Question: Moira, how difficult was it to find so many wonderful dancers who can also act or actors who can dance?

Moira Walley-Beckett: It was a daunting challenge. I didn't want to fake it. I didn't want to have body doubles. I didn't want to have actors who could dance a little. I wanted dancers, and I wanted to be able to put the camera anywhere. I wanted to watch them sweat and bleed and suffer and sore, and so we went on an exhaustive, seven month, international search for my main characters, and we kind of got down to the wire. We found some remarkable dancers, but I couldn't find my Claire for the longest time. And, then, Ethan Stiefel, our choreographer, who is a former principal dancer at ABT remembered her from when she was a student there. And we tracked her down, dancing for a company in Germany, and the rest is history. I think it's important to know that this isn't a show about ballet. This is a character drama, and ballet is the backdrop for the story and that many of the characters are involved in the ballet world, but I'm not telling a story about ballet. I'm telling a story about these characters. It's a character drama as opposed to a dance show.

Question: There's a lot of choreography. Can you talk about that balance of you having to learn scenes and lines and dance?

Sarah Hay: There is basically no downtime because Moira's technique of giving us the episodes right before we shoot them was completely beneficial to the character development for me, but, then, having to learn those lines so quickly and then, having to dance on the weekend to try to keep yourself in shape for all of the scenes, it was quite a difficult experience, but somehow we juggled it into the right momentum.

Ben Daniels: Sarah had a workload that you wouldn't believe. She's practically in every scene, and she was always ready and prepared and never once fluffed her lines. She's absolutely incredible. And I think, for someone that has never acted before, she gives this phenomenal performance; it's really compelling and pulls you through the story.

Question: There have been lots of ballet movies over the years. What do those films typically get wrong, from your point of view?

Sarah Hay: I mean, for me, I feel like a lot of the time they either stay on the surface, or they dive too deep into the drama. So this particular story has reality to its fullest as a dancer. Everything that I portrayed during filming has happened to me as far as dancing. Everyday life, it's completely authentic. There are no frills to it. I mean, being torn apart by people, it can be an everyday thing depending on who you are working with. So my relationship with Ben's character had some pretty real moments.

Sascha Radetsky: The career is so short that you have to make the most of every moment. So, if you get injured, you might lose your momentum, your career momentum. So, certainly, there's a lot of hiding injuries or pushing through injuries. The series absolutely reflects reality, that element for sure. We are all completely busted up from dance.

Question: Sascha, you were in the film CENTER STAGE what, if any, advice were you able to give to Sarah or to the other actors that were going from dancing to acting, having already done something similar and now doing a series.

Sascha Radetsky: I think you just try to have faith in the showrunners. And not to sound cliche, but you just do your best every take, dancing. Just keep in mind that we have a higher responsibility, which is to the art form of ballet, you are not just representing yourself. You are representing your community. So you want to keep that in mind. I think I told them something like that.

Question: Because you are in the dance world, how much does a show like DANCING WITH THE STARS or SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE or the variety shows that feature sometimes exquisite talent coming up, getting in the spotlight, does that help bring talent to the profession?

Sarah Hay: I think that any sort of publicity that we can bring to the arts is really important right now because, you know, in general, our audiences are not that big in the ballet world, and when it's brought to television and people see the beauty, and you know, how we are preserving history, it's the same like a painting. We are preserving art. So, for me, I think it's definitely helping, and I hope that it inspires more people to dance because a lot of people can get discouraged in the beginning. It's very difficult. But with all the glamour and, sort of, excitement that television and movies bring to these things, I should hope that it will inspire people to want to dance more.

Question: Ben, can you talk about playing a guy who has ultimate power in this world?

Ben Daniels: It's a phenomenal character, and I loved him. And for me, I wanted to, kind of, create something. He's bipolar. So I wanted to create a character that had full range, so I would do a lot of prep work, and so I would know the mood episode that he would be in and why he was in that mood episode. And I would try and give free rein to that, but it's quite daunting because you can fall flat on your face. And you can only do it if you had someone that you trust, which, in this case, it was Moira. I sat down on Skype and on the phone and in person and really picked apart the background of this man.

Question: Sarah, they said they found you dancing with a troupe in Germany. Who was that troupe? And what was your reaction when they approached you about this series?

