The Balanced Ballerinas Podcast

Happy Thursday! In this weeks SOLO episode I go on a tangent about my thoughts on LEGACY. This is something I often think about at this time of year... Are you thinking of changing dance schools? Quitting ballet? Or do you want to make a difference in this world and not sure how to go about it? I think this might be the episode you need to listen to... As always, feel free to connect with me on In...

Penny is the Honorary Founding Director of Australian Dance Vision and registered training organisation Australian Dance Institute. Penny's vision was to create a holistic education dance program via a creative and unique assessment process, while building both excellence and self-esteem for students and teachers. Penny truly believes her syllabus gives students preparation for a professional care...

I had the most delightful conversation with a gentleman by the name of Terry Hyde. I say gentleman because Terry came to the interview via Zoom in what looked like a very organised study in a wonderfully dapper suit jacket. I on the other hand was in my pyjamas. Although my bed top is black, so it didn't quite look like pyjamas. But it was 5am in the morning for me, so my apologies if I take a mom...

This one is near and dear to my heart ballerinas! You can view an entire transcript of this in blog form here: https://www.balancedballerinas.com/2021/10/28/you-are-absolutely-allowed-to-call-yourself-a-ballerina/ ____________ You can find more resources at www.balancedballerinas.com Instagram @thebalancedballerina Podcast @balancedballerinas Facebook - Balanced Ballerinas (ensure you join the *SE...

I have followed Annabelle's adult ballet journey since she started regular classes in 2019 - Annabelle became a regular listener of the podcast and through her support, comments and sharing across social media we began chatting back and forth in our DM's... In fact, if I go back through them now we've had wonderful conversations about the positives and negatives of taking photos in class, the real...

Every year I re-write a blog post dedicated to the pointe work. This year I thought I'd break it down into five important questions to ask yourself before beginning your pointe journey! I'd like to thank Sarah Kiely from the Living Well Studio who conducts the majority of my students pre-pointe assessments. Sarah is a constant source of inspiration and wealth of knowledge and I have pulled informa...

Louise grew up in country Lismore before heading to Brisbane’s Queensland Dance School of Excellence (QDSE) to finish school in full-time dance training. What I love most about Louise’s story is that although she started ballet late (12 years old is considered late in the world of ballet!) she was smart enough to realise that this disadvantage in the professional world of ballet didn’t rule her ou...

Ever wondered why some weeks feel like you have boundless energy resources whilst others are completely flat? Well your menstrual cycle might have something to do with that! Firstly, whilst I am an expert in ballet I am in no way an expert on health. However I have always been incredibly interested in how nutrition can impact my students and optimise their technique and training. One of the reason...

Today's guest is the gorgeous Jojo from Adult Ballet Collective, Adult Ballet Club and Ballet With Jojo. I'm sure you've heard of at least one of those, but they're so much more than just the instagram handle! Jojo started ballet at the age of 23 and is the poster girl for adult ballerinas everywhere, proving it's never too late to begin your ballet journey. Jojo and I share some very similar beli...

When a listener of the @balancedballerinas pod asked me to do an #AMA I must admit that I had to google what that meant. Apparently it means #AskMeAnything and it's supposed to be spontaneous, off the cuff and very honest. Sounds like fun! My first honest admission? I missed last weeks podcast deadline because I have too many tabs open on my brain. There are so many topics I want to cover and big...

I feel like todays episode will be as impactful as my one with Ally. Both Dr Nicola Keay and Dr Stefanie Potreck are pioneers and huge advocates of dancers mental and physical health around the world. And whilst Ally's episode comes with lots of personal stories and heartfelt messages, Nicky and Stephanie have brought all the facts to further strengthen that message. The dance world typically view...

Born in Darwin, Meryl began ballet classes at a young age before heading to The Australian Ballet School. Shortly after being accepted into the company, Meryl took a leave of absence to work as a Principal dancer with the infamous Pina Bausch in Germany. Eventually craving to be artistically challenged even more, Meryl then spent time between Germany and Australia appearing in television series fo...

In today's episode I share the most valuable lesson my mother taught me (in celebration of mothers day!) and I also read a very popular blog post that I wrote recently; It's not about choosing ballet over boys, it's about choosing yourself... This original blog post which was adapted for this episode can be found here: https://www.balancedballerinas.com/2021/04/30/its-not-about-choosing-ballet-ove...

