The Dance Up!

Join Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Jinah Parker Multifaceted Artist, Educator, and Wellness Practitioner as they discuss health and wellness from an integrative approach for dancers at any age. Learn about Jinah's journey from a young dancer to her pursuit of a PhD in Mind Body Medicine. Discover how her projects SHE: A Choreoplay, BITCH Fest, and her own po...

Join Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Jacob Regan Dancer, Choreographer, Graduate Student, and Contact Improv Aficionado as they discuss how hip hop and Capoeira were early influences into Jacob's training. Discover how contact improv became a part of his journey and how his early diagnosis with Tourettes Syndrome became his "superpower" . Learn how Jacob navig...

Join Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Jesse Factor Former Graham Dancer as they discuss early introductions to movement and the fascination that surrounds the bodies athletic and artistic abilities. Learn about Jesse's multifaceted career, injuries sustained and the transition to higher education. Join our conversation as we consider the physical and mental asp...

Join Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Carly Swanson discuss the pursuit of a Doctor of Physical Therapy under the 3+3 curricular model and how a supportive environment in dance growing up allowed for discovery and hobbies outside the studio. We discuss how dance can live holistically in one's body and life and how we can decide how it best fits in our wolds. In...

Join Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Kayleigh Danowski talk about retirement from dance, studies at Brown University and our identities as a dancer. We discuss the sunk coast fallacy, self-exploration, and discovery outside of dance. Hoping to drive the point home that while dancing is something we participate in, it does not have to serve as a definition of w...

Dr. James D Walters and Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather chat about the humble beginnings of The Dance Up! Why we started this thing in the first place and what we hope to achieve in the future. Thank you to everyone who has listened throughout the year and an extra special thanks to our guests for sharing your stories and ultimately revealing that while we have common trends,...

Dr. James D Walters and Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather and guest Jenna Wurtzberger Educator and Entrepreneur, Owner of Bomiart Movement Society discuss Social Emotional Learning for both Young Dancers and their Teachers and how programs such as these can cultivate healthy relationships and communication in the Dance world to build a foundation of healthy emotions. Musical con...

Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Dance Movement Therapist Lydia Patselas discuss Drexel University’s Masters Program in Dance/Movement Therapy  nd how programs such as these can cultivate better relationships with the self, with others and between dance and health care. We consider how both individualized care and group care can be pursued and how Danc...

Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Broadway performer Tony Mansker discuss his journey from performing and teaching into Chiropractic School. We consider how the two fields can be enhanced by further education and letting go of archaic teaching practices that have long been detrimental to dancers and their bodies. We also discuss how preventative care te...

Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather, and DPT Madison Peitz discuss Competitive Dance Teams at the Dance Studio, High School, and College level as well as dance in Higher Education Degree programs. Madison shares with us her journey to becoming a Doctor of Physical Therapy and gives key insights into professional development and continuing education credits whe...

Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Southern Utah University Dance Education graduate Addison Cox discuss weight lifting as a cross training modality for dancers. We consider the myths around weight training that have led to stigmas about bulkiness and loss of flexibility as well as how dancers can begin a weight lifting regimen. We also discuss how colle...

Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Professional Dancer Chip Abbott discuss his journey with back surgery and the impact his body has faced pre-injury and post injury. Chip selflessly delivers important messages to preprofessional dancers and professional dancers alike, highlighting that care for the body is of utmost importance and how pain can be an ind...

Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Professional Dancer Tayla Kelly discuss how her Common Variable Immune Deficiency (CVID) diagnosis hasn't slowed her down one bit! Tayla let's us know how she learned to advocate for herself and her health in the professional ballet world and learned to use her voice. Along with sharing her story she also let&#3...

Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Professional Dancer Maddison Jayne Cole discuss how previous injuries as a pre-professional dance student can help us to find a team of individuals that can support us through our professional careers. A strong emphasis on learning how to advocate for our own health and a reminder that despite the fact that we are not t...

Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Professional Dancer Nova Gaffney discuss how injuries at the professional level are detrimental to our livelihood, which isn't easily understood by healthcare professionals. The idea that if we don't work, we don't get paid is often foreign to so many and is still a stigma that we often have to combat in our...

Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Dance Student Eliza Tarbet get into how an injury can be a sign of overuse, caused by an acute reaction, or a combination of the two. Sound advice for both dancers and health care providers is offered to develop more confidence and support to the injured dancer. Understanding that dancers' identities are often threa...

Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Multidisciplinary Artist & Researcher Kayla McClellan get into arts and health research, publishing, didactic, democratic, and collaborative choreographic processes, dance psychology, the biopsychosocial model of care, and the Eurocentric hierarchical structures that continue to shape the dance world. We ask some pr...

Dr. James D Walters and Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather get into why we started the podcast and offer some ideas about how we can be actionable in our advancement towards cultural competency between the medical and dance worlds. Discussions include combating and dismantling stigmas we might have learned and still hear from time to time, National Standards for continuing ed in...