Dance Real Podcast

Season 5 Ep:02 In this episode of the Dance Real Podcast, Kate speaks with Jess Spinner, founder of The Whole Dancer, about body image, food, perfectionism, and the psychological pressures many dancers quietly carry throughout training and professional life. Jess is a former professional dancer and holistic health coach who specialises in supporting dancers with nutrition, emotional eating, body i...

Season 5 Ep:01 In this episode of The Dance Real Podcast, host Kate Histon sits down with one of Australia's leading commercial choreographers and creative directors, Stephen Tannos, for an honest conversation about creativity, resilience, authenticity and longevity in the performing arts. From performing in Cats and So You Think You Can Dance to choreographing for television, major artists and co...

Welcome to Season Five of The Dance Real Podcast. This season explores one central theme: authenticity. In an industry built on excellence, discipline, and performance, how do we stay connected to who we are? Throughout this season, we'll have thoughtful conversations about leadership, identity, high performance, studio culture, wellbeing, and the experiences that shape dancers, teachers, parents,...

Season 4 of the Dance Real Podcast, Going Global, explored what it really means to move through the dance world across countries, cultures, and life transitions. Across this season, Kate Histon spoke with dancers, educators, and leaders about relocating overseas, adapting to new systems, identity beyond performance, positive leadership, and the cost of unsafe dance practices. A reflective finale t...

Season 4 Ep:11 In this episode of The Dance Real Podcast, Kate Histon sits down with Finnish dance leader, educator, and international adjudicator Marco Bjurström to explore what it means to lead, teach, and judge with integrity in the global dance landscape. Marco reflects on his early beginnings in Finland, from discovering dance through popular culture to building Step Up Company and Step Up Sc...

Season 4 Ep:10 Behind the Adjudicator’s Desk: What I Look For in Dance Competitions In this solo episode of The Dance Real Podcast, international adjudicator and mindset coach Kate Histon offers an honest and educational look behind the judging desk. Drawing from her experience adjudicating across Australia, Europe, and South Africa, Kate explains what truly matters on stage and how dancers, teach...

Season 4 Ep:09 In this episode of the Dance Real Podcast, Kate speaks with physiotherapist, researcher, and former dancer Dr Melanie Fuller about the growing physical demands placed on young dancers and the rising conversation around injury prevention in dance training. Dr Fuller has spent many years working with dancers across recreational, pre-professional, and professional settings. Her clinica...

Season 4 Ep:08 In this episode of Dance Real, Kate Histon speaks with former principal dancer Jenna about the long-term impact of a professional ballet career on the body, identity, and life beyond the stage. Jenna reflects on her early training, leaving Australia on scholarship, and the realities of entering elite ballet systems at a young age. She speaks candidly about homesickness, injury, and...

Season 4: Ep 07 In this episode of Dance Real, Kate speaks with Finnish dance educator, studio owner, and international adjudicator Suvi Salmi about studio leadership, the realities of running a dance school, and the evolving culture of dance training in the age of social media. Suvi shares the story of how she moved from being a dedicated performer into teaching and eventually opening her own stu...

Season 4: Ep:06 In this episode of Dance Real, Kate explores nervous system regulation as a foundational element of high performance in dance. Drawing on lived experience as a dancer, teacher, and studio owner, she explains how performance, confidence, creativity, and leadership are shaped by the nervous system rather than effort alone. This episode looks at why pushing harder often leads to burno...

In this episode of Dance Real, Kate speaks with Spencer Bloomfield, an 18-year-old dancer from regional New South Wales who has relocated to Germany to undertake full-time tertiary dance training at the Palucca University of Dance Dresden. Spencer reflects on what it has meant to leave home, family, and familiarity at a young age, and to step into adult life in a different country, culture, and la...

Season 4 Ep: 04 In this episode of Dance Real, Kate Histon is joined by intimacy director and educator Nicole Perry for a grounded conversation on consent, power dynamics, trauma-informed practice, and psychological safety in dance and performance training. Together, they explore how consent-forward practice applies not only to intimacy and partnering, but to everyday teaching environments across...

