Athletes and the Arts

Yasi and Steven chat with Dr. Kristen Schuyten, physical therapist and faculty at the University of Michighan School of Music Theater and Dance. She's also a PT for US Figure Skating and works in the U of M Concussion Center. She Is a go-to person for performing artists, but she also is researching concussions in dance. We talk about changing trends in dance medicine, differences in skaters and da...

Yasi and Steven get the unique opportunity to talk with one of the stars of Netflix's reality game show "The Ultimatum: Queer Love", Magan Mourad. Before she was exploring marriage with her partner, Dayna, she was competing at the U.S. National Weightlifting championship and becoming a fitness influencer.  We get to chat with her about fitness in her life, her goals as an influencer, issues w...

Yasi and Steven into the fascinating world of circus performance and how a movement is taking shape to help protect performers in the industry. With us today is Dr. Stephanie Greenspan, a performing arts physical therapist, the chair for the surveillance of injuries for research on Circus working group and co-editor of the sciences section for the journal, circus arts, life, and sciences. She also...

Yasi and Steven talk with the energetic Jesùs Florido, a one-time competitive tennis player turned professional violinist, composer, producer and entrepreneur.  An innovator at heart, Jesus takes you through his athletic career, its unintended impact in his musical development, his unique musical fusion style, developing into a music virtuoso, and his work in developing music careers through...

Whisper networks develop in the theater world as an informal communication network, a source of solidarity, or even a way to fight abuse and injustice.  Join Yasi and Steven as they discuss this issue with Dr. Ted Carter, professor at Ballarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky.  Dr Carter wrote a dissertation about whisper networks, and we discuss the issues of professional misconduct...

Yasi and Steven get into the Electronic Dance Music scene with Taylor Jordan (a.k.a. TSlayz) to learn about the life of a professional DJ. From all-night DJ sets to self-defense scrunchies to Frank Sinatra to Gamers For Giving, Taylor takes us behind the scenes. Taylor's instagram @taylorjordndj, @tslayz Tik Tok: @tslayz For Gamers For Giving, go to https://gamersforgiving.org For her interview wi...

Join Yasi and Steven, along with Athletes and the Arts co-founder Randy Dick, as we talk to the quintessential Athlete and Artist, Tim Cunningham.  He turned down a chance to play in the NFL to pursue a career as a professional jazz musician.  Thirty years later, after recording 8 albums and touring all over the world, he is still going strong.  He talks about the difficulty playing...

Yasi and Steve join Athletes and the Arts Founder Randy Dick in welcoming opera singer Leslie Bickle onto the show.   Leslie discusses her journey from Canada to the UK, performing for the late Queen Elizabeth II, working with performers to overcome performance anxiety, and becoming a yogi and yoga's value in singing and performing. Leslie's website: http://www.lesliebickle.com Athletes...

Our topic today is resilience in performance, overcoming obstacles to make it in the performing arts. Tasi and Steven talk with up-and-coming star Anna Dreslinski, a singer/dancer who is currently performing in the opera Ainadamar at the Met in New York. She straddles the worlds of opera and musical theater, performing in shows such as West Side Story, Amadeus, and others, but she’s had to overcom...

Yasi and Steven talk with actress Carolyn Ann Miller about life on and off the stage. She shares about her ups and downs as a NYC actress, her performances in South Pacific and Titanic , and her creation of Safe Space for actors. Instagram: @carolynannemilleractor Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolyn.a.miller.54/ Bio: Carolyn Anne Miller is a born and raised Chicago native. She moved from Ch...

Join Yasi and Steven as they welcome strength & conditioning coach Ash Wang onto the show. They discuss Ash's career journey through classical violin training, studying neuroscience, making Soulcycle playlists, building a strength and nutrition coaching business, writing her recipe book, and following her intuition all along the way. For Ash's book "Alimentary: A Nutrition and Recipe Companion...

Sparty, the mascot for Michigan State University, is perhaps the most well-know mascot in sports today. To be that famous, you need a whole team to support you. And Michigan State has the first mascot sports medicine program in the country. On our show today is Sue Petrisin, director of the Sparty Mascot Program and Ashley Tripplett, Sparty's research coordinator.  Why does Sparty have a rese...

