Sterling Baca

Meet Sterling Baca, principal dancer with the Philadelphia Ballet, and former dancer with American Ballet Theater. Originally from Colorado, Sterling moved to New York at age 15 to train at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School on a full scholarship. In 2016, he was on the cover of Dance Magazine as one of their “25 to Watch”. Hear Sterling open up about growing up, achieving his dreams, and the mindset needed to excel at the highest level. Follow Sterling on IG @SterlingBaca

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey everyone, my name is Vince and I'm a former professional dancer and musical theater performer. Growing up in my hometown, I was one of very few boys who danced and I had no male role models to offer guidance. So now I've started this podcast to inspire the next generation of dancers. In each episode, we'll get to hear from a successful male dancer about their experience growing up and finding their way to the professional stage. From Broadway to some of the top dance companies in the world, from working in film and TV to dancing for major recording artists, we'll get a behind the scenes look at life in the professional dance world and how these fellas made it there. Because after all, boys dance too. My very first Boys Dance 2 podcast guest is Sterling Baca, principal dancer with the Philadelphia Ballet. Sterling is one of the most impressive dancers and kind and super smart people I've ever met. At Philadelphia Ballet, he's played so many iconic roles, including Siegfried in the recent Swan Lake. Prior to Philadelphia Ballet, he was with American Ballet Theater in New York, otherwise known as ABT, which is another world-class company. He's originally from Colorado and moved to New York at age of 15 to pursue his dream, training at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onasa School on full scholarship, which is the official school of ABT. He was previously on the cover of Dance Magazine as one of their 25 to watch. In our interview, Sterling opens up about what it was like moving to New York at such a young age, some advice that he has for dancers who want to do something similar, the reality of what it's like to be a principal dancer in a major company, and how he takes care of himself. Without further ado... Let's meet Sterling Baca. Welcome to the podcast, Sterling. Hi,

SPEAKER_01 1:50

Vince. Happy to be here. Thanks so much for having me.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

No problem. It's great to have you. I know that you're going through a really busy time right now with Swan Lake and a few other pieces, so it's really great to have some of your time.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

Awesome. Well, Sterling, let's start at the beginning. So I wanted to talk to you about how you got into dance. I know that you started at age 11, and before that, you had played sports. So... What drew you to the dance studio?

SPEAKER_01 2:19

So, yeah, like you said, I'm from Colorado, and I was actually homeschooled growing up. So my social outlets ended up being sports. And from there a local homeschool group uh started putting on little plays and so i got involved in that and that's when um my parents said you know you're actually a pretty good performer maybe you should try to do more musical theater and so i i along with sports started doing musical theater and uh from there uh that's what led me to try dance because um my parents and people in the musical theater realm were saying that I should take ballet just to become more of a triple threat. And so I took my first class when I was 11 at Colorado Ballet Academy and I just immediately was attracted to it because it was the two things that I liked doing. It's an athletic performing art. And I think the structure of a ballet class is really in line with my personality. I'm a very organized kind of anal retentive person. So I like to have the structure. I like to have that schedule every day and, um, um, also just kind of competing with yourself on a daily basis to improve. Um, so I, I really was attracted to it immediately and, um, slowly over the next few years, you know, sports dropped off. And then I kind of just totally focused on dance and moved to New York at a young age.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

Yeah, that's awesome. And you progressed fairly quickly, I think, because you started at 11. And by 15, you were training full time in New York at ABT. So when you started at Colorado Ballet Academy, it's a ballet school, which is different from say a competitive dance studio, which is, you know, like in a lot of suburban, a lot of cities, it's a very, it's very common for parents to sign their kids up at these competitive dance studios where they do like their classes and get ready for competition and for recital. But you went to ballet school like right away. So just trying to compare that to say the competitive dance studio environment. I know when I, grew up, was growing up, I danced at a competitive dance studio and it would be like me with like 20 girls in the class. I was the only boy and like the wallpaper was pink and it was like a very girly environment, which is why like my parents, especially my dad, weren't like too thrilled about me entering that space because it just seemed... didn't feel like the most inviting for a boy. And of course I was like super self-conscious, but ballet schools are different. Ballet schools are different definitely because they're structured to, they're at a different scale. Like it's just like the whole culture is different. So when you went to the ballet school, were you in a class with all girls or did they have like special boy classes for you that you danced in?

SPEAKER_01 5:34

so yeah that's a good point and i've noticed that because i also teach quite a bit and i come across a lot of places that are very competition world-based and these competition studios basically train to do competitions whereas a ballet school is training you to become a classical dancer in a professional company um and those say, jazz or other styles of dance are kind of added on to your training, which is the base of classical ballet. In terms of the ratio of boys to girls, I actually had a similar experience. I was kind of the only boy in the class. There were very few in the whole school when I was there. And I transitioned to a couple other ballet schools after that before moving to New York, and I was usually the only boy. So in a way, it kind of made me, there was like immediately more focus on me, I guess, because

SPEAKER_02 6:40

there

SPEAKER_01 6:41

was like no competition, you know? So that was one thing that really attracted me to ABT in New York is that's when I was the first time I had the experience of being in a room full of boys from all over the world and really comparing myself to, okay, what is my level and where do I fit in in my age group? And that was really an important moment for me of, yeah, I need to be more in a situation where there is an equal amount of male and female dancers. And when I ended up graduating from JKO at America Ballet Theater, that we actually had more boys in my graduation graduating class than girls. Wow. 13 boys and 11 girls. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

That's wild. I feel like that never happens. I

SPEAKER_01 7:29

know. It's pretty rare, but I found as I've progressed that this is a very competitive art form and it ends up being a smaller and smaller percentage of the population that has trained hard enough and has the ability to do it. And when you get to the highest levels, competing for jobs, the numbers start evening out. Just because there's a lot more girls taking class doesn't mean there's a lot more girls at the end of the day who are equipped enough to become professional dancers. So I found that the further you go up the line and become a professional, it starts evening out.

