The Leadership Dance

"Fail fast. Take the risk, learn from it. Listen to your elders, but don't sacrifice your gut." Michael Novak, Artistic Director of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, joins host Alissa Hsu Lynch to talk about his path from a childhood outside Chicago to leading one of the world's top modern dance companies. Dance became his way to communicate when he developed a severe stutter at age 10, and he later found modern dance after an injury led him to step away from the stage and enroll at Columbia. He was about to move to Los Angeles when a mentor told him about a Paul Taylor audition, and he got the job. In 2018, while he was planning his exit from performing, Paul Taylor named him his successor. Michael also talks about learning to stay steady in the studio when the creative process gets hard, guiding the company through its founder's death and the pandemic, why he leads as a coach on the studio floor, and what audiences can expect from the company's Lincoln Center season. Don't miss this conversation about trust, reinvention, and the power of live performance. 💡 Key Takeaways: A steady presence in the room gives others space to do their best work Every job you take, even the ones that seem unrelated, can prepare you for what comes next A crisis puts everyone on equal footing, which makes room for new ideas Photo Credits: Erin Baiano, Jordan Matter, Laspata DeCaro, Paul B. Goode, Rachel Neville, Steven Pisano, Whitney Browne, Paul Taylor Dance Company Connect with Paul Taylor Dance Company: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/paul-taylor-dance-company Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paultaylordance/  Website: https://paultaylordance.org/  ✅ Sign up for the newsletter:  https://theleadershipdance.substack.com/s/the-leadership-dance 👉 Listen and follow: https://linktr.ee/theleadershipdance Music from InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ "Catwalk Queen"

"Just go and do whatever you feel like, but do it with a hundred percent energy and do it consistently." Takumi Miyake, Soloist with American Ballet Theatre, joins host Alissa Hsu Lynch to talk about a career that started in his family's ballet studio in Kagawa, Japan, where he is the fourth generation to dance. At 13, he won first place at the Youth America Grand Prix and left home on a full scholarship to the Royal Ballet School. After two ankle surgeries during COVID kept him out for a year and a half, he emailed ABT Studio Company director Sascha Radetsky and asked to join the audition class. He left New York with a contract and was promoted to soloist after his first year in the corps de ballet. Takumi also opens up about staying motivated through injury, stepping into his first acting role as Lensky in Onegin, and what it's like to share both life and the stage with his girlfriend and fellow ABT soloist Yoon Jung Seo. Don't miss this conversation about ambition, resilience, and going after what you want. 💡 Key Takeaways: Opportunity often goes to the people who ask for it Recovery happens day by day, so do what you can and keep pushing Leadership starts with asking questions and helping the people around you Media Credits: E'production, Gene Schiavone, Rosalie O'Connor, Skylar Brandt, Zordan Photography, certain photos courtesy of American Ballet Theatre Connect with Takumi: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taku.ballet/  ✅ Sign up for the newsletter:  https://theleadershipdance.substack.com/s/the-leadership-dance 👉 Listen and follow: https://linktr.ee/theleadershipdance Music from InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ "Catwalk Queen"

"There appears to be some sliver of time somewhere between 32 and 55 where it's okay for women to be successful." Elizabeth 'Liza' Yntema, founder and president of Dance Data Project®, joins host Alissa Hsu Lynch alongside Nancy Dobbs Owen, DDP's communications lead, to talk about a career built on law, philanthropy, and a belief that dance is an economic sector hiding in plain sight. Liza founded DDP after a night at the ballet made her realize the audience, donors, and dance schools were mostly women, yet no one behind the curtain was. DDP has since published 75 reports exposing pay gaps and leadership disparities across the dance world, one company at a time. Liza and Nancy also get personal about building careers that don't follow a straight line, overcoming outdated attitudes, and why your best work might come decades after others expected you to peak. Don't miss this conversation about disruption and reinventing an industry from the inside. 💡 Key Takeaways: Reinvention doesn't erase who you are, it just changes how you show up Skills you build in one chapter of your career will show up again later, often when you least expect it Progress isn't owed to you, so keep asking, keep pushing, and keep showing up Connect with Liza and Nancy: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dancedataproject/  Website: https://www.dancedataproject.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dance-data-project/  ✅ Sign up for the newsletter:  https://theleadershipdance.substack.com/s/the-leadership-dance 👉 Listen and follow: https://linktr.ee/theleadershipdance Music from InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ "Catwalk Queen"

