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Fiat Vox is going on summer break! We'll be back with new episodes in mid-August. In the meantime, we'll be revisiting some of our favorite episodes. Here's one from 2019: When Erika Johnson was 7, her mom signed her up for ballet class. For Erika's mother, who fled Ukraine as a child with her family after World War II, ballet was an important of her culture. “In Kyiv, (Ukraine), and in Russia, ballet is almost like the movies here," says Erika. "The state really supports ballet. Little schoolchildren are brought to see productions. And so, I think that my mother's father instilled this respect for ballet in my mother.” After the war, Erika's family immigrated to Portland, Oregon, and Erika went on to have a long career in ballet. Now, she's a development coordinator on the major gifts team with University Development and Alumni Relations at UC Berkeley. She takes ballet classes when she has the time, and says it connects her to part of herself and her Ukrainian culture like nothing else can. (When this episode first came out in 2019, Erika had a different position with University Development and Alumni Relations.) Listen to the episode, read a transcript and see photos on Berkeley News. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.