Season 4: Ep: 03 Effective leadership in a dance studio requires more than management skills. It requires emotional intelligence, clear communication, strong boundaries, and systems that support psychological safety. In this solo episode of Dance Real, Kate reflects on over 23 years as a dance studio owner and leader. She explores what effective dance studio leadership actually looks like in pract...

Season 4 Ep:02 In this episode of the Dance Real Podcast, Kate Histon speaks with Co-Founder of Otoxia Productions John English, who co-director of Unbound, a powerful film following a group of professional ballet dancers who are also survivors of abuse within the ballet system. Unbound documents the formation of Ballet de Barcelona, a radical new company created by dancers who chose to walk away...

Season 4 Ep:01 The Dance Journey of Adam Scown Choreographer, Educator & International Dance Adjudicator In this episode of the Dance Real Podcast, Kate Histon sits down with Adam Scown for an open, reflective conversation about building a sustainable career in dance across countries, cultures, and career stages. Adam shares his journey from training and working in Australia to establishing hi...

After a year of recording The Dance Real Podcast, this new introduction felt necessary.   When I began, I knew what I wanted to question. Over time, I became clearer about what I was here to build: a space that honours high-level training while holding equal regard for wellbeing, agency, and relational integrity. A space where dancers, educators, and parents can reflect together on culture, leader...

Happy New Year! As we enter 2026, many people begin the year with resolutions. Kate opens this episode with a different view. She does not subscribe to New Year’s resolutions because they imply something about the self needs fixing. She does believe in goals. Goals offer direction, structure and growth without the self-judgement that resolutions often carry. This episode explores the psychology of...

A Guided Meditation for Reset and Renewal   This short guided practice is offered as a gift to listeners during the holiday season. It creates a quiet space to settle the body, steady the breath, and reconnect with a sense of inner clarity. The meditation supports gentle release and thoughtful renewal, inviting a calmer orientation as the year comes to a close.   Across the twelve minutes, you are...

www.katehiston.com - Join the Newsletter for more info. Season three has come to a close, and I want to acknowledge what this season represented. The theme was paving a new way. Each conversation, each solo reflection, and each story contributed to a wider shift in how we understand training, leadership, and care within the dance world. This season also marked a personal transition for me. I began...

Season 3 Ep:12 In this episode of The Dance Real Podcast, Kate speaks with Melanie Gard, co-founding member, chair and spokesperson of Dance Arts Alliance (DAA) and director of Peninsula School of Dance. Together, they explore what genuine child safety looks like in dance studios today, how Dance Arts Alliance is leading national advocacy for industry standards, and why safeguarding is about more...

How to Stop Bullying in the Dance Studio Description Bullying in dance studios rarely looks dramatic. It often grows through small exclusions, subtle alliances, and unspoken hierarchies that shape the emotional climate of a group. In this episode, Kate explores how bullying develops in dance settings, why it takes hold so easily in high-pressure environments, and what leaders can do to disrupt the...

In this episode, Kate Histon is joined by Georgina Pazcoguin, soloist, author, and advocate for change in the performing arts. Known as The Rogue Ballerina, Georgina made history as the first Asian American woman to be promoted out of the corps de ballet at New York City Ballet. Her memoir Swan Dive: The Making of a Rogue Ballerina offers an honest and often humorous look into the world of elite b...

Season 3 Ep: 09 In this episode, Kate speaks with Terry Hyde MA MBACP, a former professional dancer with The Royal Ballet and English National Ballet who later retrained as a psychotherapist. Terry is the founder of Counselling for Dancers and STEPPS Charity, a UK-based organisation dedicated to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of dancers and performing artists. Together, they explore ho...

Season 3 Ep:08 Resilience is one of the most used words in the dance world, yet it is often misunderstood. Many dancers think it means pushing through pain, hiding disappointment, or toughening up so no one can see them crack. In truth, that is suppression, not resilience. In this episode, Kate explores the real meaning of resilience: the ability to feel emotions fully, process them, and move forw...

Season 3 Ep:07 Australian Dance Adjudicators President Lisa Maloney joins Kate Histon to unpack what high-quality judging looks like in practice: core competencies, the balance of technique and stagecraft, and how clear feedback helps dancers and teachers improve. Lisa explains how adjudicators calibrate consistency across sections using the first performance as an anchor; how to structure voice o...