How does one take music, rapping, writing, performing and turn that into a career? On our show today is recording artist Derek Demkowicz, aka Demko, and Michael Reiber, head of marketing for Headlights Hip Hop and Derek’s buddy from high school.  We discuss how they started in music, the value of comedy improv training, and the benefits of controlling your own destiny.  Derek and Michael...

Classical music is pervasive and ubiquitous and yet for many people, it is difficult to connect with. We met one classical pianist who makes it her mission to connect with audiences and bring her joy of classical music to the masses. She is the extraordinary Jeeyoon Kim. a multi-hyphenate musician-author-blogger-podcaster-educator-and-performer. Our Athletes and the Arts founder Randy Dick caught...

Yasi and Steven welcome prolific researcher and NEAMA Vice-President Dr. Tomi-Ann Roberts PhD to discuss her work on objectification and sexualization in dance.  We also examine the negative effects of social media on one's mental health and how a simple three-day cleanse off of social media had surprising and powerful results. Our conversation delves into college NIL (name, image, and licens...

Our esteemed guest is Jack Noseworthy, long-time veteran on Broadway, TV, and film, to talk about his career and his process as an actor. He also is a Individual Giving Officer for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Since 1988 they have led the fight against AIDS, becoming the nation’s leading industry-based nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. They have raised over $300 mill...

Figure skating is similar to gymnastics and even dance, where there is an aesthetic and athletic component to competition. This is a sport where we see incredible displays of athleticism, as well as beauty and grace. So Yasi and Steven wanted to learn more about the life and training of a competitive figure skater by talking to one of the best in U.S. figure skating history, Todd Eldredge.  W...

We shine our spotlight on the New Orleans Musician's Clinic, the only low or no-cost medical clinic in the United State dedicated to caring for performing artists. They have been a founding member of Athletes and the Arts since our launch 10 years ago, and their outreach includes preventing noise-induced hearing loss.  Joining Yasi and Steven on the show are Taylor Cohen, Public Health Direct...

Sponsored by School Health: https://www.schoolhealth.com Yasi and Steven talk with Ryan Dusick, the founding drummer of Maroon 5 and now licensed therapist and life coach in Los Angeles.  He went from being a Little League baseball phenom to drummer for the world's hottest rock band before injuries and mental illness forced him out of music.  He spent a decade suffering from substance ab...

Yasi and Steven talk with the incomparable Galit Friedlander, professional dancer, choreographer for the LA Sparks Dance Team, fitness coach, and host of the DanceSpeak podcast. She is also part of Doctors for Dancers, founded by our second guest, CEO Jennifer DePaola, who work to bring dance medicine specialists together to care for dancers of all ages and levels. Galit and Jennifer join us today...

The U.S. fitness industry is valued at almost $90 billion, ranging from health clubs to boutique studios, online platforms to digital home machines.  Yoga to HIIT, Pilates to barre, Tonal to Peloton...the fitness world is vast and diverse.  So how does it all work behind the scenes? If you're a performing artist, how do you break into the fitness industry? How do you stand out? Become a...

Yasi and Steven explore college dance education at one of the largest performing arts programs in the country, the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Specifically, we talk about adapting to a rapidly evolving post-COVID educational environment, the effects of the Michigan State University shooting on students and faculty, integrating Black activism into one's artistic jou...

Never before have so many excellent films, docuseries, and TV shows been produced about many important topics…historical events, political upheaval, stories of courage and personal triumph, true crime, and of course…athletes and artists.   To learn more about this golden age of documentary filmmaking, Yasi and Steven talk to award-winning filmmaker Marius Markevicius.  His new film that...

When COVID-19 caused schools to keep students of all grades at home, those arguably most disadvantaged by this were musicians. Many barriers stood in the way of getting students back in the music room: aerosolization from instruments and voice, close proximity between students, secretions from brass instruments, and antiquated ventilation systems in thousands of school buildings. Early projections...

Your voice...perhaps the most underrated and misunderstood human ability.  For an ankle sprain, you go see a trainer, a physical therapist, a sports doc, you wear a brace, get taped, do some exercises.  For vocal injuries, for vocal dysfunctions, what do you do? How do you make your voice better? How do you improve your performance? Well, just like athletes, vocalists have vocal coaches,...