right? That music is kind of classic. And then, I guess, all the different relationships that you get to experience through the songs.
I know for the pas de deux that I’m doing with “That’s Life,” there’s been kind of controversy with it that I had not even known about, that I’m learning about. And Twyla is definitely a woman who evolves, who stays current. And we just had so many conversations about how we make this in 2022, what we’re doing to bring this into a place where the man and the woman are dancing together and there’s not a hierarchical patriarchy.
Margaret Fuhrer:
They’re on equal footing.
Jeanette Delgado:
Yeah. There’s not this abusive relationship. There is this, it’s a struggle, it’s a fight, but how are they both getting their voices heard? And so, that’s been really fun to explore with her and make it feel current.
Margaret Fuhrer:
Well, that’s fascinating. Yeah, because there has been a lot of talk about that that sort of feels connected to other conversations that are happening elsewhere in the dance world and beyond the dance world. Can you say a little more about… I mean, have there been adjustments to the choreography itself, or is it more just a matter of approach?
Jeanette Delgado:
There are slight changes that she’s made. They’re not, I think, so obvious. But it’s been mostly about giving space for me to be able to have a stronger presence, and to kind of fight and not just be a ragdoll that’s getting thrown around and just taking it.
And so, it is more a conversation of who I would be in that kind of scenario and how much fun I could have with this, versus this feeling of feeling helpless. It’s more like, “Oh no, I’m in this too and I’m a part of this.” It’s not necessarily a healthy relationship all of a sudden, I think it is that song. It’s like he’s talking about, “That’s life.” There are ups and downs, and we will argue and we will not see eye to eye. But how can we have an argument and still hear each other, and still be heard?
And so, we’re still exploring. So, who knows. By the time of the performances, there could be even more changes. But I think it’s been really great to be able to have those changes and conversations.
Margaret Fuhrer:
That’s so interesting to hear. I remember watching… Because that duet was also in Come Fly [Away], in the Broadway version that she did, the expanded version of this. And I remember Karine Plantadit doing that duet, and just being like, “She’s not a victim. She’s going to eat that man alive.” She totally brought that energy to it.
Jeanette Delgado:
Oh yeah.
Margaret Fuhrer:
Now it’s, yeah, interesting to think about the conversations that happened before—Twyla giving that dancer to herself, and then also, thinking about the context in which the dance was being performed.
Jeanette Delgado:
For sure, I remember that too. Oh, she was, woo! So much fire. That’s definitely an inspiration for me, yeah.
Margaret Fuhrer:
Well, and actually Karine is like a Twyla lifer, and there seemed to be a lot of Twyla lifers. She inspires this deep loyalty in the artists that she works with. Can you talk a little—you’ve already talked some, but can you talk a little more about what it’s been like working in the studio with her? Where does that loyalty come from?
Jeanette Delgado:
I think that…because I remember the first time I really worked with her, what struck me the most was this sort of underlying, she’s not really saying it, but you have this energy. And this sense that she’s going to get the most out of you, more than you even think is possible. And she trusts that you know how to go as far as you need to go.
And so I think that, that, is shocking to a dancer, to an artist. There’s this feeling of trust in, “Okay, maybe I can go further. And somehow, this person believes in me, so I have to take that leap of faith and believe in myself.”
And I see it happening. I’m dancing alongside, actually, this incredibly talented dancer that just graduated from Juilliard. She’s the Bomb Squad dancer, her and I together. And it’s so beautiful because she’s looking around the room and she’s like, “You’ve all been in companies. What am I doing here?” And I’m like, “Twyla trusts that you have a reason to be here, and you just ride that and soak it in, and work as hard as you can.” And I’ve already seen her, in this span of time, just grow exponentially.
And it really is that thing where, especially as a young artist, if you feel that, that’s huge. That support and belief in you when you don’t even believe it yourself, is just some kind of force that she inhabits. And I think because she loves dancers, and she loves dance so much, that it’s like she can’t help but want to bring out the best in you, and her works, and what she is saying.
And so I think that, of course, will develop this sense of like, “If she’s doing something, I want to be there. If she invites me, I want to feel that again and again.”
Margaret Fuhrer:
I know, it is pretty cool at this point—Twyla can come into New York and just sort of cherry pick: “I’m going to take these two from City Ballet, and these from ABT, and these from Graham, and Jeanette’s in town? Cool, let’s bring her.”
Jeanette Delgado:
Yeah! [laughter]
Margaret Fuhrer:
And you mentioned this before too, there’s a lot of diversity among the dancers, in terms of style, in the dancers that she’s working with. And at the same time, it feels like when you all get on stage together, there is great unity among the cast. Can you talk a little about what you think unites the dancers in this particular cast, especially? What are the qualities that you share that help you all hang together as a group?