Sarah Hay: I currently dance in Dresden SemperOper Ballett. It's a company of about 60 dancers, and they are all very unique and special. My career wasn't going so well in America, and I went out to Germany to find my place. So, when I was approached for the role, at first I really didn't think I was going to get it. So I thought, "Okay. I'll give it a try and see what happens." When I got it, it was exciting but also very nerve racking because you can lose your status and your place in the dance world very easily. You are very easily replaced but I decided, ultimately, it was the best decision for me in my life right now, and I couldn't have made a better decision.

Question: There are darker elements of the show, especially one that involves Josh's character who plays the role of Bryan, Claire's brother. Josh, what was like for you to play something like that?

Josh Helman: There's something about the bravery of going into the types of stories and events that we go into in this show that are happening in the world as it is right now that I think is incredibly exciting and daunting and scary and wonderful. This show is one of the most exciting things that I've ever done. And the relationship between Bryan and Claire is not something that I think any of you have ever seen before.

Question: What was a typical day like on set?

Sascha Radetsky: So you get picked up at 4:45 a.m., driven to the set, hair, makeup, stretch out. Then we have a warm up class at 6 a.m., which is typically an hour and a half, but on the set, it was 45 minutes.

Moira Walley-Beckett: We took the dancers to our set, which was a proper dance studio with proper sprung floors and barres and mirrors, and our ballet master would run them through a proper company class.

Sascha Radetsky: And, then, after we'd been onset, I guess, for two or three hours, then the crew would arrive, and we would start the day of shooting.

Sarah Hay: And then, we'd sweat all of our makeup off and have to do it again.

If you want to know nothing about the episodes at all, skip this section. Provided by Starz, this episode guide includes general episode descriptions and specific plot details.

Episode 101: "Bulling Through"
Claire flees her troubled past and gains entry into the prestigious American Ballet Company. She becomes Artistic Director Paul’s muse, creating new opportunities and new enemies. Paul introduces Claire to the company’s Chairman who agrees to commission a new ballet for her. Claire’s past arrives unexpectedly to haunt her.

Episode 102: "Cannon Fodder"
Claire attempts to sever ties with her brother, Bryan, and embrace her new life but finds unwanted male attention at every turn, while dealing with her roommate Mia’s jealousy. A new choreographer is hired to rejuvenate the fading ABC image. An evening encounter with the Chairman is more than Claire bargained for.

Episode 103: "Reconnaissance"
Paul scrambles in the wake of the Chairman’s departure after his disastrous evening with Claire. Choreographer Toni Cannava’s arrival inspires the dancers. Daphne enters a financial bargain with ABC in exchange for a promotion, while Kiira struggles to keep up appearances. Bryan’s arrival electrifies Romeo, excites Mia, and upends Claire.

Episode 104: "Boogie Dark"
Claire is challenged by the emotional vulnerability of Toni’s choreography, while Ross feels the brunt of Paul’s insecurity to a career-threatening extent. When Bryan discovers Claire’s involvement with the strip club, he muscles his way in to find her. But Claire is determined to brutally remove him from her life forever.

Episode 105: "M.I.A."
Claire and Kiira vie to become the face of the ABC season. Mia worries that her eating disorder is causing more than just weight loss, while dealing with the repercussions of her encounter with Bryan. Claire and Daphne perform at a private event held by Sergei, where Claire catches a glimpse of the club-owner’s dangerous activities.

Episode 106: "F.U.B.A.R."
As Thanksgiving arrives, Paul’s neuroses fray the dancers’ nerves and drive them to exhaustion. Claire ventures home to visit her ailing father, Frank, and her brother Bryan, who she hasn’t seen since their New York encounter. Claire’s trip home proves cathartic but she’s confronted by new horrors back in New York.

Episode 107: "Full Dress"
As opening night fast approaches, Paul faces setbacks that he blames on Toni. Kiira’s drastic measures to mask her injury call into question her shelf life as a prima. Claire’s newfound success and deep-seated struggle with her self-worth drive her to make a move she may soon regret. Romeo’s prophecy thoroughly unsettles Claire.

Episode 108: "Scorched Earth"
Kiira’s decision throws the company into disarray and Daphne finds herself in the spotlight. Claire is faced with the fallout of her call to Bryan. Mia reveals her secret while Kiira endures the consequences of her choice. During the opening night performance, as Claire rises to artistic transcendence, Romeo’s prophecy is revealed.

PAUL GRAYSON (Ben Daniels)

Paul is the bipolar, bisexual Artistic Director of the American Ballet Company. Having founded the company 12 years ago after a long career as an acclaimed dancer, Paul is determined to make ABC rank the highest among the best of the best. And he views Claire as the key to success. Paul believes himself to be a great nurturer of talent, and he requires his dancers’ abject devotion in return... to an extremely unhealthy degree. Paul is mercurial and prone to fits of ebullience and rage. No one ever knows what to expect. He’s a grenade with a loose pin.

