Paul and Vince would like to welcome Ashley Hod, a prima ballerina and soloist with the New York City Ballet. Born in Long Island, she began her dance training at the age of 4 at the Great Neck School of Dance. In 2003, she began training at the School of American Ballet. She quickly was identified as a rising talent and became an apprentice with New York City Ballet in 2012, and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet the following year. In 2018, she received the Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award and in 2022, she became a soloist. She has danced the featured roles in The Nutcracker, including Sugarplum Fairy, as well as in dozens of other ballets, including Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream and has performed on various stages around the world.

1.

Paul & Vince: How did you come to be a prima ballerina here in New York and part of the New York City Ballet, one of the most prestigious ballet companies in the world?

Ashley: I was born and raised in the suburbs, in Great Neck, Long Island (about one hour outside of Manhattan). I grew up going to a local studio from like the age of four, and when I was eight, my mom had me audition for the School of American Ballet (SAB), which is the official school for New York City Ballet, very prestigious. And I started there at the lowest level at the time, and made my way through all of the levels, while simultaneously doing competitive gymnastics out in Long Island. So, I was juggling both for a bit, and around age eleven, I had to choose one. My family’s really tall, and so I was likely going to follow that trend, which is hard in gymnastics, so I stuck with ballet.

I’m really glad I did, because it was that summer, my mom sent me to a sleepaway camp especially for ballet. That’s when I really fell in love with ballet, and wanted to do it professionally. So I continued through SAB, but when I was seventeen, I got asked to join New York City Ballet as an apprentice, as a Snowflake in The Nutcracker. So, I went from being a high school student to a full time professional dancer in a matter of weeks. It’s like my life just kind of changed in an instant. And I’ve been at New York City Ballet ever since. I really, truly feel like I’m still living a dream, even all these years later.

Paul & Vince: So, in high school, were your parents shuttling you back and forth to Great Neck?

Paul & Vince: How did you come to be a prima ballerina here in New York and part of the New York City Ballet, one of the most prestigious ballet companies in the world?

Ashley: They were until I was in my early teens, and then, since I was the oldest of six kids, my mom said, “Okay, you can do this.” She taught me how to take the Long Island Railroad and the New York City Subway. And I had a friend who was also commuting to SAB, so we would go together.

Paul & Vince: Wow, and then did you get to see the dancers you looked up to perform, as well?

Ashley: Absolutely, yes. I was working alongside my heroes and my idols. I was always very starstruck backstage. And one of the traditions of young dancers, is when they admire an older dancer, they muster up the courage to write them a letter or ask them for a signed pair of their pointe shoes. So, I collected the dancers point shoes that I admired, and some of those dancers I still work with today alongside as professionals, and they’re also my dear friends, which is crazy to think about.

Paul & Vince: Did your parents make a point of bringing you to shows in the city when you were younger?

Ashley: Absolutely. My mom, when I was a kid, took me to New York City Ballet, The Nutcracker, Radio City. I saw the Rockettes, Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Broadway shows. Being from Long Island, getting to go to Manhattan was the ultimate reward. I remember seeing the Nutcracker when I was only five years old, and I saw the Sugar Plum Fairy, and I knew I wanted to do that. My mom really supported me to make all those dreams come true, and now she won’t miss a year of coming to see me actually perform the Sugar Plum Fairy. It really is like full circle for my whole family.

Paul & Vince: Tell us, is it a real achievement that you actually get to work in New York after all that training, as opposed to having to go to a different company somewhere?

Ashley: It really IS an honor. Not many people get to do it. It’s a really, really small select group of people each year. There’s no official audition for The New York City Ballet, which is different from most other companies in the world. I got really, really lucky. I got into New York City Ballet about a year before most dancers typically do.

Paul & Vince: Does the New York City Ballet ever tour outside of New York?

Ashley: Definitely. My first tour was when I was an apprentice with the company. I don’t even think I had turned 18 yet. We went to Copenhagen. I’ve been to China. I’ve been to Japan, Paris. We do international tours about every other year. We also have a host of tours to the Kennedy Center, or our summer home in Saratoga Springs.

Paul & Vince: Wow, do you ever get time off?

Ashley: Yes, so, right now I’m in a layoff period. Our longest layoffs are four weeks, I would say, which feels like an eternity for a ballet dancer to not be dancing. I could never really take four weeks completely off, even vacations can only be for a week, or maybe 10 days tops, and then you have to kind of stay back in the groove of things, kind of just keep your own routine.