Jeanette Delgado:
Hmm. I feel like the strongest thing I feel in the room is that everyone, maybe this sounds silly, but everyone’s really choosing to be there and wants to be there. So there’s a hunger. I think, so many people are in different stages of their careers, but there does seem to be this sense that everyone’s at a point where they’re also searching for just this sense of passion and creativity for what we do. And so, I think that alone has… Everyone’s in the room, 100% just like, Twyla comes up to speak and everyone’s just into the center of the room like, “What does she have to say?” And the sense that, how many more times will this experience really happen? It feels very beautiful and unique.
And then, I also think that Twyla does demand a lot of rehearsal time. And I remember this with Edward. We would start Miami City Ballet every day with mandatory class, and we all had different feelings about what that meant. But there was something to it now, and I see that there was a coming together. And sort of like, we begin our days breathing and moving together so that we can have this communal thing before we all go into our separate rehearsals. There is a moment, a ritual, that we all come together.
And I think that she’s… We have been having a lot of rehearsals, and kind of run throughs altogether sort of maybe earlier than what we would be normally doing. And I think that she is doing that on purpose, in order for us to start breathing and unifying.
And just even with dancers in a studio, laughing together and being inspired by each other, because we are all sort of different movers. And so, the more time we’ve gotten to bond and be in there watching and learning from each other, I think, we are sort of becoming a cohesive community that feels really special. I think it’ll be hard at the end, we’ll all be like, “Wait. We’re not going on tour together? We’re not a family now?” Um, yeah.
Margaret Fuhrer:
Yeah. Building that chemistry that only develops with time and exposure and experience, and yeah.
Jeanette Delgado:
Exactly.
Margaret Fuhrer:
I was so happy to see you on the cast list for these Twyla shows. Because, I mean, I’d seen you in the film work that you’d been doing and commercial work, but I hadn’t seen you on stage in a while. And I, selfishly, really hoped that you weren’t done with live performance.
Jeanette Delgado:
Aww, thank you.
Margaret Fuhrer:
Is that still part of your plan going forward, too? Would you like to continue to pursue those sorts of stage opportunities?
Jeanette Delgado:
Talk to me on October 23rd after the week of performances! [laughter] No. It’s really been since I left Miami three years ago—yeah, 2019, March—I haven’t performed on stage. So it has been a while. And I am grateful for this because I do feel like I am open, and I’m sort wanting to see how I feel again on stage and experience it whether it’s the last time it happens. It does feel like a beautiful way to kind of get back on stage with pieces that I’m familiar with, but new to in a different way, with a different group and all of that, that we’ve talked about.
But there are a few other works in the process that might get me back on stage, that I’m excited about. We’ll see, yeah.
I mean there is something really special about film and dance on film, that I think, is incredible to explore. And I’m grateful I’ve had those opportunities. But I do miss the feeling of like, “Get out there, give it your all.” That one shot and then you’re done. There’s nothing like that adrenaline rush, right? The nerves, and the feeling of an energy from an audience, and all of that, I think, will be really exciting to feel again. So, we’ll see.
Margaret Fuhrer:
So what other things, in dance or beyond dance, are you still eager to explore? What kind of—I mean, bucket list is a silly thing to say to someone as young as you are, but what other things do you have yet to check off your list?
Jeanette Delgado:
Well, I do want to start a family, probably, at some point. And so that’s been sort of getting… that feeling’s getting stronger and stronger. And it’s exciting to me because I didn’t know when I would start feeling that. I feel like so much of career as a dancer is this one-track focus. And it’s such an all-encompassing career that it feels like you almost don’t have space, or I felt like I didn’t have space to even feel that.
And so, having this time to reflect and heal, and taking the time away from dance has given me this balance that I am excited that I’m feeling. Like wanting to also have some normalcy in my life.
And then, I loved working with the young dancers at ABT Studio Company. And I’ve staged some works before, and that really feels just so beautiful. Because I feel like I’ve gotten to work with so many incredible artists in my career. And so the fact that I could give back and continue sharing, and also do it in new ways, is really exciting to me.
And I guess, I also… This feels like, I’ll say it but it’s so like, “That’s not going to happen.” But I did, right after West Side Story, I started taking acting lessons, because it’s a passion that I had as a kid, really young, but then all of a sudden got super focused in ballet. And so, everything else stopped. But I sort of did it as, “Just go back to what you had fun doing when you were a child” kind of feeling. And then, since then, I’ve just been… And moved to New York and found another acting group, and just been loving exploring that world. And it’s an impossible crazy world to try to get into.
So for now, it just feels like another access to who I am, and expressing myself with my voice and in different ways. I also feel like anytime I’ve gotten to do projects and dance, it feels like I come to it differently because I’ve been accessing this other side of myself. So even if it’s just for that and for the fun of it, that feels like I want to keep exploring that a little more.
Margaret Fuhrer:
Oh gosh. I feel like that film, in particular, just because it gathered all of these incredible dancers together on one acting-driven project, I feel like all of these dancers then caught the acting bug afterward, and that’s so exciting because now you’re all branching out and doing these different types of projects. I just love seeing that dancer energy then make its way into that community too. I mean, Ariana DeBose, it’s like—look at her go!
