Dance Journey

Barni Rothman is living my retirement DREAM cause all she is does is dance dance dance! I met Barni at a tap class three years ago, and we've been following each other's journeys ever since. I knew she mostly started training in dance after she retired from law, but I didn't realize she trained in ballet as a child, or that she danced at disco clubs for fun through her whole life! Tune...

This week we get to know dancer Bethany Dean, who Tracy met a year ago in a jazz class but then ran into at church recently! Bethany is living the dancer life - teaching kids at a studio she loves, going to class and auditions, and recently booking a dancing and singing role in The Music Man! Bethany has an intriguing beginning to her dance journey. She grew up in Hong Kong and started training th...

I got a few requests for this, and that was enough for me! Lol. Tune in to hear the latest going on in my dance life - plus some other random things - with guest host Bridget Renshaw! (If you want to hear my full dance journey, check out Season 1.) Follow our dance journeys on Instagram: @TracyinLA @DanceJourneyPodcast @thebridgetrenshaw

Finallyyyyy the one we've been waiting for... your ballet teacher and mine... Chasen Greenwood! Follow along as I interview Chasen in between his Saturday morning classes at Westside School of Ballet. From teaching at Westside to coaching kids in Pasadena to setting choreo on his professional dancers of The Realm Company, Chasen is all ballet all the time. He's choreographing it and having...

You've probably seen her around at Millennium - teaching tap or being a star in Hip Hop and Jazz Funk! Sydney Kinney started dancing at 2 years old in Ohio and knew by the time she was 7 that she wanted to be a professional dancer. Come along on her inspirational journey where she overcame so many obstacles, particularly a foot injury right before she was about to start the scholarship program...

It's that time... Tracy interviews dancer and dance studio owner Helen House! Tracy and Helen take you through their friendship journey of when they first met in Basic Jazz, which they used to take twice a week at Edge Performing Arts Center in 2019. Helen was staying in LA to do the Edge intensive, and she thought she'd probably move here officially soon after. But then Covid hit, and she...

You may know her from The C Spot, Millennium, T Milly, USC, AMDA, or Dupree Dance Convention (to name a few, lol!). Melissa Miles seems to be everywhere these days - teaching, choreographing, and dancing! Tracy is so excited to take you with her on the journey to Melissa's dance past, growing up in Michigan where she thought she only wanted to do sports and gymnastics because dance was "t...

You've probably seen her around The C Spot LA dance studio - taking class and teaching class, but this week we're going to learn more about dancer Lily Sheahan! Lily grew up competitive dancing in Arizona but then moved to California for college where she joined the CSUN dance team. Soon after, Lily started exploring the adult dance studio scene in LA where she began to love dancing for en...

This week Tracy interviews her favorite dancer/comedian (is that a category?), Angel Strittmater! Tracy originally discovered Angel's funny videos about dance on TikTok but then soon realized she's a fantastic dancer and dance teacher as well! Follow along to find out what it was like for Angel to grow up dancing in Minnesota but then move to LA to navigate the dance industry here. From pe...

And now... the moment we've all been waiting for... Zack Pinto's Dance Journey! Follow along to find out how a group of first grade girls brought shy, 6-year-old Zack out of his shell by getting him to dance with them! From that point forward, it was dance, dance, and more dance, as Zack soon started training everyday and competing by age 7! He competed in many styles (including salsa), an...

This week, Tracy interviews dance friend Laetitia Garcin! Laetitia is an accountant by day, dancer by night and weekend! She takes dance class at studios all over LA, and her favorite styles lately are lyrical, jazz, and jazz funk. Follow along to hear what it was like for her to grow up learning dance in Seychelles (islands off East Africa) and then France before moving to Northern California and...

Yessssss. It's finally here. Tracy interviews one of her closest friends of 10 years - dancer Haley Royal! Tracy lived with Haley for almost 3 years back then, and their friendship and dance journeys have grown and transformed in different ways since. Find out how Haley went from liking only ballet in high school to enjoying various dance styles by the end of college and exploring the dance cl...

He's been a topic of conversation on other episodes, but now it's time to talk to the source! Christian Espinel shares how he got started in dance. From training at Debbie Allen to dancing full-time with a Utah-based company, Christian has lived the dance dream! He now teaches a regular contemporary class at C Spot LA that is loved and cherished by so many students. Follow along to learn t...

