After Class: The Adult Ballet Podcast

Saving money on ballet doesn't have to mean cutting corners on your training, and that's exactly what this episode is about. Where I live, the cost of everything has gone up, and ballet is no exception. Classes are more expensive, dancewear is more expensive, and don't even get me started on pointe shoes. I'm sharing all my favorite ways to save money as an adult dancer, how to...

You can have clean technique, beautiful lines, and perfect musicality and still leave an audience completely cold. The missing ingredient? Acting . And for most of us, it's the element of artistry we've spent the least amount of time developing. In this episode, I'm back with Chelsea Weidmann , The Geeky Ballerina, for the next installment in our ongoing series on the essential elem...

If you've ever felt like ballet is the first thing to get dropped when life gets busy, this episode is for you. I'm joined by Rebecca Holden , a fellow adult dancer who is also a wife, a mom to a son with autism, and a full-time manager  and someone who has figured out how to make ballet a consistent, guilt-free part of her life. We get into the real,  stuff: how she protects her trainin...

If you have a ballet intensive coming up (or you're thinking about doing one) this episode is your complete guide to showing up prepared, taking care of your body, and getting the absolute most out of the experience. I'm walking you through everything: what to do in the week before (including how much to train, and my best tips for rest, fueling and hydrating), how to pack strategically,...

If you've ever received a correction in class and thought, "Why won't my body won't just do that.." this episode is for you. I'm back with Erica Centola , founder of Tournesol Dance and creator of The Ballet Body Blueprint , for a conversation that I genuinely wish I'd had at the very beginning of my ballet journey. We walk through the anatomy that actually deter...

Musicality is one of those qualities teachers ask for constantly, and yet almost never explain. "Be more musical. Feel the music. Let it move through you..." But what does that actually mean? In this episode, I'm back with Chelsea Weidmann , The Geeky Ballerina, as part of our ongoing series unpacking the elements of artistry she identified in her thesis on Artistry in Ballet. Today...

In this episode, I'm sharing some of my favorite ballet hacks — the tips, tricks, and discoveries that have made my life as an adult dancer easier and more comfortable. Some I figured out on my own, some were passed along by teachers or fellow dancers, and all of them are things I actually do/use and swear by, like: - The nipple cover situation no one talks about (and the product that finally...

If you have hyperextended knees, you've probably spent a lot of time in class feeling like your body is working against you. You get corrections like "straighten your legs" and no matter how hard you try, nothing seems to change. Closing in fifth without bending your knees feels impossible, your standing leg feels unstable, and nobody has ever actually explained why . In this episod...

For a lot of adult dancers, a professional photoshoot feels exciting and overwhelming in equal measure. You want beautiful images that capture how far you've come. But knowing how to actually prepare and show up confidently in front of the camera? That part can feel pretty daunting. I sat down with professional dance photographer Katie Ging, who has photographed dancers of every level and has...

You know it when you see it. That effortless, magnetic quality professional dancers have, the way their bodies seem to cut through space with clarity and length. But do you know what you're actually looking at? In this episode, we're back with Chelsea Weidmann, aka The Geeky Ballerina , as part of our ongoing series unpacking the elements of artistry as she identified and explored them i...

If you've ever walked into a dance store and been completely overwhelmed ( Canvas or leather? Split sole or full sole? What size? What width? Ahhhh!!) fret no more! This episode is for you.☺️ In this episode, I'm diving deep into everything you need to know about buying ballet slippers as an adult dancer. Whether you're brand new or you've been dancing for years and still haven...

What does it take to bring ballet to a place where it doesn't exist yet? Today's guest, Lauren, found herself living in Islamabad, Pakistan — a city of over a million people with no ballet studio — and decided to build one herself. In this episode, Lauren shares how a love story brought her from Fargo, North Dakota to the capital of Pakistan, and how her lifelong connection to ballet eve...

Makeup in ballet can feel a bit complicated as an adult dancer. Should you wear makeup to class at all? If you do, what actually works when you're sweating through a full barre? And when it comes to performing, what does it actually take to make your face read under bright stage lights and from a distance?   In this episode, I'm joined by Suzanne Jolie , my ballet teacher and one half of...