And then after this break, we go into Nutcracker, which is six weeks of performing the Nutcracker, which is a really long stretch, 49 performances usually.

Paul & Vince: So, do you get cast in a role like the Sugar Plum Fairy and then it’s yours forever, or how does the casting work? Is it like Broadway with understudies?

Ashley: It’s so different than Broadway, and also different from other companies in the sense of how much we perform, because we don’t just do the classical full lengths that are very well known, like Swan Lake or Sleeping Beauty, where there’s just one lead and then a couple of solo roles.

We have a ton of mixed repertoire. Some nights, we will perform three short ballets. So that leaves room for several different lead roles in the evening, and sometimes in a season, we’ll perform as many as 20 ballets.

Within our company, we have the apprentices, which is the youngest group that’s still a part of the school. Then we have corps de ballet, which is the largest rank filled with the dancers that do most of the background work. Then there’s the rank of soloists, which is where I am.

You do a lot of solo roles. And also, you get the opportunity to dive into the leading roles. And then you have the top rank principals, who are guaranteed to do lead roles all the time. We don’t really do anything below that. But here at New York City Ballet, there are so many opportunities, and new roles to learn. We go into a season, and sometimes, I could have three ballets to dance. I could have eight ballets to dance. Some weeks I perform twice a week. Some weeks I perform in all seven shows. So, it’s never boring!

2.

Paul & Vince: Tell us what a typical day on the job is like for you?

Ashley: Well, we have company class every day at 10:30, so I have to get up early so I can have breakfast, spend some time with my dogs…My husband [Andrew Veyette, former NYC Ballet principal dancer for 25 years] and I have three basset hounds…A lot of times, my husband will drive me to work, so that I can have a snack or second breakfast in the car… Oh, and I’m also sewing my pointe shoes. [more on this below]

We have company class and then rehearsals begin, which can be a quick hour or could last five hours with a lunch break in between. Then by five-thirty, we cool down, but also get ready for the show, and getting in hair and makeup.

I’m often eating a big snack while I’m in the makeup chair. You really have to find that balance between letting your body rest in that period and then revving back up, because we often dance really hard ballets really late at night – sometimes I won’t actually go on in the program until nine o’clock. And then as soon as the curtain comes down, I’m starving, ready for dinner.

Paul & Vince: It must be hard to wind down after a performance?

Ashley: Yes, it is. But even if it’s late, I always take a dip in the cold plunge. We just got a cold plunge put in in our theater about a year ago, and the dancers are obsessed with it. It’s so great for recovery. We will all funnel in there, sometimes still in hair and makeup, dip into the cold plunge for three minutes and then quickly change. Go home, have dinner. And some nights, yeah, I’m having dinner at midnight. It’s a full day!

Paul & Vince: And beyond the physical rehearsals and training, are you trained musically, for how to perform with the orchestra? Do you notate the choreography in any way?

Ashley: That’s a great question. Every dancer listens to the music so differently, so it really does depend on the piece we’re doing, I really like to listen to the music over and over. Sometimes I’ll just listen to just the music while I’m doing other things. When I’m home, I’ll watch the video so that I can see maybe how other dancers have interpreted the steps with the music.

A lot of dancers learn every step along to counts with the beat of the music, but I’m not much of a counter. For me, I like to create my own rhythm and my own cues musically that I will kind of be able to tap into on stage, so that I’m not just in my head the whole time that I’m performing. Repetition is really important for me, so that I kind of let the choreography soak into my body, so that when I’m on stage, I can just let myself enjoy the performance. That might mean that something gets held a little bit longer musically, one night versus the other.

So, as a soloist or principle, there can be an artistic freedom to the role. Of course, when you’re in the corps de ballet and there are 20 swans out there in Swan Lake, everyone needs to be exactly “on the music” at the same time, so there isn’t as much room for musical freedom in that sense. But from one Swan Queen to the next, you’ll see, complete freedom in terms of musicality. And I think that’s really special.

Paul & Vince: And do you ever talk to the conductors about tempi and holding big, dramatic moments?

Ashley: Our artistic staff is really good about letting the conductors know when something maybe is prepared a little too fast or a little too slow. Occasionally, I will go up to the conductor, especially if I’m close with them, and respectfully, say, something like, “My solo feels a little too fast. You think you could slow it down a bit.” It is really important to have that respectful communication.

Paul & Vince: And why do you still take class every day?