CLAIRE ROBBINS (Sarah Hay)

Claire is soulful, serious and profoundly emotionally wounded. Having escaped an abusive home life, she harbors self-destructive tendencies that conflict with her vaulting ambition, and a longing for the sexual autonomy of a normal young woman. She defies stereotype and expectation. She is a transcendent ballerina, capable of reaching the sublime, but her inner torment and aspirations drive her in compelling, unforeseeable ways. She is on a journey of self-discovery without a compass.

MIA (Emily Tyra)

Mia is a New Jersey native with an eating disorder and a penchant for casual sex. She is also Claire’s reluctant roommate. Mia has a dry, unfiltered sense of humor that masks a deep reserve of insecurity. She is desperate to ascend the ranks of the company and prove to her harshest critic, her mother, that she has merit as a person and a dancer. Mia finds herself facing a major life challenge with dire consequences that she’s unequipped to handle.

BRYAN ROBBINS (Josh Helman)

Forced by his abusive, domineering father to enlist in the Marines and serve a three-year stint in Afghanistan where he experienced the horrors of war, Bryan is focused on returning to Pittsburgh. His sister, Claire, is his homing beacon. Bryan suffers from PTSD and is consumed by confusion in regards to his beloved sister – a storm of conflicting emotions clouding his judgment. Bryan is an odd anduncomfortable mix of strength and vulnerability. He’s sure of little in his life – all he knows is that he is utterly devoted to Claire and feels he can’t live without her.

ROMEO (Damon Herriman)

Romeo is a homeless fellow who lives under Claire and Mia’s building. He considers himself the custodian and believes it’s his job to help and protect all the residents within. Romeo is engaging, guileless, smart and sensitive, with his own unique way of looking at the world. Like many who suffer from untreated schizophrenia, Romeo sees signs and omens in everything. Claire’s arrival fits neatly into the context of the book he’s writing – she is further proof of his prophecy. Any random occurrence may trigger his dormant psychotic impulses. Regardless, it is always Romeo’s intention to do the right thing... whatever that means to him.

KIIRA (Irina Dvorovenko)

Kiira is a prima ballerina. A competitor. A survivor. Having emigrated from the Ukraine, Kiira was born and bred to overcome adversity. She is the reigning star of the company and Artistic Director Paul’s longtime muse. She is a complicated, emotional diva who prides herself on being the best no matter what it takes. Although she has planned ahead for life after ballet by marrying a wealthy man, she still hopes, unreasonably, that the future will never come. The start of this series finds us witnessing an intensely vulnerable time for Kiira. She is terrified of “aging out” as a ballerina and subjects herself to punishing circumstances in order to maintain her status. Claire is a direct threat to her position.

DAPHNE (Raychel Diane Weiner)

Daphne is a confident and inveterate “wild child” who plays by her own rules. She comes from old New York money, but what Daphne wants most of all is what money can’t buy: artistic excellence. Despite her family's financial legacy (and disapproval), she’s driven and relentless. Daphne is one of the rare dancers in the company who can withstand Paul’s withering scrutiny, and she finds her outlet of release, her ballet antidote, at Anastasia, a high-end strip club.

JESSICA JORDAN (Tina Benko)

Jessica is a former American Ballet Company dancer. Several years ago she left ballet to marry and have a child. Now a recently divorced single mother in a contentious relationship with her ex, Jessica is back in the workforce out of necessity. Because she’s new at her job as the Company Manager (and living in the shadow of Paul’s deceased partner), Jessica is struggling to prove herself so that she can keep the ballet – and her own home life – financially afloat.

ROSS (Sascha Radetsky)

Ross is the company’s leading man and Lothario. A principal dancer, he is Kiira’s longtime ballet partner and former lover (although he still carries a torch for her). Ross uses his boundless charm and talent to get what he wants, but his status at the company turns out to be more precarious than he could ever imagine when he finds himself caught in Paul’s web.

TREY (Karell Williams)

Trey is gay and proud of it. He's snippy, bitchy and funny, and everybody loves and fears him. Trey can hang with the ballerinas like he's one of them and is an excellent girlfriend, but he also maintains a close friendship with Ross. Trey is incredibly ambitious, ruthless, and always on the lookout for opportunity. He can be a formidable opponent and he'll prove how far he's willing to go to win.

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