While the world’s premier dancers tell stories through movement, some feel called to go beyond the stage and create works of their own. Dancers Responding to AIDS and Broadway Cares donors stepped inside that creative process on March 2, 2026, meeting Gilbert Bolden III, Lauren Lovette and James Whiteside at the intimate Inside Dance Series at NYC’s Taylor Dance West.

Lovette, a former principal dancer with New York City Ballet and now the resident choreographer of Paul Taylor Dance Company, opened the program with an excerpt of her piece stim. Before the performance began, she spoke candidly about its origins. When she unexpectedly learned she was pregnant, her anxiety intensified, prompting her to examine – through choreography – the chaotic, overstimulated experience of living with ADHD.

“This is probably the most vulnerable piece I’ve ever made,” Lovette said, before company members Jessica Ferretti and John Harnage launched into the frenetic, athletic work, its layered movement evoking a sense of double vision.

Whiteside, an American Ballet Theatre principal dancer, arrived as the evening’s ultimate multi-hyphenate. In addition to dancing and choreographing, he’s a podcast host, published author, drag performer and all-around creative force. Rather than formally introducing his piece, he leaned into the irreverent humor that defines much of his work outside the ballet world.

“Elmo is closing and I’m so sad,” he told the audience about a beloved gay-owned restaurant and bar. “Go have one last watermelon martini for me. This dance has nothing to do with that.”

The joke landed, then the room shifted. His comedic prelude gave way to a sweeping excerpt of Mantle, performed by American Ballet Theatre soloist Sierra Armstrong and corps de ballet member Finnian Carmeci. The work, created through ABT’s choreographic incubator, unfolded in fluid lifts and suspended turns.

New York City Ballet principal dancer Bolden III offered a glimpse of artistic expression beyond choreography. In 2020, he began sewing after he stepped into drag, frustrated that women’s clothing rarely fit his long arms. Entirely self-taught, he soon expanded from personal experimentation to designing couture looks for ballet galas and costumes for his own choreographic work.

“It’s a way for me to explore my own feminine energy against the world’s masculine energy,” Bolden shared. “Sewing has taught me how I want to show up in the world and be treated by others.”

Models and dancers Cameron Bullins, Preston Chamblee, Eli Raphael Guska, Mckenzie Bernardino Soares, Kennedy Targosz and Shane Williams then strutted across the studio in Bolden’s vibrant designs, each look bending and blurring expectations of gender and form.

All three artists then joined Dancers Responding to AIDS Founding Director Denise Roberts Hurlin for a Q&A exploring their paths into dance and choreography, and the challenge of balancing performance careers with parallel creative lives.

Inside Dance Series offers supporters an intimate look at the art form, pairing performances by acclaimed companies and choreographers with thoughtful conversation and a post-show cocktail reception. For donors, it is not only a chance to witness extraordinary artistry, but to step inside the creative process itself.

Photos by Elyse Mertz