Conversations for the Moving Self

In this episode, host Megan sits down with Olia Polyakova — Ukrainian-born, London-based movement artist — recorded live in Mauritius, where the two former London Contemporary Dance School classmates have been spending time together. The conversation is warm, candid, and deeply personal, touching on what it really means to build a life around dance. Olia opens up about why she chose to spend holid...

Megan sits down with Priya Khan, a certified life coach and mindfulness expert, to explore how mindfulness can be a powerful tool for women navigating demanding, passion-driven careers. Priya shares her personal journey from the corporate world to coaching — a path sparked by motherhood and her own experience of feeling overwhelmed. She introduces a three-layered framework for self-awareness, tuni...

In this episode, Megan sits down with Jasmin Rothwell, yoga teacher and somatic coach based in London, for an honest conversation about what it really takes to build a life around movement and well-being. Jasmin opens up about her path from corporate recruitment to the yoga mat — from burning out building a yoga community in Manchester, to relocating to London for a fresh start and a much-needed p...

What does it take to build a dance career on your own terms? In this episode, Megan sits down with Paloma Perez Rojas — American dancer, mentor, and founder of The Dancing Business — to trace her journey from a shy seven-year-old doing cartwheels to a working artist and entrepreneur based in Madrid, Spain. Paloma opens up about the winding road that brought her to dance: switching from visual art...

In this episode, Megan sits down with Gerard Hawley — Tai Chi practitioner, teacher, and founder of a thriving school of around 100 students — to explore a practice that is as much a philosophy as it is a physical discipline. Gerard shares how Tai Chi began as a personal tool for managing stress before growing into a deeply fulfilling teaching career spanning six years, and he takes us into the te...

In this episode, Megan sits down with Stephanie Mattiussi — dance scientist, educator, and head of dance science and health at London Contemporary Dance School — for a conversation that feels both personal and deeply professional. Stephanie traces her journey from early ballet and tap training through to discovering dance science at university, sharing how combining her love of movement with her c...

In this episode, Megan sits down with Paula Nacif — massage therapist, herbalist, and naturopath — to talk about her journey from the arts world into holistic health. Paula opens up honestly about how her own movement practice took a back seat when she opened her studio, and shares her philosophy that well-being doesn't need to be restrictive or overwhelming — it can start with something as simple...

If you're new here, start with this one. Conversations for the Moving Self is a podcast and community for movement and wellbeing practitioners navigating what it really means to build a sustainable life in this career. In this intro episode, host Megan shares why she created this space, what you can expect, and where she's at right now — because she's not coming to you from the other s...

Our host, Megan Bader, jumps on a special bonus episode today to answer some of the questions she normally asks her guests as well as unpacks overcoming injury and how it can shape your journey as a movement artist, and does not have to be the end of the story.

In this episode, Megan sits down with NYC-based dancer, choreographer, educator, and producer Emily Bufferd for a wide-ranging conversation on dance education, artistic practice, and the realities of sustaining a life in the field. Together they explore the relationship between teaching and performing, the importance of practicing what we ask of our students, and how curiosity and explanation can...

In this episode, Megan welcomed American professional dancer and movement educator Kelly Lynch to discuss her journey in dance and her approach to teaching and recovery. Kelly shared her experiences transitioning from a classical ballet background to exploring modern dance and performance art, including her time with companies like Streb Extreme Action and her work as a health coach. They discusse...

In this episode, Megan sits down with Shelley Kyne , British movement and wellbeing practitioner, former professional dancer, personal trainer and Level 5 sports massage therapist, for an open and honest conversation about sustaining a life in movement. Together, they reflect on Shelley’s journey from a 15-year professional dance career into personal training and massage therapy, and how her relat...

In this episode, Megan is joined by Ricardo, a professional dancer and creative working across stage, film and commercial performance, for an honest conversation about sustainability, authenticity and care within a demanding freelance dance career. Ricardo shares his journey into dance, from early training and time on the Centre of Advanced Training Programme at The Place to performing in Wicked a...