Joel is a beautiful ballet dancer that has trained extensively with The Australian Ballet School and Queensland Ballet Academy. In fact, we both share a deep love and respect for Paul Boyd who listeners of the pod are well acquainted with having both been taught by him for many years. During our conversation we dive into Joel's experience as a Prix de Lausanne finalist and how he has decided to mo...

This week I have a beautiful conversation with an even more beautiful soul, Margot Hallac! This is the identity behind the famous @pointebrush account on Instagram. And yes, Margot was named after Margot Fonteyn. With a name like that you just have to dive into the world of ballet, but as you'll find out during our conversation ballet wasn't always on Margot's radar and whilst she danced as a chil...

I often find myself arguing in circles WITH MYSELF whilst pondering the topic of ballet uniforms. As an owner of a predominantly ‘ballet’ studio I find it difficult to comprehend a class full of mismatched or ‘baggy’ uniforms. But then I think, just because I’m conditioned to be intolerant of such a sight doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right. Perhaps I should do more to be inclusive. Perhaps I shou...

Hello beautiful Balanced Ballerinas! I hope you've had an amazing week, kicking goals, taking class and taking care of your physical and mental health. Remember, a ballet class usually fixes both these things simultaneously... so keep doing what you love! As you'll hear, my voice is still a little under the weather. I'll be honest, don't actually know what it is at the moment, having some tests (n...

Today you don't get just one podcast host. You don't even get two. Instead you have four podcast hosts all chatting about their love of ballet and MUSIC! Yes that's right, the team from The Ballet Piano Podcast have crossed over (from London to Australia!) to be guests on the Balanced Ballerinas podcast today. I came across their podcast towards the end of last year and completely fell in love wit...

Yes it’s true, the POD IS BACK! Personally I couldn’t think of anything worse than kicking off the year with a ‘new year, new me’ type of episode. After the year we all had last year, that’s the last thing you need from me! Instead I’m sharing a fun solo episode about the top 10 ballet class enquiries I receive at the start of every year. Whilst some of these enquiries will surprise you, others ce...

I've been meaning to have today's conversation for a while now. I just had to find the time to pin down one of my favourite humans in the whole wide world - Mr Paul Boyd. Mr Boyd (as you'll hear me refer to him because I am absolutely incapable of calling him 'Paul') was my coach growing up from about ten to fourteen years old. At the time Mr Boyd was still performing with Queensland Ballet and co...

It's my absolute pleasure to bring the Balanced Ballerinas community a beautiful story rich in Australian culture and ballet royalty today! Mary Li was raised in Rockhampton, Queensland amongst the chaos of seven other siblings. Her parents sounded phenomenal, loving and down-to-earth. The perfect recipe for supportive parents of a budding young ballerina. From the humble beginnings of a little ba...

I'm beyond excited to share this weeks guest with you all. As you would have seen from the title, today I bring you a conversation with the Kathryn Morgan. Affectionately also known as Katie and the YouTube star who brought ballet to peoples living rooms before covid made it cool. Kathryn is an American ballet dancer who started her career as a soloist at New York City Ballet. I'm going to let Kat...

Today's guest is the alluring recording artist Chelsea Pribble! Imagine being able to sing and dance so beautifully? Chelsea's album is titled Second Movement with tracks aptly named 'Pas de Deux' and 'Prelude'. This is what captured my attention whilst browsing through Spotify one day and why I felt a pull to talk to this mysterious ballerina turned singer-songwriter. I'm actually not going to sp...

Today's guest couldn't be more on brand if I tried! As you'll hear in this interview, Karis began ballet classes at age 2 before she joined The Royal Ballet at age 6 after they held a workshop at her primary school and picked her out of a line up of students. She continued through the school before graduating at 19 - but as you'll hear it wasn't all peachy. After a serious spinal injury, the devel...

Are you an 'exercising' or 'training' ballerina? You'll have to listen to find out... _______________ Get your FREE Balanced Ballerinas 'Intention Setting' worksheet HERE and start kicking GOALS: https://www.balancedballerinas.com/product/balanced-ballerinas-intention-setting-worksheet/ You can find more resources at www.balancedballerinas.com Instagram @thebalancedballerina Podcast @balancedballe...