Tracy learns about Rachel Bonilla's dance journey from elementary school teacher to gymnastics instructor to bachata dancer! Follow along to see what brings Rachel the most joy (hint: it's not teaching long division, lol). Rachel could barely do a cartwheel when she first started taking class at Mats Gymnastics as an adult a couple years ago, and now she can do almost anything flip-wise, a...

Tracy chats with dance friend Bari Grossman, who she “met at the bar” - the ballet barre! Lol. Join us as we follow Bari’s dance journey growing up in New Jersey, taking ballet as much as possible and loving it more than anything. Her goal was to join a professional ballet company, but she was encouraged to give up that dream after high school. This unfortunate conversation led her to give up ball...

Tracy interviews her new dance friend Cambrey White! Cambrey grew up in Redondo Beach and enjoyed learning jazz dance and musical theater through the local community center, as well as competing and performing with them! She eventually started driving to Hollywood to take class at Edge when she could, and she studied dance at UC Irvine, despite not making it into the program the first time she aud...

Tracy met her new dance friend Taugata in Brandi Chun's jazz funk class, and now they're chatting about his dance journey on this rainy day in Orange County! Tau was born to dance - from winning a radio station dance contest at age 8 to dancing professionally with a Polynesian dance team by middle school. He didn't have much opportunity for official dance class when he was young, but h...

Tracy chats with dance friend Isabelle Richards who she takes jazz class with at C Spot in Culver City! Isabelle grew up dancing almost every day and loved it but never really had a desire to do it professionally. She did dance competitions in high school and performed with the Song Girls cheer team at USC. Although Isabelle enjoyed these experiences, she now is extra grateful to dance completely...

This week Tracy interviews dance friend Bridget Renshaw who she takes class with twice a week! Bridget has been dancing only a few years, but she takes class almost everyday and has been challenging herself lately with harder classes. Bridget and Tracy discuss what draws them to certain teachers and what keeps them going even when a class is difficult (spoiler alert: when Bridget can't make a...

Tracy chats with dancer friend Sara Glaser to get to know her dance journey before she leaves LA in a few months to go to medical school! Sara grew up dancing her whole life but also always liked learning about the body and growing in medical knowledge like her dad. :) Now she has her own fitness company and wants to become a doctor to help dancers. Learn about Sara's many dance dreams as well...

Tracy chats with hip hop dance friend Tiffany Gene! Tiffany started taking dance class at age 5 and eventually moved to LA from Missouri, where she started teaching dance to kids in the LA school system as well as at Millennium Dance Complex! Tiffany shares about her relationship with God and how he answered her specific prayers about dance. Relationships with teachers play a big role in Tiffany&#...

Tracy interviews her ballet dance friend Irene Georgerian! Follow along with Irene's dance journey as she started taking dance class in New York as an adult and then continued her ballet training in LA. Irene talks about her various dance performances (and the stress! lol), as well as the learning approach she takes when it comes to ballet (and rowing... and playing pool!) Tracy and Irene disc...

Tracy interviews dance friend (and old roommate!) Tess Sophia. Learn about how Tess and Tracy reconnected in a dance class after not seeing each other for years! Longtime dancer and teacher Tess Sophia had recently taken a break from dance with no idea Tracy started dancing 5 years ago, so it was a shock to see her in class. Tess is dancing again now too, and we get to hear all about her dance jou...

Tracy interviews her dance friend Caroline Folds! Learn about how Caroline went from working in the music industry to becoming an actress and a dancer! Tracy and Caroline discuss pursuing dance in singleness vs. marriage, some of their favorite dance teachers, and the stress of dancing in a cypher, lol. They also take the hardest hip hop class of their lives from Canadian dancers Adrian Vendiola a...

Join Tracy as she interviews her first Dance Journey guest Sarah Noh! Sarah shares her story of growing up doing ballet, studying other forms of dance in college, and now navigating the LA dance studio scene to grow in hip hop and jazz funk as she pursues her dream to be a professional dancer. They also take a challenging jazz funk class from Jonathan Sison at Movement Lifestyle halfway through th...