SPEAKER_00 8:14

Mm-hmm. Okay, interesting. And let's just rewind a little bit to before you joined the ABT school, the Jackie Onasa school. I know that you did Youth America Grand Prix. And there might be listeners to this podcast who are competing in that or want to compete in that. So just to let those listeners know, Youth America Grand Prix is a prestigious ballet competition for kids that happens every year. There are regional competitions to qualify for the national finals in New York. And Actually, I don't know the fine details about it, but about what you need to prepare. I think you need to do a couple of variations and maybe a contemporary piece. And I think there's a class audition as well. So what did the audition process look like for you when you did it?

SPEAKER_01 9:07

Yeah, so Youth American Grand Prix has been just a really integral part to I would say almost every professional dancer at this point in the United States and probably a lot internationally, it's become such a massive cultivator of talent and has grown since I did it. I was happy to be invited to be a part of the 25th anniversary gala last year at in New York at the Lincoln Center. And just to see what it's turned into and how much it's done for so many dancers is really amazing. I think the format has probably changed a bit. When I did it, you just did your variation. You could choose to do up to two variations, classical variations and contemporary. I ended up just doing two classical variations and there was really no class or other part of it. You just went on and did your variation and were judged on that. I won the silver medal from that competition and it actually put me in a position to go to JKL, but I had already gotten scholarships to JKL from the summer intensive. So I guess I can give a little speech here that I just gave at Denver ballet guild, which is a competition in Colorado that I just judged at two weeks ago where, you know, competitions, the, I think a lot of people get too tied up in where you place or who's got the gold medal, who's got the Hope Award. And I can tell you from my 15-year career so far that it matters more how hard you're going to work every single day for the rest of your career than where you place in that one competition. Most of the principals in the companies around the country from ABT on were silver medalists or top 12s. it's it's about who's the person that's going to get better every year who's the person who has the grit to go through that and um what you really should take away from any competition that you do is is the process getting to the stage and the process being on the stage not the scoring because especially now that i've been a judge and i've always kind of felt this it's really hard to have a set standard that you're judging by, and what exact marks are you giving, and you're seeing so many kids so fast, it becomes quite difficult to be really accurate. It just does. take away more the work you put in the studio with your coach, the work you put in, you know, leading up to that moment and then getting to perform that variation and feeling what it's like to have that one shot to do it your best, because that is the reality of our profession. And that's the beauty of it, that it's alive, live performance art and that's all you get there's no retake you know so um i guess for the listeners that that would be my advice in terms of competitions is is it's about the process and what you take from that moving forward into your training um then where you place

SPEAKER_00 12:28

yeah that's some really great advice now a lot of the competitions have evolved like um youth America Grand Prix definitely has evolved. Uh, now there are audition classes as well. Like the classes are part of the competition. Um, and they're so they're like, they're, um, they're live on Instagram. Like they're shot live on Instagram. I got the notifications on my phone. It says youth America Grand Prix is going live. Now I click on it and it's like an audition class for like the girls or the boys or whoever. Uh, I feel like that would be like terrifying because at least when it comes to your variations and your contemporary like these are pieces that you can rehearse you know you eat sleep and breathe them but a class like you have to be on your feet like literally and figuratively like you have to I feel like you know you have to like pick up really quickly and then On top of all of that, now there's video cameras on you. And on top of that, this is part of the competition. And it's an audition, basically. You're surrounded by other dancers. I feel like some dancers might be conflicted. They might be thinking, should I be trying to you know, shine in this moment, or should I treat this like a regular class? Should I smile when I'm performing? Should I treat this? I'm at the bar. Should I pretend, should I have a persona like I'm on stage? So what is, what kind of words of wisdom would you offer kids who go through that?

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Yeah, that's a good point. And actually that's something that I liked about the Denver Ballet Guild when I, um, judge there is that the class is a part of the total score. And then something like also does where they watch you in class. And I think in a way it gives a better overview of the dancer to see how do they work in class and how do they translate to the stage. And it gives you a better understanding of their ability at the end of the day and their potential, which is the biggest, The biggest thing that people want to see, even if you don't win first, what is the potential of this dancer? How much better are they going to get? Because maybe somebody is really good right now, but they're going to plateau. Or somebody else is obviously showing the intelligence of work ethic in class and how they got through their variations and improved that maybe they have a higher upside over time. So In terms of advice for when you're in that class, I would say that it is different than just taking class on a daily basis because there is going to be a performance quality to it because you're being judged, because people are watching you. So don't be afraid to show your emotion and who you are. Not that you're just going through the exercises, but how do you dance the exercises? And that is something that you can always put into your class, because at the end of the day, this is not gymnastics. This is an art form, and we are learning the technique and building our bodies to speak a language through our bodies, to share with our bodies, not to just execute the pirouette. And so... I would put a lot of actual focus on how you take your class. And I think that it does have a big impact on the judges because it demonstrates how you work and how physically and mentally intelligent you are. And will probably affect the way they score you from your variation. Also, it's a good place to show I call it, you know, stage performers or class dancers. Some people are a lot better in class than they are on stage. And then some people all of a sudden like light up on stage and you didn't even notice them in class, you know? So it's interesting to watch that because sometimes you're watching like what I just experienced. Some kid is just like so technically strong. And then on stage, it's just kind of flatlines, right? And then some other dancer maybe is not quite up to that technical, but they get on stage and it's like a light goes off. And so I think that's another thing to touch on is that, like I just said, this is a performing art. At the end of the day, what we're trying to achieve is that we're entertainers and that we go out and we perform for people. And so you can never underestimate performance quality and showing the audience and showing the judges who you are as a person and what emotions you can bring to the table. Because, you know, I've seen perfect performances that make you feel nothing. And I've seen imperfect performances that make you cry. And if you have a choice, you want to make people cry and laugh and feel over, God, they did nine pirouettes perfectly. Yeah.

