The Balanced Ballerinas Podcast

Todays guest is Amanda Falson, the creative director of Wondergarden Dance in Melbourne, Victoria. And boy is she creative! Wondergarden dance is a holistic pre-school ballet program that’s designed to plant the seeds of wonderment, mindfulness and love of movement into the hearts of families. And I’m telling you right now, the classes match up to the description. In a Wondergarden Dance class chi...

I am so excited to share this interview with the Balanced Ballerinas community because I know there are a lot of adult ballerinas out there who listen to the podcast! Dianne Harrison is the principal of Elancé Adult Ballet School in Melbourne, Victoria. And as you'll hear, she is an astonishing woman. When I arrived at the Mitcham location (Elancé has two studio locations in Melbourne) Dianne took...

The following advice is mostly in relation to ballet auditions, because that’s the kind of environment I know best. If you’re about to embark on a jazz, musical theatre or commercial dance audition these tips will be useful, however I’d do some further research into your genre. Without sounding super braggy (I’m pretty sure that’s not a word but let’s go with it) I was accepted for every program a...

Todays guest is super cool! Sarah Kiely is a physiotherapist, pilates instructor, dance teacher and qualified dry needling practitioner. Sarah completed both her Bachelor of Exercise Science and a Masters of Physiotherapy at Griffith University on the Gold Coast. Which is why we run in the same circles (without realising it!) however as most connections these days I came across her incredible work...

Today’s lovely guest is Philippa Ziegenhardt, counsellor at The Australian Ballet School and creator of Stage Minded. Philippa’s own dance background as a professional ballerina with the Hamburg Ballet makes her the perfect person for little ballerinas to confide in - because she knows exactly what they’re going through! As Philippa mentions on the Stage Minded website , like many performers her i...

I am so excited to share this beautiful conversation with the even more beautiful Lina Kim - Soloist with Queensland Ballet. Lina was awarded the Most Outstanding Dancer and Queensland Ballet Scholarship Winner back in 2007 upon joining the Queensland Dance School of Excellence. After her studies, Lina immediately landed a trainee contract with Queensland Ballet in 2010 before officially becoming...

In this weeks solo episode I share three news headlines from the dance world that have me intrigued! We also break down the intricacies of starting your pointe journey... Starting pointe work is an extremely exciting period for any young dancer or adult ballerina. However there are many steps before slipping on that first pair of pointe shoes and I thought it would be helpful to give parents and s...

Todays guest is the gorgeous Kate Histon who owns a dance studio in beautiful Byron Bay called Dance Dynamics. For our overseas listeners who might not know where Byron Bay is, it’s home to some of the most beautiful beaches and holistic practises in the world! Growing up, my family spent many Summers staying in the caravan park by the beach in Byron and it’s always held a special place in my hear...

A couple of weeks ago two of my favourite things collided - books and ballet! I’ve actually had a copy of Kerri Turners debut novel, ‘The Last Days of the Romanov Dancers’ sitting on my beside table for months. So when I heard Kerri would be in town, I thought it would be an opportune moment to not only take some time out for myself and actually read this incredible book, but also interview Kerri...

The word ‘dance Mum’ has been hijacked by awful shows like Dance Moms and poor behaviour from Mums at competitions with ‘dance Mum’ encrusted in rhinestones on their back… but its undeniable that a dance Mum is so much more than this stereotype. It’s mothers day today and I want to celebrate the Mums who just want what’s best for their child, who know when to push and when to step back. The Mums w...

Are you new to ballet? Or do you just need a gentle reminder about what's appropriate and what's not appropriate in a ballet class? Entering a ballet class can be an interesting experience. You quickly learn there are so many unwritten rules! Few sports or activities mimic the sanctity of a ballet studio. As a newbie you could be very overwhelmed as you quickly start learning the in’s and out’s of...

Rosina Andrews is the author of ‘Pirouette Surgery’ and ‘Leap Surgery’. But don’t let the titles fool you - there’s nothing clinical or too complicated about her approach. Aimed at dance teachers and educated little dancers, these books break down the technicalities and process of executing perfect pirouettes with commentary and anecdotes from the world record holder for number of pirouettes and d...

