Dance Careers: Unfiltered

Today’s guests are Dr. Chelsea Pierotti and Kirsten kemp. Both Chelsea and Kirtsen help dancers with mental skills to improve their performance and enhance their careers and lives. As y'all know, I love diving deep into the psychology realm, so we got right into it and talked about: How defining values can help guide your path The fears and insecurities dancers face and actionable ways to ove...

Today’s guest is the ever so talented professional dancer @RileyGroot . You may have just seen her dancing next to Katy Perry in her Las Vegas residency, but I know Riley from her time as a student at AMDA college here in LA and have had the pleasure of witnessing her career unfold over the years. She's been on “American Horror Story”, the MTV Video Music Awards with BLACKPINK, Disney’s Chris...

Kendall Baab is a personal trainer for dancers and dance science educator based in Los Angeles. I met Kendall online actually and I totally aligned with her philosophies. Her business, BodyKinect, has made dance science education accessible for dancers and dance educators - which is so incredibly important. We chat about: Our shared experiences of being on Texas drill teams The biggest challenges...

I'm thrilled to welcome my first international guest, Fortuna Picardi, from Italy. She is an Italian talent manager and dancer and started her career as a talent manager in 2020 with Be a Pro agency. It was really cool to connect with someone from overseas and see the parallels of dancers in general, but also hear about how things are different in Italy.  We chat about: The dance scene in Ita...

Today's guest is the effortlessly cool Mikey Dellavella. I know Mikey through his fiance Maryann Chavez and we're all faculty members for Souldesoul Dance Convention. I really love this episode. We get real, as per usual, and talk about: Typecasting and rejection - starting your career out this way and figuring out your lane His journey into the acting world Being bold and assertive as a...

Todays guest is the lovely caitlin sloan, AKA @thebrainyballerina . You may have seen her popping up on your explore page every now and then with her poignant posts about professional ballerinas, but she also gets real candid with me today on the pod. We chat about the stigma behind shifting focus away from performing in your dance career, juggling self care, and how to get past the ick in social...

Today’s guest is @iamgerranReese dancer, choreographer, educator galore. I’ve known Gerran now for almost 15 years (!) through lots of different dance education spaces - and I’m so excited I was finally able to get him on the pod. Gerran is super inspirational in so many ways and we chat about: The differences between regular weekly classes and more program based training knowing yourself, your st...

Can you make a sustainable living as a dancer? Will this work? Will I make it? What does the cheesecake factory have to do with my professional dance career?  How do I juggle multiple creative aspirations?  Lots of questions answered and food for thought in today's episode. This is definitely one to save for later when you're feeling overwhelmed by your ambition and societal demands.  He...

Today’s guests are Kristin Deiss and Michelle Loucadoux from Danscend, the mental wellness company for dance educators and dancers. These 2 are no strangers to the podcast, having had episodes on both seasons 1 and 2 of the pod. I love chatting with them because we dive deep on all the things behind the scenes no one is talking about. We chat about how the mental wellness space for dancers is evol...

When you think of dance in LA, you think commercial. But there is actually a pretty large community of contemporary dance companies in LA doing amazing things. Today’s episode is a Career Spotlight episode and we are highlighting contemporary dance company experiences in Los Angeles. My guests, Michaela Moore and Nicole Hagen, both have a plethora of experience not only as dancers in LA, but also...

Yoe Apolinario has danced for artists like Taylor Swift, Madonna, Usher, Cardi B and many more and is dishing it all in today's episode. She’s also a published author of two works, “Cafe Con Leche” and her newest book “So You Wanna Move to LA” - a vulnerable, inside look at her journey in the dance industry in LA. I’m a big fan of Yoe's positive energy and we chat about: Her quest in bec...

We've really done our job when people don't understand or realize the grit, blood, sweat and tears that go into sustaining a career in the arts. It's hard work! I'm diving in and debunking these 5 misconceptions that people may have about dancers. Hey y'all! I'm Justine, the voice behind the DC:U pod and MNTR MGMT. After 15+ years in the industry as a choreographer, d...