Jeanette Delgado:
Yeah. No, it’s true! And I think that, also, the fact that so many people are having the success, and even—whatever, success, but getting to do it and bringing something else to it because they are dancers. It’s so inspiring. And yeah, we all kind of were like, “Ooh, this is fun.” Even if maybe it won’t happen, but just exploring it is, yeah, it feels so fun and fulfilling.
Margaret Fuhrer:
And that last answer also reminded me that I sort of left a hole in my list of questions. Which was, I should have asked more about the work that you’ve done with ABT Studio Company, and the work that you’ve done setting works and coaching, and being on that side of the studio. Can you talk a little more about that, and what that has revealed to you about yourself?
Jeanette Delgado:
Mm. What I feel sometimes in the ballet world, being young and growing, I worked with so many incredibly supportive and nurturing people. And at the same time, I had experiences that were the opposite, right? Like we all have had.
And of course, in the nature of the dancer that is constantly looking in the mirror and trying to find everything wrong, I feel like a lot of times I stayed with the negative more than the positive. And they hurt, they scar you in ways that feel big.
And being now on the other side of the room, I feel like that is so at the forefront, giving what I wish could have been given. And just the support and the positive energy that feels like, it’s already so hard what we do, it’s so impossible the amount of feats that we undertake as dancers, as artists. And it’s so vulnerable.
And I just feel like, it’s been so beautiful to be able to come to the front of the room and make that a priority. Just like, “I just want to uplift you all because what you’re doing is incredible. Just, I want to remind you of that so that you can just come with your fullest self, and be exactly who you are without any of the other silly baggage that really is not necessary.”
And I’m obviously getting emotional, I’m passionate about it. And it’s a work in progress. Because I know that for me leaving Miami, there was a lot of healing that I went through. And taking time away was really important because I didn’t want to bring any of that stuff with me into the room. Especially, if it starts to become subconscious.
And that’s what I also have found, being on the other side of the room realizing, oh, a lot of times those people were not evil. They just did not know what they were doing, and they were going on autopilot of what was done to them. Right? It’s those cycles. And so, taking that time to reflect and heal, and be in therapy and all these things, I think was really important to me.
And so now, I’m really grateful to have had the chance to now put it into practice. And actually, then go into the room and share with that kind of openheartedness and freedom from my own past that I wouldn’t want to continue, and why I would want to continue it in an evolved more supportive way. Yeah.
Margaret Fuhrer:
It’s really beautiful to see you, and others I think as well, of this generation rising as mentors, who are working really consciously to stop those cycles—as you’re saying, those cycles of trauma that have been in ballet for so long. That teachers traumatize others because that was what was done to them. And now there’s much greater awareness building around that. And also, self awareness, right? What was done to me, and how can I prevent that from happening again?
Jeanette Delgado:
Right.
Margaret Fuhrer:
That’s really special and really important.
Jeanette Delgado:
Very important.
Margaret Fuhrer:
I’m telling you things you already know. [laughter]
But, I guess, I’ll finish with a classic bad job interview question. Where do you see yourself in 5 years and in 10 years? Are you on stage? On screen? At the front of a rehearsal studio somewhere? Outside of dance entirely? Or some combination of the above? What do you see?
Jeanette Delgado:
Hmm. Five years, I do want to dream and put out there that I am still dancing and running around with a child or more, we’ll say. Whatever is in the cards. Yeah, and still exploring myself as an artist in whatever ways.
I think I was really fortunate growing up in Miami, my career just sort of unfolded because it was my home, and I was in the school, and then dancing with the company. And then, I was able to just move swiftly into the company without dealing with auditions and all that stress. I’m so grateful.
And I think it also allowed me to have this freedom to flow with what comes. Of course, there are always little goals and things to work on and strive for. But I am sort of trying to feel into that same, “Go with what is speaking to you, and open up to what is meant for you,” without this feeling like I have to plan it all.
So I’ll stick to the five years, and who knows about 10. I don’t know. Yeah.
Margaret Fuhrer:
Yeah. Just maintaining openness.
Jeanette Delgado:
Mm-hmm.
Margaret Fuhrer:
That’s so healthy!
Jeanette Delgado:
I mean, not always easy to do, but that’s what we’re hoping for. [laughter]
Margaret Fuhrer:
Well, Jeanette, thank you so much for coming on today. Listeners, in the show notes, we’ve got a link to Jeanette’s social accounts, so you can keep up with all of her various projects, including the upcoming Twyla Tharp Program. And we also have a link to New York City Center’s website, which has more information about those performances.
I’m so looking forward to seeing you on stages and screens, and at the front of classrooms, and beyond in the future!
Jeanette Delgado:
Oh, thank you so much. This was awesome.
[pause]
Thank you again to Jeanette. We’ve got all those links, as promised, in the show notes. If you are in or around New York City, that Twyla program is a must-see.
Thanks to all of you for listening. Keep learning, keep advocating, and keep dancing.