Did you know that dancers are 12.4 times more likely to develop scoliosis? And that ballet dancers are at a higher risk of developing scoliosis than the general population? I had no idea. A few weeks ago I received an interesting information package from my local Chiropractor . The facts and figures intrigued me so I decided to contact the clinic to see if Dr Michael would be willing to have a cha...

Welcome to the #BalancedBallerinas 6 week challenge! Try and complete at least one (ideally all!) of these simple but effective habits that contribute towards a healthy, mindful and most importantly BALANCED life... 1. START YOUR MORNING WITH LEMON WATER Yes we should be avoiding processed foods at all costs, but if you're new or struggling to adapt to a healthier way of eating, how about we start...

I don’t know about you, but networking, making new friends in my industry and opening myself up to new opportunities really makes my day! I had one of THOSE days when I recently met the lovely Dr Andrea Robertson. Andrea is the owner of Southside Clinic which is also the home of The Barre Clinic in Adelaide. Dr Andrea is an Osteopath, Nutritionist and my new best friend. You know those people that...

Hey everyone, guess what?! The Balanced Ballerinas podcast went abroad! Well, not really… however I did interview fellow adult ballet teacher Julie Gill who runs an adult exclusive ballet studio in Denver, Colorado. As much as I would have loved to sit face-to-face with this incredibly intelligent and passionate woman, we had to settle for a web interview (which is why the sound quality of this ep...

If you’ve listened to my 2017 TEDx Talk, you would have heard me talking about my impending trip to Africa. A couple of weeks after that talk, I packed up all the amazing leotards and ballet shoes that my dance community had donated and jumped on a plane to Nairobi to teach ballet classes for Annos Africa - a children’s arts charity running educational arts projects for children living in the slum...

Happy Valentines Day everyone! In this solo episode Georgia sits down to talk about the three main reasons why she loves ballet so much - health, performance and community! As always, it would mean the world if you could rate and subscribe if you enjoyed this episode. We also love hearing and seeing where and when people are listening and what you thought of the episode. So take a screenshot and t...

Not only is Hannah Rigby my gorgeous friend, but she is a beautiful classically trained dancer who works for the biggest touring circus in Australasia, Circus Rio! This multi talented dancer, singer and actress is also a beautiful human being, always bringing positivity and light to young performers through her social media. But the life of a performer can sometimes be really lonely and when Hanna...

As everyone starts heading back into classes for the year, this is the perfect episode to remind everyone to be nice to themselves in class and stop comparing! Especially if you're an adult ballerina this can be a hard task. But making sure your goals are realistic and aligned with your attitude is super important. This episode is an audio version of Georgia's most popular blog post 'Why your piro...

Christiaan Bettridge is one of my dearest friends who used to study at the same full-time dance studio as myself when we were younger. I was a total bunhed growing up, with Christiaan being the opposite. She actually didn’t really like ballet all that much, but understood it’s what she needed to do in order to succeed in the arts. Christiaan is one of those people who can do everything. She can ac...

This is a special bonus episode which follows on from our discussion with meditation and yoga teacher Laura Trimble-Thompson in Episode 3. This guided meditation spoken by Laura herself has been specifically designed for dancers that find themselves in stressful situations like a competition or audition setting, where a little extra calm and focus may be required. So if you currently find yourself...

Todays guest is a fitting person to begin the new year as her zest for life and inspiring productivity will surely get you off your seat and ready to tackle the new year. Laura Trimble-Thompson (also known as Laura TT or Miss TT by her younger students, is a school teacher and yoga teacher, on a mission to help young people reach high performance targets with less effort and stress… amazing! I hav...

As a child, Sonia York-Pryce studied at the Elmhurst Ballet School before attending the Royal Ballet School in London. These days Sonia works on her PHD research, titled “Ageism and the Mature Dancer” - which investigates the role of the dancers who extend beyond the industry expectations of acceptable age and analyses the contribution that they are making to the current dialogue relating to ageis...

The podcast for ballerinas, adult ballerinas, parents of ballerinas and everyone in between. Enjoy discussions with industry leaders and interesting individuals that help you live a more balanced life with grace and grit. For our first episode, we hear podcast host Georgia Canning talk about why the podcast was launched and why she's aiming to break down the elitist barriers often associated with...