"I realized I was allowing other people to be my source of confidence." Lisa Shalett, co-founder of Extraordinary Women on Boards, joins host Alissa Hsu Lynch to talk about a career that spans equities, compliance, crisis communications, and the boardroom. A former Goldman Sachs partner, she spent twenty years at the firm reinventing herself across roles most people wouldn't have the courage to take, including managing Goldman's brand through one of the worst crises in Wall Street history. When she left, she turned her attention to a problem she kept hearing from women in boardrooms everywhere and, with her co-founder Lisa DeCarlo, built a 1,000+ member community to solve it, which grew entirely by word of mouth. Don't miss this conversation about reinvention, confidence, and what it means to stop waiting for permission. 💡 Key Takeaways: If you don't tell your own story, others will tell it for you Agility is a skill, and steep learning curves are worth running toward The most important shift in Lisa's career came when she stopped looking to others for approval and became her own source of confidence Connect with Lisa and EWOB: Lisa's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisashalett/  EWOB's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/extraordinary-women-on-boards/  EWOB's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ewobnetwork/  Bruce Feiler's Book: A Time to Gather: How Ritual Created the World— and How It Can Save Us: https://a.co/d/0aTg2V9I  ✅ Sign up for the newsletter:  https://theleadershipdance.substack.com/s/the-leadership-dance 👉 Listen and follow: https://linktr.ee/theleadershipdance Music from InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ "Catwalk Queen"

"The things that make me different are why I am who I am." Professional ballerina Alexandra Hutchinson joins Alissa Hsu Lynch to talk about a journey that began as a "miracle baby" and led to performing with the Dance Theatre of Harlem on stages around the world. She trained at the Academy of the Dance, Washington School of Ballet, and Indiana University, where she earned a B.S. in Ballet with an outside field in arts management. Now in her eighth season with DTH, she recently performed the title role in John Taras' The Firebird and made history as the first Black ballerina to guest as a principal dancer with New York City Ballet. Don't miss this conversation about identity, representation, and pursuing your dreams. 💡 Key Takeaways: Seeing someone who looks like you doesn't just feel good; it makes the path forward feel possible Start from the inside: work from within, and then go out Gratitude is a performance ritual and a life practice Photo credits: Nir Arieli CLU Images Luca Crudeli Rachel Neville Studios Rachel Papo Cherylnn Tsushima Connect with Alexandra: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_ballerina_/  ✅ Sign up for the newsletter:  https://theleadershipdance.substack.com/s/the-leadership-dance 👉 Listen and follow: https://linktr.ee/theleadershipdance Music from InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ "Catwalk Queen"

"The first time you swim with a whale, you realize your place in the world — that not everything revolves around us humans." Karim Iliya, photographer, filmmaker, and whale swimming guide, joins Alissa Hsu Lynch to talk about a life built on curiosity and constant motion. He grew up moving every two to four years across the Middle East and Asia, taught himself photography at 13, and eventually found his way beneath the surface. He free dives with humpback whales, filmed orcas for Netflix, and has photographed volcanoes from Hawaii to Guatemala. His work has been featured by National Geographic, BBC, and Netflix in over 55 countries. Today he guides people into the water with whales through Dance with Whales, and co-founded Kogia, a conservation nonprofit with a free media library used in over 65 countries. Don't miss this conversation about conservation, creativity, and building a life by following what you can't stop doing. 💡 Key Takeaways: Why saying yes to everything is one of the fastest ways to lose focus on what actually matters. The importance of protecting personal projects alongside client work, and why those are the ones that define a career. How giving people a direct experience of something they care about is one of the most powerful tools for changing behavior and perspective. Connect with Karim: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karimiliya/  Website: https://karimiliya.com/   Company website: https://www.kogia.org/  ✅ Sign up for the newsletter:  https://theleadershipdance.substack.com/s/the-leadership-dance 👉 Listen and follow: https://linktr.ee/theleadershipdance Music from InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ "Catwalk Queen"

"I think music was a way of me finding identity, of finding purpose." Clive Chang, President and CEO of YoungArts, joins Alissa Hsu Lynch to talk about a career that began as an immigrant in Canada, bonding with his twin sister and their first piano teacher over music when neither spoke the other's language. He went on to earn degrees in both music and finance, adding an MFA in musical theater writing from NYU and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He's held leadership roles at Lincoln Center and Disney Theatrical Group, where he learned how to flex his artistic muscles in business. Today he leads YoungArts, the national foundation that identifies exceptional young artists aged 15 to 18 and commits to supporting them for life. In this episode, Clive talks about what it means to lead like an artist, why nonprofits deserve the same rigor as any Fortune 500 company, and what a conductor actually knows about reading a room that no MBA program teaches. He also makes the case for why every corporate board should have an artist in the mix. Don't miss this conversation about identity, authenticity, and finally finding your dream job at 39. 💡 Key Takeaways: Why nonprofit organizations deserve the same operational rigor as any for-profit company. How a single intervention at an early age can change a young artist's entire trajectory. The case for being 100% artist and 100% business person at the same time. Connect with Clive: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clivechang/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clivechang/  Company website: https://www.youngarts.org  ✅ Sign up for the newsletter:  https://theleadershipdance.substack.com/s/the-leadership-dance 👉 Listen and follow: https://linktr.ee/theleadershipdance Music from InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ "Catwalk Queen"

