Our hosts David Graver and Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri are delighted to chat with the brilliant Julian MacKay, the first American to graduate from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy with a full Russian Diploma having completed both the upper and lower school, and Principal Dancer at The Bayerisches Staatsballett. Graduating in the top of his class, he was hailed as "Apollo" and the next Nureyev by Russian dance critics. In this episode of The Accutron Show, Julian talks about his experience, upbringing and the challenges (as well as successes) to keep ballet interesting. He also discusses engaging with young audiences in today's world that is dominated by technology. Tune in and dance this episode away with us. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS11:00 The approach and perceptions on the classical arts is changing. My goal is to make sure that someone my age is excited about the ballet experience. It has a lot to do with the stories we tell, the way we tell them, the people that are represented on stage and who those people are marketed and shown to. 22:43 The beauty and challenge of ballet today is how to bring into modern times characters and stories that were written and conceived centuries ago. As a dancer, I have to understand the original character and how that character would behave today. For example Cinderella, if I am to play the prince, I have to ask myself how would a prince treat a woman today? 29:40 When you take a different approach, rather than the doom and gloom and you put in something beautiful and say "Hey, we are going to create hope and inspire a generation to sort this out," it can lead to something that is unexpected. Because dance and ballet communicate in a way that is even more powerful than words sometimes.