Breaking the Wall Podcast

Whether your are a new teacher or have been teaching for years, I think there is always a way to tweak and improve our class offerings. In the contemporary class world, the range of techniques, style, and information is vast. One contemporary class is not like any other. Because of this, it's important that we take steps to clarify the kind of class we teach so that our students to better gra...

It's the New Year and we're already thinking about summer! It's about this time when all the summer workshops and intensives start putting out their dates for summer 2022 and it's important that we know what we're looking for. In this episode, Brandon talks about why it's important to get more critical about the summer intensives we attend. What do you really want to...

As we navigate our childhoods and move through our college careers, we gain a wide range of mentors from our parents to teachers etc. When we step into adulthood, I think we crave that same guidance and sometimes  bestow that responsibility on our employers. Of course people can be both, however, separating the two has its benefits. In this episode, Brandon talks about the importance of having a m...

In the Fall, I had some performing plans fall through and because of that I had to pivot and find a new way of making money.  I decided to conduct a mini experiment and see how a serving job would affect my physical, mental, and emotional heath. In this episode, Brandon breaks down how his four month serving job affected his overall energy and motivation. He dives into positive aspects of quick ca...

Young dancers are bombarded with messages about how a career in dance is risky, short term, and not a viable career choice. This leads to many dancers taking time and energy away from their dream of becoming a pro to focus on a back-up plan. I'm no stranger to the dual degree/ back-up plan journey, but we need to go all in if we want a career in dance to work.  In this episode, Brandon talk a...

Pursuing a career in dance means you'll have to navigate the expectations of the friends, family, and mentors around you. These people may want the best for you, but navigating their expectations of what you "should" be doing, is not your responsibility. In this episode, Brandon talks about the ways to ignore the expectations of others and refocus on what you're currently doing...

Audition season is here and seems to be happening on a rolling basis this year. This is great news because it means there are so many opportunities for dancers to book jobs they love. Whether we are auditioning professionally for the first time, or a seasoned pro, I hope these tips will help you navigate the scary audition process in a more proactive and relaxing way. In this episode, Brandon give...

I took a trip to Brooklyn last week to chat with Georgia Usborne about her life as a dancer and curator here in NYC. In our discussion, we dive into what it's like to transition into roles outside of just being a dancer, and why it's important for dancers to be open to more than just performance opportunities. Georgia continues to dive into her career and unveil more opportunities that a...

We're taught to be grateful for any job that comes our way and "a job is a job." Most recently I heard the phrase, "don't be one of those dancers..." The truth is, we are allowed to be picky and should be picky if we want the vision of our careers to align with reality. The days of being grateful for every/any opportunity are over IF you make choices and take scary ac...

Each college and university program is unique and offers different opportunities and resources to their students. The truth is, these institutions don't have the time or resources to offer their students every opportunity they would like to. In fact, these schools would prefer to limit their offerings in order to differentiate their program from others. For that reason, dancers need to create...

Dancers are notoriously poor communicators and since the pandemic, certain small talk questions prove to prompt basic responses or just feel impersonal. As artists, we're meeting new people all the time. How do we navigate conversations to build strong relationships both professionally and personally. In this episode, Brandon provides three questions for dancers to delete from their vocabular...

In an industry over run with white/male Artistic Directors, Chelsea Ainsworth and Jessica Smith are creating women led organizations that thrive and fill a void the NYC dance world desperately needs. In my interview, we dive into how these two leaders pivoted during the pandemic and the importance of building organizations that encourage creativity, power, and resilience. Dual Rivet is a women-led...

In part 2 of 2, Brandon and Omar dive into the specifics of navigating a career as a choreographer. What do dancers need to know when pursuing this path? How do you find creative/administrative balance? What are the best practices of being a freelance choreographer? Omar Román De Jesús (Bayamón, Puerto Rico) is a recipient of the 2020 Jacob's Pillow: The Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fe...

In part one of this two part interview, Brandon sits down with dancer, teacher, and choreographer Omar Román De Jesús to talk about his journey as a choreographer and how he views his place as a choreographer. Omar Román De Jesús (Bayamón, Puerto Rico) is a recipient of the 2020 Jacob's Pillow: The Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship. He has been commissioned twice by Instituto de...

Whenever we see dancers doing the things that we want to be doing, many times it is because they built the project, tour, event, or show themselves.  In the "Build it Yourself" series, I share my own projects and how I built the first iterations of them. I hope these episodes bring some clarity to the potential every dancer holds to build a career they love. In this episode, Brandon talk...

As the pandemic (hopefully) comes to a close in the US, our in-person lives are getting more and more busy. We'll start to fill our time with class, rehearsals, meetings, and other work but I want to encourage you to keep seeing live shows. Outside of the entertainment aspect, seeing live shows is a great way to connect to your community, experience new ideas, and network. In this episode, Br...

We're taught from a young age to be true to your word and stick with your commitments. However, in a freelance career, you need to take the great opportunities that come your way and that may mean letting go of commitments that no longer fit into your schedule. In this episodes, we talk about the strategies and possibilities that go along with breaking future commitments. These can be both te...

Resumes are a staple in the dancer audition process. The issue is resumes are not a "one size fits all" situation. We have to tailor our resumes for each individual job and make sure we are highlighting the content that is most important to the people hosting the auditions. In the episode, Brandon outlines the important aspects every resume needs to have. He also tackles myths about what...

Dancers need new photos all the time. Whether thats for audition headshots or social media content, photoshoots can get expensive. Of course we want to make sure our photographers get the pay they deserve, but we can't always afford regular photoshoots for hundreds of dollars a session. In this episode, Brandon shares his  tips to have great photoshoots on a budget. How can we get more bang f...

I always hear dancers who want to move to a new city say, "I want to give it a shot and see how it goes in a year." The problem is, a year doesn't allow you enough to for you to immerse yourself in what the city has to offer. It takes at least two years to build connections and have those connections turn into potential jobs. In this episode, Brandon talks about why it's import...

I am here to help dancers thrive and open any door that I can. However, when a relationship feels one-sided or like they only want to connect when they need something... it can feel frustrating. No one likes to feel used and it actually can hurt more than help. In this episode, Brandon tells a story about a person named "John" who only slides into Brandon's DM's when he they ne...

The number of dancers who are working as freelancers throughout the US is growing. With a decline in full time dance company positions, dancers are finding more opportunities to connect with multiple choreographers instead of joining rep based companies. In this episode, Brandon talks about the methods and the pros+ cons of working as a freelancer. As a freelancer, he's learned that not all j...

These days, directors and choreographers want to know more about dancers as individuals. Of course, they want to see your dancing but they also want to know your intentions, goals, and ideas for the company. It's important to that in your interviews and artist personal statements you make it clear about why you want to be a part of this company or show. In the episode, Brandon breaks down imp...

When asked about their success in celebrity interviews, I remember them saying things like, "I just worked very hard from a very young age." For me, that is only part of the story. There are so many other factors that contribute to success outside of "hard work." In this episode, Brandon talks about how opportunities play into someones individual success. Based on work by Malco...

As Instagram and other apps continue to evolve, their software and how they decide which posts get seen is getting more complex. I see a lot of artist getting frustrated with their work, posts, and stories not being seen and they feel like the algorithm is working against them. For me, there are other aspects of this creative life id rather focus on than cracking the algorithm. In this episode, Br...