50TH EPISODE! The One With Biscuit Ballerina

Today I spoke with Haylee Thompson of Rethink Dance. Haylee is a dance enthusiast from Willmar, MN. She studied Dance Ed at the University of Auckland in NZ was inspired to bring back her knowledge & teach dance to all ages and abilities. Haylee encourages people around her to pursue their passions & be exactly who they were created to be. Her positivity and authenticity inspires others to reach their highest potential and has led to the creation of Rethink Dance. Rethink is on a mission to create a global community committed to understanding others, shifting perceptions, and changing lives. Through educational programs, outreach, volunteering, and an annual film festival Rethink beautifully connects the community through dance. To connect and get involved with Rethink: Website: www.rethinkdance.com Instagram: @rethinkdance Please remember that I am not a mental health professional, and anything you hear me say on the show is based on my personal experience and perspectives, and should not be considered medical advice. By listening to this podcast, you agree not to use any of the content to diagnose you or anyone else of any mental or health condition. If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. To find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services, check out https://www.mhanational.org/ Theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Follow the pod on Instagram! Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected] If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave a review. (I might even read it on the next episode!) And don't forget to check out the show sponsor, @we.are.minding, or at www.wearemindingthegap.org

Today I spoke with Nina Madsen Puckett of Erase the Stigma Through Dance. She very bravely shares her journey with mental health and how that journey has inspired a platform for mental health advocacy. Just a heads up you will hear a few bleeps in the conversation. These are present simply to delete specific medication names mentioned on the show, and are there for health and safety purposes. Nina is a dancer, choreographer, licensed massage therapist, business owner and mental health advocate.  She has her BFA in Dance from UNCG and also studied at the Theatre Academy of Finland and the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts.  She is a Certified Movement Analyst from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies and founded Erase in 2020. To connect with Nina and Erase the Stigma: Website: www.erasethroughdance.org Instagram and Facebook: @erasethroughdance Please remember that I am not a mental health professional. Anything you hear me say on the show is based on my personal experience and perspectives and should not be considered medical advice. By listening to this podcast, you agree not to use any of the content to diagnose you or anyone else with any mental or health condition. If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. To find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services, check out https://www.mhanational.org/ Other resources can be found here:    The theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Follow the pod on Instagram! Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected] If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave a review. (I might even read it on the next episode!) And don't forget to check out the show sponsor, @we.are.minding, or at www.wearemindingthegap.org

Today I spoke with Leigh Skvarla, National certified counselor and advisor to Minding the Gap. We focus on her work around self-talk as well as checking in on the state of ballet companies and dancing mothers. We dive deep into what self-talk is, what is “good vs. bad” (it’s not what you might think!), how it affects us in and out of the studio, and how parents, teachers, and other dance leaders can facilitate productive self-talk, not just for performance, but for life! We also touch on a very hot topic these days in the dance world…dancing mothers. Advocacy for you and your child’s rights, getting back to dancing and making sure you have the right team around you. Leigh Skvarla is a licensed professional counselor who holds a Ph.D. in Sport & Exercise Psychology and a Master’s in Counseling from West Virginia University. An honors graduate of Bucknell University, Leigh now lives and works in western Pennsylvania, and serves as the co-founder of The Center for Grit and Growth and an associate advisor for Minding the Gap. To connect with Leigh, check her out here: The Center for Grit and Growth (co-founder): Website - https://thecenterforgritandgrowth.com Instagram - @the_center_for_grit_and_growth Minding the Gap (affiliate/adviser): Website - https://www.wearemindingthegap.org/ Instagram - @we.are.minding Please remember that I am not a mental health professional, and anything you hear me say on the show is based on my personal experience and perspectives, and should not be considered medical advice. By listening to this podcast, you agree not to use any of the content to diagnose you or anyone else of any mental or health condition. If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. To find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services, check out https://www.mhanational.org/ Theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Follow the pod on Instagram! Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected] If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave a review. (I might even read it on the next episode!) And don't forget to check out the show sponsor, @we.are.minding, or at www.wearemindingthegap.org

