We’re Still Feeling Inspired After the 2025 Pointe Live Classes & Conversations in NYC

July 18, 2025

We are still feeling the inspiration from last weekend’s Pointe Live Classes & Conversations event! Upwards of 60 dancers from around the country gathered at Broadway Dance Center’s Lincoln Center campus in New York City for a fun, packed day of dance, sponsored by Cary Ballet Conservatory. Dance Theatre of Harlem star Ingrid Silva and Tony Award–winning choreographer and former Miami City Ballet principal Patricia Delgado spearheaded the day as master-class teachers.

Ingrid Silva demonstrates an exercise at the barre for a group of young dancers. She wears a white, loose tank top with black leggings and stands en relevé with her right foot in coupé back. The students mark the combination around her, wearing various colored leotards and tights. — Ingrid Silva leads a group of dancers through pointe exercises. Photo by Ernesto Mancebo.

The morning started with technique classes, with the students, grouped by age, split between the two teachers. Delgado’s corrections energetically pushed the dancers to move to their fullest extent, a precursor to the repertory selections she would teach later that day.

Patricia Delgado demonstrates a step in front of a group of young dancers, standing on her left leg with her right in an attitude derriere and her left arm forward. She wears a bright pink leotard and black pants. The students watch attentively wearing various colored leotards and tights. — Patricia Delgado teaches excerpts from Justin Peck’s *In Creases*. Photo by Ernesto Mancebo.

In her class, Silva showed that simple does not mean easy in relatively short combinations that drilled technique effectively. Her meticulous attention to detail challenged the dancers to correctly execute the steps.

A young student poses in tendu effacé derriere in plié with her left arm in fifth position and her left arm in second position. She wears a blue leotard, white skirt, and pink tights. She dances in a group of other students executing the combination. — Photo by Ernesto Mancebo.

Following the technique classes, dancers learned a piece of repertoire from each teacher. Delgado taught an excerpt from Justin Peck’s In Creases, showing how the qualities she emphasized in her class were applicable to the choreography. The fast movement required dancers to move with intention, encouraging careful attention to the music and the work’s contrasting, dynamic shifts.

Silva taught an excerpt from her own choreography, Liberated Joy, set to Brazilian folk music. The movement incorporated lively rhythms into neoclassical steps, emphasizing musicality in the lower body and freedom in the port de bras.

A group of dancers demonstrate a combination. A young dancer in a blue leotard poses in plie in second position with both her feet in forced arch and her arms raised above her head. — Young dancers practice an excerpt from Silva’s ballet *Liberated Joy.* Photo by Ernesto Mancebo.

Following a short break, the dancers reconvened to listen to a discussion and Q&A moderated by Pointe editor in chief Amy Brandt. Brandt asked Silva and Delgado thoughtful questions about overcoming the hurdles they experienced as young dancers, battling comparison, and developing resilience.

Silva and Delgado both spoke to the importance of finding the distinct aspects of yourself that contribute to the type of dancer you become. “No one ever on Earth is going to be like you,” said Silva. “You need to find the beauty in your uniqueness…work on what is yours.”

Amy Brandt talks to Ingrid Silva and Patricia Delgado in a studio, who smile back at her. Brandt wears a blue shirt with white pants, Silva wears a patterned brown dress, and Delgado wears a patterned pink dress. — *Pointe* editor in chief Amy Brandt leads a panel discussion with Silva and Delgado. Photo by Ernesto Mancebo.

“Dance should be a team sport,” Delgado emphasized, in regards to comparison. “It’s about trying to switch the pattern of how our brains think. Instead of ‘I wish I had that,’ think ‘How can I be inspired by that?’ ”

Silva also spoke about being a mother and the elements outside of dancing that make her a more thoughtful artist. She encouraged the young dancers to find what they love beyond ballet. “There is so much more out there in the world that complements your dancing. It will give you a different perspective and meaning when you step onstage.”

A group of students listen attentively to the panel discussion. — Photo by Ernesto Mancebo.

Delgado chimed in. “Put out into the world what you crave, but be patient,” she said, underscoring the importance of believing in yourself. “Put it out there with intention, work really hard, and stay humble.”

Silva and Delgado provided invaluable insights that all the dancers could take away. We are so grateful to them for their wisdom. Until next year!

broadway dance center cary ballet conservatory ingrid silva patricia delgado pointe classes & conversations pointe classes and conversations new york city 2025