In this episode, Megan is joined by Alethia, a British Caribbean choreographer, performer, teacher and researcher based in the UK, for a wide-ranging conversation on sustainability, authorship and care within contemporary dance practice. Together, they reflect on their respective journeys into movement, from early training to their current work across choreography, teaching and research. The conve...

In this episode, Megan is joined by Rose, a Dutch–Senegalese independent dance artist based in London, for a rich conversation on training, creativity, and navigating constant change as a freelance artist. Rose shares how practices such as Kalaripayattu and other movement forms have shaped her relationship to discipline, devotion, and artistic freedom, and how she balances rigorous technique with...

In this episode, our host Megan, is joined by Megan Castro, a freelance dancer originally from South Carolina and currently based in Utah. Megan shares an intimate reflection on improvisation as both a creative practice and a way of listening to the body through sharing insight into a daily movement journal practice that she began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together they explore how the practic...

In this episode, Megan is joined by dear friend Emma Poyer, a Réunionese multidisciplinary dance performer and choreographer based in the UK. Emma’s practice weaves contemporary dance, ballet, global forms, improvisation, ritual, and storytelling, drawing from her multicultural roots and a deep commitment to co-creation, collective rhythm, and embodied leadership. Together, they explore what it me...

In this episode, Megan is joined by contemporary dance artist and choreographer JJ for a reflective conversation on queerness, care, and making work within systems that often resist softness. Beginning with a gentle catch-up, they speak about daily rituals, studio time, and the small structures that help sustain a freelance artistic life. JJ shares the ideas behind Copters and Hearses, a work that...

In this episode, Megan is joined by Irish theatre maker Kevin Keough for a thoughtful conversation on movement, sustainability, and care across an artist’s career. Speaking from a period of creative dormancy after completing a three-year project, Kevin reflects on rest as an active and necessary part of artistic practice, sharing how slowing down and engaging in quieter, hands-on projects has help...

Episode 11 Summary — Season One Reflection In this solo reflection episode, Megan takes a moment to pause and look back on the conversations, themes, and questions that shaped Season One of CMS . She reflects on what emerged across the ten episodes — love as a creative practice, the value of presence and listening, and the courage it takes to stay connected to why we create. Megan shares how hosti...

In Episode 10, Megan speaks with Jiwon Oh, a Korean dance and multidisciplinary artist based in London, about how love, care, and human connection shape her creative practice, from self-filming in the studio to collaborating tenderly with her grandmother. They explore how Gaga opened a new sense of freedom for both of them, shifting their relationship with movement from discipline and expectation...

In this episode of Conversations for the Moving Self, Megan is joined by Laura, a dance artist, teacher, and Pilates instructor whose movement journey has stretched across dance, gymnastics, football, netball, running, and more. Together they trace how those early, wide-ranging experiences have shaped the way Laura moves and teaches today — a practice now rooted in dance, Pilates, and cross-traini...

In this episode of Conversations for the Moving Self, Megan and Summer Jupp - yoga teacher, yoga teacher trainer, cycle-conscious coach, and co-founder of Arkspace Wellbeing - explore the tenderness and honesty of practicing through injury, and how slowing down can deepen self-compassion. Together, they reflect on the quiet pressure to “perform wellness,” and the relief that comes when movement be...

In this episode, Megan is joined by Anna, whose movement journey has carried her from ballet and hip-hop to choreography, yoga, and long-distance walking. Now based in Montreal, she weaves together life as a dancer, studio owner, and single mother of three, grounding her creative practice in daily rituals of yoga, meditation, and care. Together they trace how travel, performance, and a powerful so...

In this episode, Megan speaks with Tina Afiyan Breiova, an Armenian and Czech movement director, performer, and educator, about evolving her practice toward sustainability and balance. Tina shares how her “Axis of Action” approach emerged from a need to maintain physical and mental well-being during the demands of immersive performance work. She describes shifting from large, structured practices...