UNKNOWN 17:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:47

So that should definitely be a focus. And I think always impresses judges is who are you as an artist? And that is ultimately what separates dancers at a certain level. Because you end up getting into a room where everybody's turning, everybody's jumping, everybody has feet and legs. Who's the one who tells the story? Who's the one who can, like we're doing Swan Lake right now, who's the one who can portray Odette and Odile and make it real you know not just get through the steps really well so that should always be at the forefront of your mind in your training and especially when you get on stage to perform

SPEAKER_00 18:31

and in terms of training and in terms of talking about kids that can jump and turn and everything you went to the ABT school eventually like I mentioned at the age of 15, you went to New York to train full-time at the JKO school. And that's considered one of the best schools in the world. And I know that you're a fan of the movie Center Stage. I know, because I've asked you this question before, and it's one of my favorite movies as well. And Center Stage is basically based off of ABT, except they rename it American Ballet Company in the Center Stage movie. So you've lived that. So for the enjoyment of our listeners and myself, could you kind of describe on a generally like what your daily life looked like when you were studying at the JKO school? I know that you were homeschooled, so. that's a little bit different because I think some of the kids there go to like a professional, like education school, performing arts school. But what did, what did a daily day in the life look like for you when you went to that school?

SPEAKER_01 19:42

Yeah, it's funny you bring up center stage because my family came in to see me do something like this last week and my baby niece was here and she had never seen center stage. So I literally just watched it like two nights ago and I hadn't seen it forever. And yeah, it's really such a great, great movie and fun for me to, watch it now because the last time I watched it I was like going to JKO and then now I watched it and I worked you know I worked with Ethan and Sasha and Jillian Murphy I danced with and Stella did my first White Swan so to see them now after I've worked with them in that movie is kind of funny and yeah it really is kind of based upon I would say more like a cross between ABT and City Ballet with a little Hollywood drama sprinkled on top you know yeah

SPEAKER_00 20:27

and 2000s 2000s 2000s teen movie style, which I love.

SPEAKER_01 20:31

Oh, yeah, the style. It's so great. But, you know, really excellent dance movie. One of the best dance movies made. And in terms of, you know, my daily life there, yeah, it depends. I was really lucky to have my father move to New York with me from 15 to 17 and continued homeschooling me. So I would do the schooling during the day and then go work at J.K.O., you know, usually from like five to eight

SPEAKER_00 21:01

every day. So it's evening, you were dancing in the evenings there. Usually in the

SPEAKER_01 21:05

evening for JKL, yeah, from Monday through Saturday. And that was kind of my weekly schedule for almost two years. Obviously not in the summer, we had the summer intensive. But yeah, I know a lot of, most dancers at that point, you know, you're going to have to do some online schooling online. Um, or homeschooling, um, or like you mentioned some dancers, there's like performing arts schools in New York that you can get up, be a part of. Um, but not just there really anywhere that you move into that level of that high level of classical training, you're going to have to do some sort of moderated schoolwork. Not that you're doing less schoolwork, but that you're not going to school, like, cause your time is going to be really focused on that training. Um, So yeah, like I said, it was really just kind of school all morning and afternoon and then, you know, ballet every evening and along with, you know, modern and jazz and contemporary character. And then, you know, getting ready for the various performances we would do around the city or with the company. And yeah, it was rigorous. It was, it's tough, but, you know, good things happen take time and effort. It's worth it. It

SPEAKER_00 22:29

worked out really well for you. Case in point. For some of our listeners who might be wanting to go to a full-time ballet school and it does involve moving to another city, uh, just like in your case, you moved to New York. Um, what are some of the things that they should be thinking about? So for example, like, is there a checklist that you recommend that they like some things that should be on that checklist, obviously schooling, figuring out what school you're going to go to going to go to is huge. And you've already spoken about that. Um, anything else that you can think of?

SPEAKER_01 23:03

Um, I would have a, whatever city you're ending up in, I would have a very good understanding of the navigation of the city. You know, make sure that you can get around easily and you know exactly how to get to and from the school. And first of all, you know, you wanna have, it's gonna be really hard. So you're gonna wanna make sure that you have Where's my grocery store? You know, how do I travel? Kind of all the basics of your everyday life. You don't want that to be a drama. You know, you want those, you want to have a solid place to be staying, whether you're with roommates or parents, you need to have, you know, your food and you need to have your travel really kind of set because there's going to be a lot of stress and you're going to be tired and sore and you don't want those things to, you know, be like, a difficult thing to be dealing with. So I would say that really make sure that your base structure and your home is set up in a way that is going to be comfortable to work from.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

And in terms of, yeah, those are all like, uh super important points and in terms of the dancing itself um some dancers they might come from a local studio where they do syllabus work uh like here in in canada like rad the rural academy of dance is huge so lots of studios they do that syllabus so kids kind of you know they do whatever level they're in every class so it's not they know the exercises inside and out for the entire year uh getting ready for their exams at the end of the year but when you go to uh major ballet school, it's I'm assuming just like always open classes. I know some places do syllabus work as well, but for the most part it's open class. So a lot of kids I imagine have to kind of like rewire their brains in order to like get used to that and just get used to like taking in a lot of choreography, a lot of exercises, a lot of new content on a day-to-day basis compared to what they might be used to at their home studio. So I mean, besides just immersing yourself in it and just getting used to it, do you have any other tips that you would recommend for that mental adjustment?

