Break the Routine

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

Hannah Trever started dancing at four, joined the Dance Promotions Association as treasurer, and was told by her own committee, without warning, that she would be its next chair. Now in her second year, she tells Marius Iepure why the DPA is no longer part of the BDC, what it means to stand completely alone with its own system, licences and members, and why she believes it was the right move for the dancers.

She opens up about being underestimated as a woman in a male-dominated industry, people calling her husband Duncan instead of the chairman, and leading even when the decision is not the popular one. Plus safeguarding and confidential reporting, why you keep seeing the same judging panels, the £5 membership, the national league, and what UK DanceSport governance still gets wrong about transparency.

An honest conversation about leadership, change and the courage to take the risk.

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

In part two, Oti Mabuse looks back on every one of her Strictly partners, from Danny Mac to back-to-back wins with Kelvin and Bill Bailey, and tells her husband and host Marius Iepure why she walked away from the show at the top.

She opens up about learning she could not work alone, the one question she now asks every celebrity, doing the show through lockdown, and giving so much of herself that she had nothing left to give and wanted a family life. Plus Dancing with the Stars in Ireland, building OMDS, and where competitive DanceSport is heading.

An honest conversation about ambition, exhaustion and choosing what truly matters.

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

Oti Mabuse grew up dancing in a newly free South Africa, walked away from a civil engineering degree and crossed continents to become a two time Strictly champion.

In this episode with her husband and host Marius Iepure, she opens up about what Germany taught her, the brutal realities girls face in DanceSport, protecting her daughter from the industry, and why African dance carries a spirituality that ballroom often forgets.

A warm, honest conversation about belonging, ambition and building something of your own.

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

Who is responsible for protecting dancers when the systems around them fall short? In this episode, Leila Stewart and Marius Iepure confront the safeguarding questions DanceSport can no longer ignore: what happens when a young dancer raises a concern, who should handle it, and are studios equipped to keep dancers safe? Drawing on Leila’s experience in dance and frontline ambulance work, they discuss independent reporting, child protection, first-aid training for dance teachers, and the pressures dancers face, including harmful comments about their bodies.

This is a conversation about accountability and what meaningful protection should look like across DanceSport.

#MariusIepure #BreakTheRoutinePodcast #DanceSport #Safeguarding

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

In this episode, Marius Iepure sits down with Peter Maxwell - former World Latin champion, theatre maker, coach, adjudicator, studio builder, and one of the few people to have seen DanceSport from every possible angle - for an honest conversation about a life fully lived inside dance.

They talk about starting at a very young age, eighteen years partnering Lynn Harman, writing the foreword to the WDSF technique books, the real story behind the Blackpool cape, walking away at his peak to chase New York and the stage, building the Ballroom Dance Theatre, and why clarity matters more than confusion.

If you care about the human side of DanceSport, not just the results but the people and values behind them ; this episode is worth your time.

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

In this episode, Marius Iepure sits down again with Peter Nash - competitor, coach, adjudicator, examiner, academy builder, and Operations Director of the British DanceSport Association - for the second part of an honest conversation about a life fully lived inside DanceSport.

They talk about starting dance at seven, fifty years of learning, safeguarding and yellow cards, judge bans and the London Open, taking British dancing to new corners of the world, and what ultimate inclusion really means beyond a mission statement.

If you care about the human side of DanceSport, not just the results but the people and values behind them ; this episode is worth your time.

In this episode:

- why Peter still teaches despite fifty years and bad knees

- how safeguarding changed the culture around dancers

- why more federations and clubs can be a good thing

- what ultimate inclusion means for the future of ballroom

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

In this episode, Marius Iepure sits down with Peter Nash - competitor, coach, adjudicator, examiner, academy builder, and Operations Director of the British DanceSport Association - for an honest conversation about what really happens inside the machinery of DanceSport.

They talk about judging systems, fairness, federation politics, why the sport too often looks inward, and what it would take to unify a divided ballroom world after 50 years on both sides of the table.

If you care about how DanceSport actually works, not just the results but the structures behind them ; this episode is worth your time.

In this episode:

- why Peter helped build the BDSA

- how judging and marking could be made fairer

- why hobby and competitive dancing need each other

- what the BDC, DPA and BDSA circuits really mean for dancers

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

In Part 2 of this conversation, Marius Iepure sits down with Oskar Odiakosa - dancer, coach, adjudicator, and founder of Black in the Ballroom - to go beyond personal story and into a bigger question: what needs to change for ballroom to become more open, more united, and more accessible?

They talk about judging culture, why technique should be a guide and not a gospel, why camps may be giving dancers something competitions no longer do, and what the industry must do if it wants to grow beyond its own bubble.

If you care about the future of ballroom, not just the results, but the culture behind them ; this episode is worth your time.

In this episode:

• what Black in the Ballroom was built to change
• why access is about more than money
• why technique should serve expression, not flatten it
• what dancers, teachers, and leaders need to do differently next

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

In this episode of Break the Routine, Marius Iepure speaks with Oskar Odiakosa ; dancer, coach, adjudicator, and founder of Black in the Ballroom.

Oskar shares how he entered ballroom as a child in South East London, saving lunch money for lessons and travelling across the city to train, before building a career as a competitor, teacher, judge, and advocate for greater belonging in the industry.

Together, they explore representation, access, conformity, individuality, and the future of ballroom culture - including why dancers need to play a more active role in shaping the systems they are part of.

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

In this episode of Break the Routine, Marius Iepure talks with Ian Waite — former elite Latin dancer, original Strictly Come Dancing professional, teacher, choreographer, and co-creator of FitSteps.

Ian looks back on how dance entered his life during a difficult family period, how the Netherlands chapter deepened his ambition, what television changed about the public’s relationship with ballroom, and why his work today is increasingly about accessibility, joy, and connection. It’s a conversation about visibility, pressure, reinvention, and what dance is really for once the pursuit of status begins to fade.