Dance Teacher Pep Talk

Happy Summer and welcome to episode 112 where I give you a pep talk to help carry you through your summer of dance or rest! In today, we remind ourselves of our worth, our abilities, our passion, and our love for dance . . . and so much more! Summer is a beautiful time because it has a playful essence to it and I feel that when play is involved it can open a window towards possibilities in our mov...

Welcome to our 111th Episode! 111 Angel Number, yes! And the guest I have on Dance Teacher Pep Talk today is literally perfect for this episode! I had the beautiful opportunity to sit down with Shannon Love, somatic yoga instructor and author of, Somatic Exercises Made Simple. I feel that many of you have maybe heard the terms “somatics,” or “holistic dance,” or “whole dancer,” but what does all o...

Hi DTPT Friends! In today's episode, I share a journaling exercise that I do with my students and one that can be adapted to any way with whatever prompts you choose to give to it. It is 3-2-1 journaling. In today, we are going to look back on our year and think of: 3 Amazing Moments 2 Challenging & Difficult Moments 1 Proud Moment Sometimes in the day to day, we don't feel the shifts...

Hi DTPT Friends! In today's episode, I share my Part 4: Choreography Inspiration Ideas. I figured at this time of the year, many of us are making plans for the new year, the new season. Sometimes with that, we get really stuck in our headspace about what next best creation we are wanting to set.  Sometimes this builds a lot of pressure.  Sometimes we are just searching everywhere and in anythi...

Hi DTPT Friends! In today's episode, like every year for my birthday, I share the reflections that I have had leaving 36 and welcoming in 37. There were some BIG lessons in this year, and I can honestly say, I am so proud of that. I am so proud of where I am today and of who I am, and I can't wait you to hear all that I have to share about the lessons that stuck out to me as the big 5 in t...

Hi DTPT Friends! In today's episode, I talk about one of my favorite activities for young children's classes--guided movement stories! Not only are they fun, but they help with practicing skills & movement important to the class we are in, guide dancers with imagery, and prepare dancers for the art of performing! We discuss: *Creating a scene *Locomotor and nonlocomotor movement *Addin...

Welcome back to DTPT! I am so grateful you are here and in today’s episode we are discussing: *Genuine emotion & performance practice *Acting tips & tasks for all genres of dance *Emotion in our faces and emotion in our bodies *Musicality & emotion in music  *and more! I am so inspired by what we do as choreographers and wanted to include some of my best tips on how to get our dancers...

Hey there! Today's episode is a special one and it is because today we are celebrating YOU . . . Choreographers Dance Teachers Front Desk Staff Marketing Teams Studio Owners because truly, I don't think we give ourselves enough credit. What we do is so beautiful, so special, so rare, and I wanted to take time in today to recognize that. We should be so proud for all that we do! It is magic...

Happy Thursday everyone! I recently came down with a Spring cold and along with that came a major halt for myself. Calling out sick from work, not being able to record for the projects that I run, and just my body screaming to me to take a pause was a wake-up call. I struggled so much with calling out of work, though I was so supported in the decision, and it really got me thinking, is this a danc...

Happy Spring everyone! Something I find so interesting about dance teaching is just as one season begins, we are already looking and planing for the next! So many of us at this time are preparing and launching our Summer Program information, and even making our Fall Dance Schedules, so I wanted to share some ideas and input about what can help to make Summer Dance even more special. As a dancer, I...

In today's episode, I share some of my biggest go-tos for handling tough situations such as . . . *Classes not listening or not staying focused *Absences during choreography *When we lose our cool *And more! I share the major question I ask myself that helps me to find my true core essence and true core values as a teacher. Within these tough situations, by sticking to my core essence, I am ab...

Welcome to our 101st episode! I am so very grateful for today's conversation for so many reasons and I am so glad that I get to share it with you all. I had the beautiful opportunity to sit down with Maia Mahosky of The Casual Dance Teacher's Podcast and discuss a difficult, but very real life topic and that is, taking a step away from the studio. There are so many reasons in life why we m...

Wow! It is our 100th episode! First of all, I want to thank you all so very much for being here. I am truly grateful for you, this space, the growth we have shared together, and I am so excited for what is to come. In honor of celebrating the 100th episode, I spoke from my heart about thinking on how we can best celebrate our students and also how we can send them out into the world knowing and un...