SPEAKER_01 25:33

No, that's a good point. The question of what syllabus you train in or curriculum. For instance, at ABT, I did the national training curriculum that they have there. And that's what JKO runs under. Some schools are strictly Vaganova or they... follow Cicchetti or they have more of a Danish Bournemouth backing or like you said, RAD. In terms of that, I wouldn't really worry too much because you all kind of end up getting to the same place. And if you call this arabesque first or that arabesque second, you end up being able to do the same steps. But I think... it's important to mold to whoever's teaching the class. If you're getting a teacher that is really more inclined for, you know, they want more turns or they want this or they want that, try to mold to it because it's good practice to be versatile, especially in this 21st century of dance, you have to be able to go from Swan Lake to Ruby, to Foresight or Killian, to Martha Graham in a couple months. You can't just be like, I'm only gonna do Giselle for the rest of my life. So it's good practice to really be open and train yourself to be able to mold quickly to whatever's happening at the front of the room and what's being asked of you. So Don't be fearful of like, oh God, why is that frappe being shown differently than I've ever done it before? Why are we starting plies in second instead of first? Or why are we not starting with plies? Why are grand plies after degages? You know, it's like just there's... probably a reason for all of those things. And there's a logic behind it. So be open to that. And you may find, oh, wow, actually, that works better for me. Or that really doesn't work for me. I'll do it in the class, but maybe over time, I need to train something different or think of something different. Everything that you're going to come across is going to help mold and shape your your physicality and your mentality and understanding of how you, you work your body moving into the future. Um, and you got to kind of pick and choose everything to for yourself to maximize what your potential is. Um, as you move into the professional realm, because once you get there, there's not going to be as much help. You're really doing everything on your own basically. So, um, I would say base, you know, when you get to the bigger schools, they're probably like you said, you know, you're coming from a syllabus, but I know a lot of dancers that come from like their teacher. And it's like, they've had their teacher for 10 years from five to 15.

SPEAKER_02 28:48

And

SPEAKER_01 28:49

then it's like, they go to the big school and you have a different teacher every day, which is kind of like what I did. And you got to understand that like, That's just how it is. Different schools are formulated different ways. So you also have to, before you make that move, identify what you feel is going to be most conducive to achieving your potential. Is that going to be going to something like a Herod Conservatory where it really is just the school and not necessarily feeding into a specific company? where you're gonna have the same teachers for years? Or is it gonna be better to line yourself up in a company that you want to dance in? I think that that is a big question that people should be aware of. Companies are very focused on pipelines. They want a connection between the school, the trainees, the second company and the company. Obviously, financially, it's good for the organization. It raises money for the company, and then you're building the dancers you want. So going to ABT at 15 helped me get into the company because I was on the radar. If you want to go dance for San Francisco Ballet or Houston or Boston or Philadelphia Ballet, it's going to help to be on the radar younger. than maybe just showing up at a large audition or even coming in for a private class audition. If you want to go to Europe, I think it's an even more important move to move to that school at a young age. If you want to dance for Royal, you got to go to Royal Ballet School at 15 at least, you know, or wherever in Europe. It's really good to kind of get into that system young. That said, ultimately, you know directors are going to be picking the dancers that they like based upon how good they are their tastes um and that's another thing not to get down on yourself about just because one director doesn't choose you or doesn't want you doesn't mean somebody else doesn't love you you know there's a lot of companies and it's a big world and you know keep moving forward just because you dream of dancing at San Francisco Ballet and at some point the director doesn't think that you're right for that company doesn't mean you're not perfect for another company. And that's another thing at the end of the day, it's a career. And ultimately what you should be looking at is the roles you wanna perform and being aware of your everyday life and the city you wanna live in as well, you know? And those are all even bigger questions. Do I want to go live and dance in Canada? Do I want to come to the United States? Do I want to go live in Europe? Because you also then have to think about... the reality of living in that city, how much money you're going to make, where you're going to live, health insurance, on and on and on and on.

SPEAKER_00 32:09

Yes. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Those are things that someone should consider on their checklist as well in this whole process. And sorry, I laughed a little bit when you said, do I want to move to the United States? I only laughed because of the political situation right now.

SPEAKER_01 32:24

That's why I said that.

SPEAKER_00 32:26

Yeah. Okay, good. Glad we're on the same page. But yeah, so you did it. You moved into the company at ABT and I do have to say like sometimes kids might just luck out and they happen to like be born and raised in New York and you know ABT or City Ballet that's just like their local ballet school so they just like the audition and that's just like normal life but I think like most cases like students kids they audition for schools that might not be the same place that they live and they're drawn to those schools because of the the company that it pipelines into new york city ballet american ballet theater houston ballet san francisco ballet what have you um and for you like it worked out well you got into the second company or this the studio company at abt uh right on time like it happened when you were 17 uh so at the end of your high school years um and for that did you have to audition for it or or are you just like invited to be in the studio company?

SPEAKER_01 33:26

Yeah, so that's one thing that, you know, Kevin McKenzie, the former director of ABT, had really put a lot of focus on around the center stage time, you know, the early 2000s, is how do we build more of a pipeline from the school into the company? More like how City Ballet is structured, where SAB is older than the company and, you know, Balanchine and Lincoln Kirsten were very intelligent of, you know, getting the school and the theater together. and then making the ballets and then having the company kind of whereas ABT basically started with the opposite of like hiring the biggest stars and making big ballets and renting all the time which is still an issue for the organization but you know Kevin did a good job of setting up a pipeline that I just kind of climbed through I was found in the audition and I didn't need to do a single competition for it, frankly. And I only did, I've actually only auditioned one time my entire career. I auditioned for ABT Summer Intensive in Colorado in 2006. That was it. Oh, great. Yeah, no, I mean, because from there they gave me a full scholarship to New York. I went to New York and then they put me on the National Training Scholarship Program. So they gave me an automatic scholarship for the next year. I did that for five years. They gave me the Bender Foundation Scholarship from there, which is another designation, brought me to the school on full scholarship. And then from my graduating class, I was the only person to be selected for ABT2. There was no formal audition. They had just watched me. And then from ABT2, which now is studio company, I was the last year of ABT2 and I was the only person from ABT2 to be hired into the company. So you know, that's another thing you gotta be aware of is like I said, it's very competitive.

