In this podcast former principal dancer and Artistic Director of the Joffrey Ballet, Ashley Wheater talks about his experience of leading the company for the last 13 years. Born in Scotland, Ashley was recently appointed MBE by the Queen for his exceptional service to dance in the UK. Ashley began his esteemed career training at The Royal Ballet School before joining the London Festival Ballet (now English National Ballet) and moving across the world to dance with The Australian Ballet and then onto the Joffrey Ballet and finally the San Francisco Ballet until he retired following an injury. Listen to Ashley share his experience of working with ballet greats including Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, William Forsythe, David Bintley and more, plus acclaimed choreographers Christopher Wheeldon, Cathy Marsden, Stephanie Martinez, Justin Peck, Yuri Possokhov…and the list continues! As Artistic Director, Ashley gives an insight into building on the legacy of founding director, choreographer and dancer Robert Joffrey, what he looks for in dancers, how a company without a hierarchy works, his advice for the next generation of dancers, plus his vision for the future. PRESS PLAY. https://djwpodcasts.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/1wwwod/Joffrey+Ballet+Ashley+Wheater.mp3