Today’s episode is an important discussion...perhaps one of the most important ones I have had on the podcast over the last two years. I address something that is going on in the ballet competition world today. You might have heard of it, know someone who has done it, or even engaged in it yourself. I am talking about misrepresenting health data on competition applications. This episode might be triggering for some and shocking for others, but it is an important conversation. I bring on Stephanie Potreck of Ausdancers Overseas, who has been conducting field research on the topic, and the preliminary results are disturbing. Please know that neither Stephanie nor I have the answers…but we both strongly believe that opening the conversation is the first step in affecting change. We also have not spoken to any competition representatives regarding this topic. All we have is self-reported data from the dancers themselves. Listen on to hear the results of the data, and how you can get involved. To connect with Stephanie and engage with her research on this topic: Survey Website: https://ausdancersoverseas.surveysparrow.com/s/ballet-and-dance-competitions/tt-df6fb27607 Instagram: @ausdancersoverseas Please remember that I am not a mental health professional. Anything you hear me say on the show is based on my personal experience and perspectives and should not be considered medical advice. By listening to this podcast, you agree not to use any of the content to diagnose you or anyone else with any mental or health condition. If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. To find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services, check out https://www.mhanational.org/ The theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Follow the pod on Instagram! Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected] If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave a review. (I might even read it on the next episode!) And don't forget to check out the show sponsor, @we.are.minding, or at www.wearemindingthegap.org

Today, I spoke with Erin Sanchez. Erin is an advocate, educator, and developing applied researcher. She collaborates to improve dancers’ health, well-being, and performance through healthy working/training conditions and positive, strengths-led psychological services and education. In 2021, she released her first book, Psychological Skills for Dancers, with Prof Dave Collins and Dr. Aine MacNamara. We speak about the reasons why challenge and adversity can be a good thing, what the research is showing us, and how you can navigate your own challenges and personally define your success. To connect with Erin’s work: National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science Website: https://www.nidms.co.uk/ IG: @nidms.uk One Dance UK www.onedanceuk.org @onedanceuk Personal Safety for Dance https://www.personalsafetyfordance.com/ To buy her book, Performance Psychology for Dances by Erin Sanchez, Dave Collins, and Aine Macnamara: https://www.crowood.com/products/performance-psychology-for-dancers-by-erin-sanchez-dave-collins-aine-macnamara Please remember that I am not a mental health professional, and anything you hear me say on the show is based on my personal experience and perspectives, and should not be considered medical advice. By listening to this podcast, you agree not to use any of the content to diagnose you or anyone else of any mental or health condition. If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. To find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services, check out https://www.mhanational.org/ Theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Follow the pod on Instagram! Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected] If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave a review. (I might even read it on the next episode!) And don't forget to check out the show sponsor, @we.are.minding, or at www.wearemindingthegap.org

FIFTY EPISODES?! I am filled today with so much happiness and gratitude that I  have been able to now publish fifty episodes of conversations that are so dear to my heart. I have met the most amazing people, and I have so much hope for the direction of the ballet world. It is therefore with great pride, gratitude, and excitement to present to you… The one and only Biscuit Ballerina. Shelby Williams is a soloist with the Royal Ballet of Flanders & the creator of Biscuit Ballerina, a satirical ballet account that addresses unhealthy perfectionism & advocates for mental health awareness. Biscuit Ballerina has been featured in the New York Times, Pointe Magazine, Dance Europe, & Dance Spirit, and Dance Europe Magazine nominated her for best performance by a female dancer. It was SUCH an honor to get some one-on-one facetime with the ballerina we all know, love, and can totally relate to. Her satirical IG and website not only crack us up, but help us through those tough times of perfectionism and allow us space to laugh at ourselves. If laughter is the best medicine, she has earned that MD! To connect with Shelby: Instagram: @biscuitballerina @shelbygrooves Facebook: www.facebook.com/biscuitballerina Website:  www.biscuitballerina.com Please remember that I am not a mental health professional, and anything you hear me say on the show is based on my personal experience and perspectives, and should not be considered medical advice. By listening to this podcast, you agree not to use any of the content to diagnose you or anyone else of any mental or health condition. If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. To find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services, check out https://www.mhanational.org/ Theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Follow the pod on Instagram! Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected] If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave a review. (I might even read it on the next episode!) And don't forget to check out the show sponsor, @we.are.minding, or at www.wearemindingthegap.org

Today, I got to catch up with a good friend of the show, Glenn Kelich. You might remember him from season 1, episode 22 titled “The One Where Dancers are Human”. If you haven’t already listened to that one, please go back because it is GOOD. Glenn revisits the show to delve more into his own mental health as it relates to dance, gives us an update to introduce his very own mental health podcast, The Mental Game, and talks about how all his mental health education is informing his teaching practices. To connect with Glenn and The Mental Game, follow him: Instagram:@the_mentalgame and @jgkelich Please remember that I am not a mental health professional, and anything you hear me say on the show is based on my personal experience and perspectives, and should not be considered medical advice. By listening to this podcast, you agree not to use any of the content to diagnose you or anyone else of any mental or health condition. If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. To find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services, check out https://www.mhanational.org/ Theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Follow the pod on Instagram! Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected] If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave a review. (I might even read it on the next episode!) And don't forget to check out the show sponsor, @we.are.minding, or at www.wearemindingthegap.org