I am beyond excited that in celebrating our NUMBER 1 most listened to episode . . . Episode 27: Nutrition, Body Image, and How We Can Do Better in the Dance World with Kelsey Rigopoulos, RDN LDN that I got to bring Kelsey back on the show! This was truly an amazing conversation. Whether you are a dancer, dance parent, parent in general, or someone wanting to get a beautifully supportive take on nu...

In today's episode, we recap our 2nd most listened to episode: Episode 3 Preparing The Tone/Preparing The Space And when I re-listened to it, I felt all of the information was SO important that I just had to share it again. So here it is along with some important announcements--the relaunch of Episode 3! Episode 3 was originally a part of our "Back to Dance" series that I started the...

In today's episode, we recap our 3rd most listened to episode: Episode 2: Setting Your Mind & Soul Up For Success Like last week's episode, this is one of the core essentials of Dance Teacher Pep Talk and this was one of my favorite episodes! It was originally a part of our "Back to Dance" series that I started the podcast off with, but this is a tried & true, come back t...

In today's episode, we recap our 4th most listened to episode: Episode 4: Syllabus Building & Lesson Planning This is truly what I would consider one of the Core Four to listen to from the Dance Teacher Pep Talk podcast. It was originally a part of our "Back to Dance" series that I started the podcast off with, but this is a tried & true, come back to again and again episode....

In today's episode, we recap our 5th most listened to episode: Episode 37: Guiding Dancers with Open Energy & Heart--A Conversation with Tara Iacobucci This is a must listen! Tara's episode is such a beautiful one--from the topics that she brings up to the passion that comes through in how she shares . . . this was truly a monumental episode for me on Dance Teacher Pep Talk. In today&#...

In today's episode, we recap our 6th most listened to episode: Episode 55: Finding Success in the Dance Studio & in Life with Stephanie Kemp If you haven't listened to that one--please do!! Stephanie Kemp is not only a successful dance studio owner/teacher/choreographer, but (and I'm sure her students can say this too) a complete motivator and a total force! I learned so much from...

In today's episode, we recap our 7th most listened to episode, "Live It, Love It, Leave It" with Kiera Letts I absolutely loved revisiting this episode to be reminded of the energy, enthusiasm, and more that Kiera shared with us. We touch upon everything from energy, to cleaning & technique, to preparation, and to of course, encouraging. You can also listen to her here on Making...

I am so so excited to now be offering meditations for the dancer, dance teacher, dance parent, creative, and more on the brand new: Dance Teacher Pep Talk Patreon Page I share all the details in this episode, but there will be free and paid options for you to enjoy! My hope is to build on the membership platform even further by offering newsletters, tips and tools, and more beyond the meditations,...

In today's episode, we highlight our 8th most listened to episode, Episode 1, the Introduction to DTPT! How perfectly aligned to fall on the first week back of a new year! If you are new to the podcast, welcome! This is the perfect episode to hear about the mission of Dance Teacher Pep Talk and where I see it going. If you are a loyal listener, thank you for your support and listens! This podc...

In today's episode I recap our 9th most listened to episode and our 2025 #1 most played episode, the Part 1 of my Choreography Inspiration series! If you haven't listened to Part 1 or Part 2 yet, please check them out here... Part 1 https://open.spotify.com/episode/6efPkWYLrTXdSGQmUa5Brl?si=aa5199e7c1e54c2d Part 2 https://open.spotify.com/episode/6few9MT8giiEgk7PRpmGE2?si=096bffbabf414ed5...

In today's episode, I have begun my recap of the Top 10 most listened to episodes of DTPT as we get closer to Episode 100! Today I am sharing fresh thoughts on our #10 most listened to episode, Flashback Childhood Memories! This is such a fun one to recap, but today's episode gets pretty serious and I have included an exercise within it to help you reflect back on your youngest years in da...

After looking at my Spotify Wrapped for Creators, I was truly blown away and so very appreciative of the listens and support from all of you! I reflect on that in today's episode and the Wrapped Stats also inspired today's episode, being that one of the most listened to episodes of 2025 for DTPT was about Choreography Inspiration. In today's episode I detail a class exercise that can b...