SPEAKER_00 35:19

It's very competitive,

SPEAKER_01 35:20

yeah. I just kind of, you know, I'm not gonna apologize. I worked really, really hard and always focus, still focus on improvement constantly. And I think that that has gotten me where I am and hopefully continues to get me where I wanna go as an artist and dancer. But there's also factors of timing. You know, I was a good candidate For the ABT2, I was happy to be selected there. And part of the reasons I was selected for the main company was because of my height and what they needed at that exact moment. And somebody had gotten injured and I replaced that injury. So timing is also a factor. And I've seen, I think they had decided they were going to hire me, but having been hired that early, I had actually been offered to join the studio company that they were changing it to. And then a week after that, they were like, actually, we need you for the Met season. So join the company. So I've also seen dancers, you know, that don't get in at that certain time. And then they come back full circle back into the company that they originally wanted to be in, you know? So you got to understand that. this is another thing that is important for dancers to understand when you start moving into the professional realm, is that you are the most important part of the organization because that's what the organization is, is putting on ballets, but you are also a dancer. And a dancer is a piece that you put in, this person can do Siegfried, this person is doing Peasants, this person's been doing Aristocrats. And it's like, at the end of the day, all the stuff that the organization is dealing with to stay alive and function, they kind of just need somebody to do it, do their job. And I think when you're a dancer and you're so like, we're so, it's not just our profession, but it's our passion, it's our life, it's everything we care about. And then we're swallowed up into this very contained world of training and ballet, ballet, ballet, and dance and being a professional dancer. And it starts to become very insulated and the highest importance, you know? And I think that I got a really good experience of seeing things from different angles because when I was in the Corps at ABT, I was doing Corps solos and principal roles, and I never had a show off. I never watched a show. I was always on stage. And then when I came to Philly, it went from that to I was the lead once a week.

UNKNOWN 38:01

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 38:01

And so I got to watch shows, and it really kind of allowed me to get space from being in there and actually see what the performance is. And it did a couple things for me. It first of all put things in perspective of, like I said, what we do, which is ultimately just entertainment for people. And it's our lives and our passion, but most people go, they enjoy the ballet, and then they move on with their life. You know, it's not necessarily like this, like lifetime achievement award situation. And the other thing that it really helped with is like not being hung up so much on a single mistake in a performance or like not hitting that one turn when you see it's a performance, it's a whole thing. And what's, you know, what we, the standards we're putting ourselves through is you know, that's good, but you also have to look at what was the full experience and what do people actually remember from that performance? You know, was it that you didn't quite hit that thing the way you wanted to, or was it that they enjoyed the performance and, and, you know, um, going back to the competition stuff I was talking, I know I'm kind of going on a tangent.

SPEAKER_00 39:09

It's totally fine.

SPEAKER_01 39:10

Um, uh, going back to what I was saying about performing.

SPEAKER_02 39:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:17

Um, you know, a lot of people don't know necessarily the details and the technical aspects of what we're doing. And they're there more to feel the performance. And even if you didn't necessarily hit it the way you wanted, if you gave everything you had and people walk out feeling good and clapping about it, you achieved it, you know? So that perspective has definitely been, you know, helpful. for me and I think can be helpful for people listening. Put pressure on yourself in the right way. Positive improvement pressure, but don't get hung up on petty inner company issues and getting hard on yourself about things that aren't really a problem or aren't really affecting the performance. that's something to be aware of as you evolve and grow in your training.

SPEAKER_00 40:19

And like you said, when you're so immersed in something like that becomes your whole world and it's, it's hard not to get really wrapped up into things. So definitely like opening one's perspective I think it's like super important. And as you mentioned, once you became principal, you were able to step back and watch performances and kind of like open your perspective a little bit in terms of the whole, like, mental the mental game of you know being let's say someone's in a school at the moment and that's, you know, their entire lives. Are there other things that you would recommend for them to be able to kind of like manage that and kind of not get caught up too much in, you know, all the things happening at the dance studio and try to maintain a wider perspective? Because it can be really hard if you're training for your dream. So yeah, like what is, do you have any other advice for being able to manage that mental challenge?

SPEAKER_01 41:18

Yeah, managing the obsession of ballet is a good question and a difficult thing to achieve because, you know, like I'm a bunhead. I just, I'm so like zoned in and focused all the time. And, you know, I've had to work a lot on finding like space from your work. And I think it's really important for everybody to pursue their outside hobbies and interests. And even in conversations with friends, you don't always have to be gossiping about the other kids in the competition or the other kids in the class. Talk about something else. Find different topics of conversation. Do you like drawing? Go home and draw instead of freaking out about the turn you missed in class. Do you like to read? Do you like to watch your show or whatever? also go experience life because what we're trying to portray on stage is, you know, metaphorical and symbolic of what we experience in life. And if you don't live a full life, you know, experience a full spectrum of emotion, how do you think you're going to be able to portray that on stage in a ballet like Romeo and Julia, you know, so be open to life's experiences and, and pursue them and understand that, ballet or dance in general is just one aspect of the totality of the existence that we can experience. And be mindful of not being swallowed into a tunnel of this is all there is.