Today I spoke with Alissa Nehrlichm. Alissa is a performer, inclusive dance artist, dance scientist, and SENr registered Sports Nutritionist. After training in Germany and South Africa, she went on to complete an MSc in Nutrition and Exercise Sciences. Alissa's goal is to improve dancers' access to evidence-based dance training and nutritional knowledge to support safe training for a healthy career. We speak about the importance of nutrition education in the dance space, as well as her involvement in some pretty amazing inclusivity programs. It was a really fun and informative chat! To connect with Alissa: Website: http://alissa-nehrlich.com/ Instagram: @alissadancescience Please remember that I am not a mental health professional, and anything you hear me say on the show is based on my personal experience and perspectives, and should not be considered medical advice. By listening to this podcast, you agree not to use any of the content to diagnose you or anyone else of any mental or health condition. If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. To find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services, check out https://www.mhanational.org/ Theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Follow the pod on Instagram! Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected] If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave a review. (I might even read it on the next episode!) And don't forget to check out the show sponsor, @we.are.minding, or at www.wearemindingthegap.org

Chloe Freytag is a household name in the dance industry. Not only is she a contemporary ballet powerhouse, but she's also one voice of a generation of dancing mothers, those who have refused to put off motherhood in service of their dance career and have blazed new trails and redefined what it means to be a whole dancer and a whole person. Through telling her story of being fired for having a body shape that “couldn’t form certain positions” (what a ridiculous idea), she has gone through a personal revolution and come out the other side a stronger person and a better dancer. This episode is a truly special one. Chloe’s daughter even makes a quick cameo! It is even more special because it almost didn’t get recorded! After 36 episodes, it finally happened…I failed to record the first 45 minutes of our conversation. I was devastated, but Chloe was so gracious and generous with her time that she agreed to come back for a part 2 with me. After that recording, if you can believe it, I spilled water all over my Macbook. Talk about panic. Well, my good friend Katye was able to recover my hard drive for me (lesson learned…I will ALWAYS do my backup right after an episode) and here we are. What that means for you, listeners is that you get EXTRA Chloe, because part 2 was just as important as part 1, and I couldn’t cut much at all. So please enjoy this extra-long episode with Chloe! To follow Chloe on IG: @chloefreytag Please remember that I am not a mental health professional, and anything you hear me say on the show is based on my personal experience and perspectives, and should not be considered medical advice. By listening to this podcast, you agree not to use any of the content to diagnose you or anyone else of any mental or health condition. If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. To find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services, check out https://www.mhanational.org/ Theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Follow the pod on Instagram! Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected] If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave a review. (I might even read it on the next episode!) Don't forget to check out the show sponsor, @we.are.minding, or at www.wearemindingthegap.org Special thanks to Kayte Fulmer @fsbykatye for my laptop rescue. Please go follow her to support her small business, Figuratively Speaking by Katye!

Today I spoke with the Resilient Ballerina, Jazz Bynum. Jazz is a company corps artist at Ballet West. She began training at the age of 5 with Hudson Repertory Dance Theatres’ after-school program. She continued her training at Maryland Youth Ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlems’ Residency Program at the Kennedy Center. Jazz has also received her B.F.A in Contemporary Performance with an emphasis in ballet from The Boston Conservatory. Her goals as a ballet dancer are to become a principal dancer, be a part of the change to normalize black faces in ballet companies, dismantle microaggressions in our workspace, and be an example for young brown and black ballerinas that they do belong. In addition to becoming a principal ballerina, Jazz wants to publish a few books and open her own Wedding and Event Planning business. Jazz lives to always spread love and positivity. In our interview, we talk about Jazz’s experience with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, injury recovery, and her own personal toolbox of mental health resources that keep her resilient. Her story is really inspiring and a great listen for any dancer going through injury recovery. To connect with Jazz: Instagram: _theresilientballerina_ And find her classes at Ballet West here: https://balletwest.punchpass.com/classes To learn more about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and other hypermobile disorders, check out the Bendy Bodies Podcast https://www.hypermobilitymd.com/ (@bendybodies on IG), and The Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Society www.https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/ (@ehlers.danlos on IG) Please remember that I am not a mental health professional, and anything you hear me say on the show is based on my personal experience and perspectives, and should not be considered medical advice. By listening to this podcast, you agree not to use any of the content to diagnose you or anyone else of any mental or health condition. If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. To find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services, check out https://www.mhanational.org/ Theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Follow the pod on Instagram! Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected] If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave a review. (I might even read it on the next episode!) And don't forget to check out the show sponsor, @we.are.minding, or at www.wearemindingthegap.org