Ashley: Company classes really help us ready for any challenges ahead. For instance maybe for a whole week, I’m only performing really jump-heavy roles, but company class helps ensure that you can do all of this stuff on point, and that you keep your strength in that sense, and that you’re practicing all of your turns and your pirouettes for maybe the performances and weeks to follow, or even seasons to follow.

And our repertoire can be very modern, too. One of our resident choreographers really dives into sneaker ballets, and so we’ve done a ton of works in Keds and Converse tennis shoes and all of those different types of ways that you can move your body and make those shapes without the pointe shoes on. You can’t really let yourself sink into the only thing that you’re performing. You have to keep all that really strong. Taking class every morning ensures that you kind of exercise all facets of your body and your skill set.

3.

Paul & Vince: Can you tell us something that people would find surprising about your job?

Ashley: Well, I mentioned sewing my pointe shoes, and I think most people wouldn’t realize we need a new pair of shoes every day. Sometimes several a day. And every dancer’s needs are different, so some use special thread, or some use floss. But it’s a lot of sewing!

Also, while we try and make our dancing look effortless in some ways, injury is a real threat. Seven years ago, I was right in the middle of a performance and I had a pretty serious fall, after I landed wrong from a jump. I believe I had to crawl off the stage. It was really scary.

Paul & Vince: Wow, how long did it take for you to recover?

Ashley: It took almost a year to get back to one hundred percent, and I would say, as hard as it is physically, it’s ten times harder mentally, because you lose the strength, you lose the coordination. Scar tissue builds. And going through that first injury at such a young age, I believe I was maybe twenty-one, it was really, really tough for me mentally. But a couple years ago, two years ago, I had surgery for my other ankle. I had an ongoing, kind of chronic ankle impingement that was really bugging me from all the pointe work. And finally, I was like, “You know what? I’ve done this before. I can do it again. I’m going to have the minor surgery.” That was tough to come back from, but I think having the experience from doing it before, and knowing that I could come back and be 100%, it helped so much. So, dancers do it, and you come back stronger. I think it’s like one of the biggest blessings that can happen to you, because you appreciate it so much more when you come back.

4.

Paul & Vince: It’s real dedication. But what are your favorite things to do in New York City on a day off?

Ashley: I really love to spend time with my family, like I mentioned, I’m the oldest of six kids. My brothers are teenagers at this point, so we’ll take trips into the city and we’ll do activities together, like we went to a haunted house last month. My brothers will write me and be like, “Ash, when do you have time off? When can we do these things?” Being a dancer, you’re not a normal person, it requires so much focus and dedication and almost in a way, selfishness. You really have to prioritize yourself and your body and what it needs. And so, when I have time off, I really love to say, “Okay, what does everyone else want to do?” I’m here for it.

…and one more, Just For Fun

Paul & Vince: Wonderful! Ok, Ashley, now it’s time for our Just For Fun question. How about this one: what is the worst purchase you ever made?

Ashley: HA! Well, this is crazy because it’s not just one purchase…it’s a pattern [laughs].  During the pandemic, I really became obsessed with Facebook Marketplace. I had just discovered it, and I thought it was so fun. And it became even more crazy when we bought our first home and needed to furnish it. I would find so many things and send off all the messages. And I did not care how far I had to go to get it. I just thought, if it’s affordable and it’s cute, I’ll see. I’ll find a way.

So, there was one day that I just went crazy on Facebook marketplace and promised to buy five different things somewhere in Connecticut. I didn’t even know where in Connecticut! I was like, oh, Connecticut. So close on paper. It’s probably 30 minutes away? And at the time, my husband was still a principal dancer with New York City Ballet, we were both dancers, and it was our one day off. But I was like, “We’re going to need to go get all this stuff in Connecticut.”

Paul & Vince: Oh, no!

Ashley: Oh, yes. When I showed my husband all the listings, he said, “Okay, well, you’re going to have to rent a U-Haul. You got too much stuff.”

So we went to Home Depot, rented the U-Haul. Had to drive two hours into Connecticut to pick up two different dressers, a chair, end table, then we had to drive somewhere else to someone’s home to get a new double sink vanity for our bathroom. It was a lot, and they helped us load the truck. But then I had the realization of, “How are we getting everything back inside the house?” It was a disaster, but I was just so excited, we figured out a way.

So, to this day, we’ll look around items in our house and just laugh at the stories that come with some of these antique purchases. But since then, yeah, I’ve learned my lesson. I’ve had to cool my online buying for a bit.

Paul & Vince: Sounds like you’re not totally cured?

Ashley: It is SO much fun! [laughs]