SPEAKER_00 43:01

Well, you know what? People often... have the assumption that ballet dancers are sheltered, that like, it's, it's been a common comment that I've heard from people like, oh, yeah, that's a ballet dancer, they've lived a really sheltered life. And understandable, because of how much like discipline and training it takes to be a ballet dancer. But to your point, if someone doesn't have the life experience, then that's going to affect them, prevent them from really getting to that you know, the elite level, being able to really perform, perform the, like the Romeo and Juliet's and whatever else, because they don't have like the emotion, the life experience to draw from. Have you, is that something that you've noticed before? Like, I mean, even as you're in your role as an adjudicator where some kids, they might have like all the technical ability, but they just don't have, they can't connect with the material because maybe they don't have that maturity or life experience yet.

SPEAKER_01 43:57

That's a good question. And I want to touch on the sheltered. Because that is a very common thing that people say about dancers. And I like to often compare things to sports, especially in the US, because people are so obsessed with sports. And it's like, nobody ever, like the Philadelphia Eagles just won the Super Bowl. Nobody ever says, God, all these football players are so sheltered. I'm obsessed with football.

SPEAKER_00 44:26

Never heard that before.

SPEAKER_01 44:27

Or like Kobe Bryant, when he would talk about his 6-6-6, like six days a week, six hours a day for six months preparation for the season. Nobody was ever like, God, he's so sheltered. And it's like, just because you work really hard at one thing to achieve a high level of physicality doesn't mean you're sheltered. It means that you're dedicated and focused on achieving a physical greatness. And that's the same, the physical aspect of ballet is the same as a sports. What's different from sports is the artistic. And that's where you have to put in the hours that a professional athlete does in that level of intensity. You have to demand of yourself. I think the sheltered aspect is when you leave that physical space and your mental space stays stuck on that thing. And that can happen to athletes too, where it's like they're all they can function through is basketball or all they can function through is baseball instead of like, Oh, let's talk about politics or let's talk about, you know, pop culture or whatever. Yeah. You can see that in a player. I think that, you know, in sports, you can see if a player has almost an artistic quality to the way they play the game, then a really zoned in stuck way of playing the game, you know? And I think that's the same thing in ballet. You can see somebody who's like maybe too stuck in, God, I take class every day and I go to bed at this time and I do this and I never break the rules. And then you kind of dance like that. And you can see it like as a judge or when I watch a performance, well, there's that Baryshnikov quote where he says, dance for two minutes and I'll tell you who you are. I think it's a little assumptive, but there's some truth in it. You can kind of tell if a dancer is a more fully rounded person, a person who's been through things or not. somebody who's more just really stuck in executing and you can see that in a competition when they get on stage it's like one person maybe they're the same technical level but one person they come out on stage and the other person stays in the technique and then that translates into professional performances like i've said you know every company there's going to be dancers that just really open up everything they've experienced in their life on stage. I just did Siegfried opening night and yesterday, Sunday, and I feel like I'm journeying through every heartbreak to love, to experience I've had in two and a half hours on stage. And when I get there, the reason I do that 666 training all the time is so that when I get to the performance, I can just enjoy it. And I can fully immerse myself in the emotion of it and let my body take over the physical aspect of it. And so, yeah, again, you have to have those life experiences, you have to be open to the things outside, because then that will shape the performance that you put on stage, just like You can't just do ballet. You have to take jazz. You have to do modern. You have to do character. You should try tap dancing. You know, everything counterbalances and helps itself, helps the other. Makes you a fully rounded dancer and fully rounded person. And that's what people want to watch on stage.

SPEAKER_00 48:12

Yeah. Yeah. Agreed. Now let's talk about what your life looks like now. Um, all these, we talked about your life at ABT, um, But all these years later, now you're a principal with Philadelphia Ballet. You've been there for nine years now. I think this is your ninth season. As you mentioned, you're doing Swan Lake right now, playing Siegfried. What does a day in your life look like now? Because I know that you must incorporate self-care into your routine. You probably do a lot of structured, healthy things like having a set bedtime and a morning routine and that kind of stuff. So Curious as to what a day in your life looks like these days.

SPEAKER_01 48:52

Yeah, so like I said, I kind of went through a bit of a transition period going from ABT to here because it's a different work, you know, from being in the core where you're doing a spectrum of roles to being just that role, you know, once a week. So there's a lot more free time of... and kind of basically waiting, you know, like waiting for that show to happen. Yet when that show happens, like for my former director would say, there's a difference between being in the show and being the show. And it is, it's different, you know, it's like you step up and you step out on stage and it's like, okay, here we go. And, you know, it is a different level of pressure where everything is leading up to that one show. So I kind of had to change how I train instead of just like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom all the time and just like never stopping to kind of how do I pace myself? How do I build up to that moment over time? Which is a different thing. And I've always been a hard worker and I like to just during the week stay within the structure. I always take class in the morning. And then depending on my rehearsal schedule, I usually during training weeks, as I call them, I'll swim three times a week and run twice a week. I do a lot of stretching. I've taken more advantage of PT lately with massage and stuff. You know, obviously being aware of diet, being aware of, you know, Free time also, one thing I've had to learn for myself is actually how to, like I said, pace myself instead of exhausting yourself up to the point of the show. So leading up to the week of the show, I'll be really pushing and exhausting myself within rehearsals and outside the studio training. But then going into the week of the show, I'm really doing minimal work. minimal class, a lot more stretching. I'm not training then. I'm just conserving for that performance. The other transition I've had from New York to Philly is that I have the summers off. Instead of having the Mets season in the summer and more time off in the fall and spring, now I'm working straight from August to June and then I'm off for three months. That's when I started teaching more. in the summers. And I've been on the faculty of the School of Philadelphia Ballet since 2017. And I also got involved with the Union, our Union American Guild of Musical Artists, which covers most companies in the country. I was a delegate for three years for the union, so I learned a lot. there another perspective moment of kind of seeing how things run, you know, from the more administrative side and, you know, making sure that the collective bargaining agreements are being followed and dancers are protected and things are running smoothly and going through negotiations with with executive directors and asking for more money and all that process. So I learned a lot from that. And then also just doing a lot of outreach things with schools in the area through the school, a lot of work with donor outreach. I do speeches and kind of donor cultivation, which is huge in the US because basically everything is funded by private donations. So I feel very, since I've come here, a more fully formed person in the art form because I don't feel like I'm just a dancer. I feel like I've learned kind of a spectrum of how the organization runs and that I've been involved in all of those things. I've wanted to get involved in all those things. Also working with social media, projects and creating content, which is a big part of the world now. So I think I've tried to take advantage of that extra time, not always doing every role, to expand my mind in all those aspects of the organization, which has been very satisfying. And I just want to keep learning about that because I hope to dance for another decade. But we can't dance forever. And I would like to move into a rehearsal director, artistic director position at some point somewhere. Because I really love this art form. I love dance in general. And I want to be a part of the next generation of leadership that is maybe even more aware of how to manage companies and dancers and people's health. along with their own, you know? And so I'm just trying to learn as much as I can every day.

