In this episode of the Balance Movers and Shakers Podcast, Ellen interviews Caitlin Sloan, founder of the Brainy Ballerina. During this episode Ellen and Caitlin discuss what dancers need to be successful in today's industry, as well as techniques that instructors can implement to provide well-rounded dance education to their students.

As a dance educator with nearly a decade of experience in the field and a retired professional ballerina, Caitlin is passionate about teaching students to become smart dancers. To excel in the field today, dancers need more than beautiful lines and turns for days. They need to be critical thinkers, able to analyze and evaluate situations on a moment's notice. Dancers need to know terminology and ballet history. They need to know about music, choreography, and what goes on behind the scenes. They need to know how to write a resume, take a quality headshot and show up prepared for an audition. 

Caitlin discovered that finding resources to support her teaching beliefs was a challenge. Through talking to peers, she discovered many fellow teachers felt the same way. And thus 'The Brainy Ballerina' was born! The resources we provide are specifically designed to develop dancers into the future ballerinas the world needs.

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In this episode of the Balance Movers and Shakers podcast, Ellen discusses what it means to balance your practice. With the holidays on the horizon, self-care is an important practice - but what is self care really? Ellen explores various forms of self-care, including how to practice self-care through movement and the internal language that we use toward ourselves. This episode explores how we can truly build balance into our yoga, dance and fitness practices both in and out of the studio. 

During this episode also Ellen tees up exciting announcements for the Balance Movement community - including upcoming blog content and new features on the balancemvmt.com website. 

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In this episode of the Balance Movers and Shakers podcast, Ellen interviews Melanie C. Klein, cofounder of Yoga and Body Image Coalition and empowerment coach. Ellen and Melanie discuss how body image and exercise culture inform movement practices.  Melanie discusses how body acceptance and exercise culture have permeated the modern yoga class, and what can be done to reframe the narrative. Melanie shares how she cofounded the Yoga and Body Image Coalition, and the need for representation in yoga imagery.  This is the sixth episode of the Balance Movers and Shakers podcast, a podcast which captures perspectives and inspiring anecdotes from movers and shakers: yoga, dance and movement practitioners.

Melanie C. Klein, M.A., is an empowerment coach, thought leader and influencer in the areas of body confidence, authentic empowerment, and visibility. She is also a successful writer, speaker, and professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies. Her areas of interest and specialty include media literacy education, body image, and the intersectional analysis of systems of power and privilege. Find more information about Melanie and her works at https://www.melaniecklein.com/ Learn more about the Yoga and Body Image Coalition here: http://ybicoalition.com/ Interested in writing for the Balance Movement blog? Click here for more information