{"id":2447064,"date":"2019-08-01T14:56:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T20:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/new-york-city-ballet-principal-dancer-daniel-ulbricht-brings-stars-of-american-ballet-to-aspen\/"},"modified":"2019-08-01T14:56:00","modified_gmt":"2019-08-01T20:56:00","slug":"new-york-city-ballet-principal-dancer-daniel-ulbricht-brings-stars-of-american-ballet-to-aspen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/new-york-city-ballet-principal-dancer-daniel-ulbricht-brings-stars-of-american-ballet-to-aspen\/","title":{"rendered":"New York City Ballet principal dancer Daniel Ulbricht brings Stars of American Ballet to Aspen"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Daniel Ulbricht\u2019s Stars of American Ballet will perform Saturday at the Aspen District Theatre.<\/strong>
Courtesy of Stars of American Ballet<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

As a principal dancer for the New York City Ballet, the artistic advisor for Manhattan Youth Ballet and the founding director and leader of Stars of American Ballet, Daniel Ulbricht is a very busy man.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have learned to become very disciplined with time management,\u201d Ulbright said in a recent phone interview. \u201cI also love everything that I take on. I feel that the passion for these projects creates the fuel to perform them. None of these projects are obligations\u2014they are out of fulfillment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet is partnering with Stars of American Ballet for a one-night-only performance at the Aspen District Theatre on Aug. 3. This is the third time that Ulbricht has brought his company to perform in Aspen, following shows in 2014 and 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to create a menu of dance that satisfies the \u2018tights and tutu\u2019 crowd,\u2019\u201d he explained, \u201cand at the same time, expands on what dance can be for audiences today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stars of American Ballet came into fruition almost 10 years ago. Ulbricht\u2019s mother was ill with uterine cancer and, due to treatment, she wasn\u2019t able to travel from Florida to New York City to see her son\u2019s performances. So, he thought, why not bring the show to her?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was such an exciting challenge,\u201d he said. \u201cLuckily, I fell in love with the idea of putting it together and it has been a joy performing it. Though my mother lost her battle with cancer, it really is her legacy at work within me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mental aspect of dancing, combined with performance anxiety, can sometimes be hard to get past, but Ulbricht believes in the mantra of \u201conly to share, nothing to prove.\u201d He encourages every dancer to approach each piece of choreography with this mentality.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, I have to remind myself that the audience is there to support and enjoy\u2014not to judge and score,\u201d he said. \u201cAs for the difficult steps, it is about time and hard work. Experience really allows you to adapt internally without the audience knowing what happened. The greats stay calm and in control even when things don\u2019t go off as planned.\u201d<\/p>\n

As an educator, Ulbricht works to inspire the next generation of dancers by informing, while also trying to have fun with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to learn the rules that make dance an art but the real beauty lies in the accomplishing and moving,\u201d he said. \u201cI really try to use imagery while simplifying things so we can breakdown as many walls as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

As far as the choreography goes, Ulbricht must be inspired by the music, or else the process simply doesn\u2019t work. He has to enjoy listening to the music or else the choreography doesn\u2019t flow.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has to be an arc, color, and length that engages the audience,\u201d he explained. \u201cI also want to make sure it balances out with the rest of the program.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the many hats that Ulbricht wears, he also founded Dance Against Cancer\u2014an organization that aims to heal, celebrate and create for those affected by cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy best friend and I started Dance Against Cancer nine years ago,\u201d Ulbricht said. \u201cWe both had parents who had been diagnosed with cancer. We both weren\u2019t interested in running or cycling\u2014but we knew how to dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

To date, the organization has featured more than 270 artists, presented over 130 pieces and raised close to $230 million, according to Ulbricht.<\/p>\n

\u201cThough we both have lost loved ones from cancer, we see that so many others are affected,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is our hope to see a world with less cancer. Hopefully, dance can be a part of that cure.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked to give advice to an aspiring ballet dancer, Ulbricht breaks it down in simple terms: \u201cWork hard and know that it takes a lot of heart, time, and mental toughness. Take care of yourself and be smart. Be inspired! If and when you get there, please don\u2019t forget to have fun. That is the only way you will feel fulfilled.\u201d<\/p>\n

He cites his father as his biggest influence.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wasn\u2019t a dancer but he taught me what hard work was\u2014the value and satisfaction of not stopping until the job is done,\u201d Ulbricht said. \u201cMy mother and father also taught me that what you do onstage is important but the person you are offstage will go with you the rest of your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ulbricht is grateful to be back in Aspen and he hopes to continue the partnership with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet for years to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cAspen Santa Fe Ballet has engaged and educated a community that knows what it is watching,\u201d he said. \u201cTheir commitment to cultivating and presenting dance for all audiences fits the mission of Stars of American Ballet. \u2026 As I have gotten older, I am wanting to also prioritize my free time. There is nothing like finding time to walk the dog and fish with my fianc\u00e9. The balance is important!\u201d<\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Daniel Ulbricht\u2019s Stars of American Ballet will perform Saturday at the Aspen District Theatre.Courtesy of Stars of American Ballet As a principal dancer for the New York City Ballet, the artistic advisor for Manhattan Youth Ballet and the founding director and leader of Stars of American Ballet, Daniel Ulbricht is a very busy man. \u201cI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2447064","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-24 08:09:22","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2447064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447064\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2447064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2447064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2447064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}