SPEAKER_00 54:16

Amazing. Thanks for sharing all of that. And yes, it definitely sounds like you've really evolved to a leadership position now with all the things that you're involved with and also teaching. I think that's really amazing. I think that in a way things definitely things have come full circle for you because I've seen some of your social posts of you teaching at the school with those young kids. And that's really cool. They must love you to have, you know, for them, it must be so amazing to have such a strong role model such as yourself. So that must be super rewarding. And then I know that you judge competitions as well. So that's amazing that you share your knowledge in that way. And your social media is really on point. I have to say, I've really enjoyed all of the content that you've been putting out all these reels. And there was that one reel when the Super Bowl, when Philadelphia won the Super Bowl. And you guys, your company, you did that fun little reel. That was like super cute.

SPEAKER_01 55:14

Yeah, I made that. I've organized a voluntary group with the company that helps our marketing department kind of brainstorm and create content for the organization.

SPEAKER_02 55:26

Because

SPEAKER_01 55:27

a lot of dancers, they want to, you know, be a part of that, even though it's not our job, you know, especially now because it's such a big part of the world. You know, I think dancers should have a say in what's being put out there. And yeah, we made that video. I just kind of filmed people after class and put it together with the song and it turned out really well. And then the ladies put together the next one we posted, you can go to the Philadelphia Ballet um, social media and watch both of them. They did really well on social media and they were just really fun to make. Um, and yeah, for me, social media can have some, you know, negative aspects to it, but it could also have a lot of positive things. Like for me, it's a, it's a part of my performance. Now I like to share, you know, my dancing, um, with audiences that may not be able to see me in person. And if you like to follow along and see, you know, my performances or things that I'm experiencing or doing, it's nice to be able to share it through that medium again with the world. And I think in a way that has been a positive thing that it's connected the ballet world internationally in a way that it's never been done in the past. And I think is actually growing the number of people that are interested in being involved in dance, especially boys, I think it's helped because people are just more exposed to it and are seeing really what it is and that it is an option to be a professional and have a life, you know? So I think that it's important that we keep, you know, promoting the beauty of this art form through the social media channels and, you and try to be a beacon of our best selves in this world we're living in.

SPEAKER_00 57:18

Definitely. Oh, yeah, I definitely agree. Well, because to your point, a lot of boys growing up dancing, they might There might not be a lot of immediate role models for them in the dance world. Or anyone of any gender who wants to accomplish something, they might not immediately have someone that they can see themselves aspiring to be in their everyday life. So to have social media, to have someone like you posting your experiences to anyone online, who has access to a device that can see that, that makes such a huge difference. I'm sure that makes a huge difference to the lives of so many young people seeing into your world through social media. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 58:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 58:03

Yeah. Well, awesome. Well, I have a few fun, quick fire questions for you that I want to fire off to you. So don't think too much about it. Don't stress. Don't stress too much about these questions. They're just for fun. All right. Sterling Baca, are you team Elphaba or team Glinda?

SPEAKER_01 58:24

Oh, my goodness. I'm sorry. I don't know what you're talking about.

SPEAKER_00 58:27

Okay. I might edit this question out then. Elphaba, Glinda, they're the main characters in Wicked, right?

SPEAKER_01 58:39

Oh, God, I'm sorry. Yeah, I don't. I haven't followed Wicked. I don't even know. So

SPEAKER_00 58:44

I'm so surprised.

SPEAKER_01 58:46

Okay. Okay. Do you want to go through these questions? And then you can edit this part out and then I can know how to answer. Okay. So Alphaba was which one?

SPEAKER_00 58:56

She's the green one. Okay. In the movie, Cynthia. Okay. Cynthia Erivo played her in the movie. Okay. Okay. yeah yeah okay okay i'm surprised you don't know about this because it was a huge thing when the movie came out like so many wicked fans dressed up in either green or pink to go to the movie theater to show like yeah team alpha or team glenda okay what's your favorite dance movie i feel like we've already asked this but just to confirm is it center stage

SPEAKER_01 59:25

center stage

SPEAKER_00 59:26

Okay. Yes. Cool, cool, cool. I approve. Who are some of your fave dance influencers? So on social media, I'm sure you follow a bunch of influencers. I do as well. Like in the dance world, like who are some of your favorite dance influencers?

SPEAKER_01 59:42

Honestly, my biggest influences are the people that I work with in person every day. My director, my rehearsal director, Charles Askegaard. Yeah. I think there's so many influencers now, it's hard to pick one.