"I don't think ballet ever left me. Ballet has had my heart since I was a child." Sonja Kostich, Executive Director of Houston Ballet, joins host Alissa Hsu Lynch to trace a career that began at 17 when Mikhail Baryshnikov personally recruited her to American Ballet Theatre. She went on to perform with San Francisco Ballet, Zurich Ballet, and the White Oak Dance Project, and co-founded her own contemporary dance company OtherShore. Then, at 42, she walked away from the stage, earned a business degree, and landed at Goldman Sachs. But ballet never left her. Today, Sonja leads one of America's premier dance companies, partnering with Co-Artistic Directors Julie Kent and Stanton Welch to bring Houston Ballet's "best kept secret" to the world.  She talks honestly about the fear of starting over, what it felt like to walk into Goldman Sachs without ever having owned a suit, and why not knowing what comes next is sometimes exactly the right condition for discovery. Don't miss this conversation about reinvention, courage, and the winding path that leads to your dream job.  💡 Key Takeaways: The skills that make a great dancer, including discipline, rapid learning, and teamwork, are also what make a great leader. Why the path forward doesn't have to be a straight line. How Houston Ballet is taking a modern approach to ensuring ballet remains relevant for global audiences. Photo credits: Julieta Cervantes, Chris Lee, Andrea Mohin, Dave Rossman, Marty Sohl, Michelle Watson, Quinn Wharton  Connect with Sonja: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonja-kostich-51249a1/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonja.kostich/  Website: www.houstonballet.org  ✅ Sign up for the newsletter:  https://theleadershipdance.substack.com/s/the-leadership-dance 👉 Listen and follow: https://linktr.ee/theleadershipdance Music from InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ "Catwalk Queen"

"The goal isn't to avoid change. It's to bend without losing yourself." In this episode of The Leadership Dance, Matt West, executive coach, facilitator, speaker, and author of Bend, Don't Break, shares how his years as a professional jazz musician shaped the way he thinks about leadership, change, and human connection. From touring the world as a trombonist to coaching leaders at some of the world's most recognized organizations, Matt reflects on the lessons that came from rewriting his own story and learning how to stay grounded in times of uncertainty.  💡Key Takeaways: Why adaptability is more than flexibility and is really a practice, not just a trait. Why frozen expertise shows up when the things that once made us successful become the things that hold us back. How critical thinking, empathy, judgment, and taste remain essential human skills in the age of AI. Connect with Matt: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/westpractices/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewwest/  Website: https://matt-a-west.com/  ✅ Sign up for the newsletter:  https://theleadershipdance.substack.com/s/the-leadership-dance 👉 Listen and follow: https://linktr.ee/theleadershipdance Music from InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ "Catwalk Queen"

What does it take to build a career across continents, art forms, and social movements? Yemi Dele Akinyemi, Czech-Nigerian entrepreneur, choreographer, and founder of the Moonshot Platform, joins host Alissa Hsu Lynch to trace a path from dancing in front of a communist-era TV to choreographing for Kanye West, advising a robotics company, and mobilizing young changemakers from over 100 countries. He also reflects on growing up as the only Black child in his city, being separated from his father for 18 years, and how movement became his first language for belonging. Don't miss this wide-ranging conversation about leading from the inside out and why the most important distance any leader will ever cross is the one between their head and their heart. 💡 Key Takeaways: Why embodied leadership, integrating head, heart, and gut, produces decisions grounded in values rather than pure transaction How working with Kanye West taught Yemi that real artistry means being willing to be naked in your creative process Why structure and freedom aren't opposites and how the walls of a pool are what make a wave possible What Moonshot Platform is doing differently by betting on young changemakers at the very moment their ideas are just beginning to hatch Connect with Yemi: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yemia1/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yemialchemist/  X: https://x.com/YemiAlchemist  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YemiAlchemist/  ✅ Sign up for the newsletter:  https://theleadershipdance.substack.com/s/the-leadership-dance 👉 Listen and follow: https://linktr.ee/theleadershipdance Music from InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ "Catwalk Queen"