Rachael is a past guest on the podcast and is such a badass. Any kind of job you can think of as a dancer, she has done it - world tours, super bowl halftime shows, feature films, TV shows, the grammy’s, and most recently, was an actress in Top Gun: Maverick. We chat about everything from the writers and actors strikes, to recognizing the ebbs and flows of being a working artist,  the nuances of w...

Getting cut and not understanding why? This episode will create a lot of clarity as to why you aren't getting that feedback we so crave as humans and artists. Also concrete suggestions for things to do create that closure and clarity for yourself. Hey y'all! I'm Justine, the voice behind the DC:U pod and MNTR MGMT. After 15+ years in the industry as a choreographer, dancer, producer...

If you’ve ever asked yourself “What do I post??” or “How Often do I post??”, then this is the episode for you. Today’s guest, Amy Leisner , after working for Discount Dance, started her own company, A18 Media, a social media agency for dance studios and professionals. We chat allll the things: Repurposing Bio basics Story highlights Pinned posts hashtags and everything in between I love this chat...

Literally everything you need to know about being a Universal performer! This is the debut of a brand new episode type for the podcast: Career Spotlights. Kate Coleman and Jolene Fisher are former students of mine who have both been performing at Universal Studios in Hollywood for many years. I figured the name of this podcasts is "dance careers", so I may as well start talking about dif...

Self-care isn't selfish. It's paramount. Charity Baroni joins me on the pod to discuss her prolific career as a dancer in LA (2 Taylor tours?!, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, etc), and why recognizing we are all human drove her career further along than anything else. We also dive in to the realities of being a tour dancer, what it was like watching the ERA'S tour as her former dancer, a...

You ever go to post something on social media and then start scrutinizing every minute detail.. and then eventually just give up and not post it at all? Yup. This is something we ALL can relate to as artists. And it's even more at the forefront nowadays with social media's "compare and despair".  In this episode I break down 3 key things you can remember to change your mindset,...

Tackling the nuances of filming in class, today I'm joined by Miller daurey, ex-pro dancer who quit at 19, returned to dance 25 years later and is now documenting the whole thing online. Miller has been garnering a lot of attention online for his candid videos about the dance industry in LA. So we talked a lot about: what it was like for him to return to dance both physically and emotionally...

It's so hard saying no to work. But how do you determine if a job is right for you or not? It's complicated, and as freelance artists, we are actively seeking work - so how do you turn it down? Boundaries are super important, and it's a work in progress. In this episode I break down the F.A.C.T.S. method to use as a parameter in determining if a job is worth it for you.  Hey y'...

If you caught last season’s premiere, then you know that Jim Keith (Owner, President, Sr. Agent at Movement Talent Agency in LA and NY) is as candid as it gets. With decades of experience in the entertainment industry, Jim, once again, lays it all on line to discuss: submitting for representation the current state of the industry (strikes, covid, A.I. oh my!) the differences between the dance scen...

Yall. We back! It's time for Season 3.  Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss any episodes. Stay tuned :) Hey y'all! I'm Justine, the voice behind the DC:U pod and MNTR MGMT. After 15+ years in the industry as a choreographer, dancer, producer, educator and more, I'm now working closely with dance artists on professional development, business sk...

I couldn’t think of a better person to wrap up season 2 with. Antoine Troupe is SO motivational. He talks a lot about success: what that means to him and how other successful people function outside the dance world. Antoine openly shares so much and gives actionable tips to help get your mind (and business!) right.  self-development and being a student of life  the biggest mindset mistakes dancers...

I'm positively BEAMING listening and producing this episode. What a treat to have so much insight from people with vast and eclectic backgrounds in dance. So, what ARE the positives to pursuing a career in dance? Industry professionals from all across the country weigh in on how their careers fulfill them and their best piece of advice for anyone looking to do their job. We hear from: profess...

Do you wear a lot of hats? Have a lot of different interests? Crave creativity in many mediums? This is the episode for you. Galit Friedlander (Prince, Pharrell, WNBA, Doctors for Dancers) Dancespeak Podcast Host, Choreographer and Educator, joins me to chat about all the nuances of living a life of artistry and the diving deep I love so much.  aligning your values with your gigs  how “not feeling...