SPEAKER_02 59:58

That's

SPEAKER_00 1:00:00

a very diplomatic answer. So I know you haven't done Broadway yet. Would you ever consider doing Broadway if the right project came up for you? That's the question. I

SPEAKER_01 1:00:14

mean, maybe. I started with musical theater. I think it would be fun to revisit. I just would have to check in on my voice. I haven't sung for so long. It may not be very good.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:23

Well, it could be a dance musical. I believe there have been some musicals recently like Illinois that I think Justin Peck choreographed. So there are some musicals just for dancers these days. So you might want to keep that on your radar. I would

SPEAKER_01 1:00:37

definitely be interested. Absolutely. Yeah, I would love to dance. Yeah,

SPEAKER_00 1:00:42

cool. And you know what? Maybe if it did involve singing and acting, you could brush up on your singing and your acting too. Yes,

SPEAKER_01 1:00:51

yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:52

speaking about voice, because I get lots of ads on my Instagram now. Maybe Instagram's trying to tell me something about how to improve your speaking voice or how to improve your singing voice. So FYI, if you ever make it to Broadway, we can set you up with some of these apps. Perfect. What's your favorite food?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:12

Greek. Greek food. Greek food, yeah. Because I lived in Astoria, Queens most of my time in New York. And it's a very Greek neighborhood. And I just, I love the cuisine is so fresh and healthy and, you know, olive oils, lots of vegetables and fruits and fish. And yeah, it's a really great cuisine that definitely top of my list.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:40

Great answer. And following up to that follow-up question to that, how do you like organize and manage your, diet these days. Do you have like a meal prep service that you order from or do you make everything yourself or get takeout?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:54

So me and my wife, we cook a lot. Basically during the week, we're always cooking. We kind of have three staple dishes that we do. One is kind of a gnocchi dish with chicken. Another is like a bean dish. base with vegetables, and then I make an eggplant dish. So we're primarily kind of vegetarian. And during the week, I like to just cook because I know exactly what's going into it. And I like the process of cooking. It's kind of a meditative, relaxing point of the day to zone into cutting everything and making it yourself. And it's very satisfying to kind of calm the day down with cooking your own meal at night. And then we save going out more for the weekend, picking a new restaurant.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:48

Cool. And are there any TV shows that you're currently watching? And if so, what are they?

SPEAKER_01 1:02:56

So one thing that we've really been diving into is we love watching Desperate Housewives.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:03

Yes, me too. It's one of my favorite shows of all time. Are you like re-watching it then, like throughout all the seasons?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:09

This is my first time watching it and I didn't know that I would like it because my wife Scarlett, she, you know, her mom watched it when she was growing up and but never really let her watch it. So this is her first time really watching it. Yeah. I love it. I think it's just like, you know, it just keeps the drama going.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:28

You know, every episode. So it's, it's fun to keep up with.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:31

Oh yeah. I love that show. The first two seasons are also dark too. Like there's a dark aspect to them with like, that lady who like died and like the whole story behind like what happened there with like the fire stick poker or whatever like it's like it's like there's a lot going on it's a lot going on

SPEAKER_01 1:03:48

really i mean that's the thing is i think some people just kind of dismiss it because it's like oh that's just some like silly girly show and it's like well there's it really covers a spectrum of human emotion and issues and stuff in this one place you know it's kind of a microcosm of us It's pretty good, yeah. And they really never stop having ideas. It just keeps moving.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:12

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It kind of went, I don't know, like in the last season, you could kind of tell that it was kind of, it was time for it to end because their ideas weren't like maybe the best. But for most of it, it ran for like 10 years or whatever. So like for most of it, it was like really top notch. Awesome. And then final question. What's your... Favorite song to work out to?

SPEAKER_01 1:04:36

You know, actually, I don't usually listen to music when I work out because I run or I swim, so I like... It's kind of a meditative state for me. The one song I like to listen to if I do listen to music when I'm running is actually... from Rocky, Go the Distance, Going the Distance. Is

SPEAKER_00 1:05:00

that the famous, is that like the main song, like the theme song?

SPEAKER_01 1:05:03

It's not the da-da-da-da, it's the other one. It's the one that happens at the final fight in the first movie. It's called Going the Distance. And I really, I actually, when I teach, when I teach like, uh, uh, fitness classes, uh, for schools. I have, I have a Rocky workout and it's like a two and a half minute cardio thing to that music. And it just always gets me pumped. And I like it cause I live in Philadelphia. Yeah. So it's like, yeah, it gets me going. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:38

Cool. Awesome. Well, uh, Sterling, if people want to follow you online, where should they go? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:46

Yeah, so I have on Instagram, you can follow me at Sterling Baca. And then I also have a dancer page on Facebook, Sterling Baca. It's all my name. And you can also follow Philadelphia Ballet at Philadelphia Ballet on Instagram and Facebook and keep up with our upcoming performances and more.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:11

Amazing.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:13

Hope you'll follow along. And anybody who's listening, maybe I'll meet you in person someday.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:19

Amazing. Well, Sterling, it's been a pleasure speaking with you. Thank you so much for your time. I wish you the best of luck with everything. And I look forward to continuing to follow you on social media and to follow your journey.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:31

Well, thank you so much for having me, Vince. And I hope you have a good rest of your evening. And we'll be in touch.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:39

Thank you. Bye, Sterling. Bye-bye. Thank you so much for joining me in today's episode of Boys Dance 2. Stay tuned for more as we get to hear from a different professional male dancer in each episode. I am so excited to have you with me on this journey. Your support really means the world to me. Please follow and share this podcast on your preferred podcast app and follow Boys Dance 2 podcast on Instagram. And remember, no matter what your gender is, if you are passionate about something, go for and don't let anyone stop you. And no matter what, keep dancing.