In ballet, we spend a lot of time thinking about what our dancing looks like, our lines, our placement, what we see in the mirror. But artistry isn't just visual. It's also deeply connected to what we're actually feeling and sensing inside our bodies while we move. This episode is part of an ongoing series with Chelsea Weidmann, also known as The Geeky Ballerina , where we unpack th...

If you’ve ever walked out of ballet class replaying every mistake in your head — the turn you fell out of, the combination you messed up, the step that just won’t click — you’re not alone... As adult dancers, we often hold ourselves to incredibly high standards. And while that drive can be a powerful motivator, it can also quietly take the joy out of dancing, and even sabotage our progress. In thi...

Many adult dancers have experienced walking into class one day feeling strong and energized, and another day feeling completely depleted... even though NOTHING about their training has changed! For female dancers, those fluctuations can often be connected to something that’s rarely discussed in the ballet world: how our bodies shift throughout the menstrual cycle. In this episode, I’m joined by Je...

After months (or maybe even years) of practice, do your pirouettes still feel inconsistent, shaky, or unstable? In this episode, I’m joined by Allie Christensen , founder of Dancer Strong, to break down what actually makes a pirouette successful, and why adult dancers often struggle with turns even after years of training. Allie explains the most common reasons dancers wobble or fall out of piroue...

Have you ever wished there was an adult ballet program that felt both serious and supportive, where you could train with intention, but without sacrificing your health, confidence, or sense of belonging? In this episode, I’m joined by Lisa, adult dancer and founder of The Ballet Project — a growing adult ballet community in the UK created to give dancers a space where they can pursue real progress...

Have you ever left ballet class with hip or low back pain and wondered… Is this normal? In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Sebastian Gonzales, D.C. , a licensed chiropractor specializing in sports injuries and rehabilitation, to talk about one of the most common concerns adult dancers experience: hip pain and discomfort. This conversation is based directly on listener-submitted questions, and we c...

Jealousy isn’t something most of us want to admit, especially as adults. But if you’ve ever found yourself genuinely happy for another dancer while quietly feeling that ache of comparison… you’re not alone. In this solo episode, I’m talking honestly about jealousy in adult ballet — why it feels so complicated, why ballet seems to intensify it, and how to handle it without letting comparison drain...

There’s something about pointe shoes that makes them almost impossible to throw away once we’re finished dancing in them. Which is why I LOVE what my guest in this episode is doing... Meet Emily Thorpe, a fellow adult dancer and the founder of PointeReve, a small business that transforms used pointe shoes into beautiful works of art. We reflect on what pointe shoes represent for us as adult baller...

Breathing is something we all do, but most of us were never really taught how to use it as an intentional part of our ballet technique and artistry. In this episode, I’m joined by recurring guest Chelsea Weidmann (The Geeky Ballerina) as we explore breath as one of the core elements of artistry in ballet. Instead of treating breath as an add-on or a reminder, we talk about breath as part of coordi...

If January didn’t go as planned, this episode is for you. Maybe you started the year motivated and consistent… and then got sick, missed class, or lost momentum. Maybe your ballet routine didn’t restart the way you hoped it would. In this short, encouraging episode, we’re reframing the idea that you’re “behind” and talking about why losing momentum isn’t a personal failure, especially for adult ba...

Adult dancer, does pas de deux feel out of reach or like a long-lost dream? Many of us have been telling ourselves that partnering is only for pre-professionals or company dancers, and that if we didn’t start early, we somehow “missed our chance.” Sound familiar? I’m joined in this episode by Lester and Laurence , founders of Pas De Deux Workshops & Coaching , for an honest, approachable conve...

This episode builds on last week's episode about building strong, stable jumps at the barre, so if you haven’t listened yet, start there for the full benefit of the conversation. ✨ But first, thank you Frenchies Hairpins for sponsoring this episode! Get your velvet coated hairpins (my go-to product for French twists and ballet buns) at frenchieshairpins.com and use code AFTERCLASS10 for 10%...