What We Learned from "city.ballet." Season 2, Episode 9

December 29, 2014


Season 2 of “city.ballet.”—the AOL On series that gives an insider’s look at New York City Ballet—is live now! We’re recapping one episode per week. Watch all 12 at dancemagazine.com

Ah, dancer love. It seems so much more intense than regular old civilian love, amirite? Dancing together is such an inherently romantic, and inherently intimate, thing. Episode 9 of “city.ballet.” follows Lauren Lovette and Chase Finlay, two up-and-coming New York City Ballet dancers who are partners both on- and offstage. Here are five things we learned from the ep.

Lovette and Finlay in Christopher Wheeldon’s Soirée Musicale (photo by Paul Kolnik)

1. Their romance started as a friendship in the back of the studio, of course.
Initially, Lovette was a little intimidated by Finlay. He’d been something of a hotshot as a student at The School of American Ballet. “I never thought he liked me at all,” Lovette says. “He was too popular and I was too…weird!”

2. Their non-dance relationship benefits their dance relationship…for the most part.
Since they know each other so well, they’re better at communicating what is and isn’t working in the studio. “I can trust him with anything, I can ask him anything,” Lovette says. But, she adds, “when you’re dating somebody, you have to say what you want in a more sensitive way. You don’t want to get in fights at home!”

3. OH MY GOSH LAUREN’S DOGGGGGGGG.
Her name is Penny Banks. She is teeny. And she is a total scene stealer. Schmoop.

4. The couple that cooks together, stays together.
Or, well, Finlay cooks, and Lovette cuddles with Penny and watches. Which is the way it should be.

5. You can totally tell these two are in love while they’re dancing.
The footage of Lovette and Finlay working in the studio (and there’s a lot of it, yay!) will make you swoon. First of all, they partnered frequently even before they started dating because physically they’re a great match. They look nice together. But there’s also all kinds of electricity happening, and it’s awesome. “You don’t have to make up chemistry,” Lovette says. “It’s already there. It’s romantic, and it’s fun, and it’s wonderful.”

Click the image below to watch the full episode!