Dance; Better.

Today Courtney and Sarah spoke with Chloe Angyal. Chloe is the author of the new book, "Turning Pointe: How a New Generation of Dancers is Saving Ballet from Itself," which is available anywhere you buy books. Chloe’s book is a fascinating read about inequality in the ballet world, and how it affects dancers everywhere. Her message is truly a powerful one.

To schedule a free presentation with Chloe for your school or company, go to https://chloesangyal.com/

You can connect with Chloe on Instagram @chloe.angyal.writes

Please remember that Sarah and Courtney are mental health professionals, and anything you hear them say are experiences from their lives and should not be considered medical advice. If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. To find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services, check out https://www.mhanational.org/

Theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast

Courtney @courtulrich

Sarah @techballet

Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected]

If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave us a review. (We might even read it on the next episode!) This helps to make our show more searchable, and will make it more accessible to more people...plus, we’d love to hear from you!

In today's episode, Courtney and Sarah spoke with Jackson Jirard about his extensive research in psychology and dance and what a social-emotional revolution in the ballet industry looks like from his perspective.

Jackson is a Bostonian artist and educator. He received his BA in Psychology from Stanford University, his M.Ed. in Human Development & Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and has been researching power, responsibility, and emotional well-being in ballet companies for many years. He’s danced professionally with Ballet Austin in Texas, Sacramento Ballet in California, and Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre. More recently, he’s choreographed for a musical and major motion picture (New Repertory Theatre's "Oliver" and Columbia Pictures' "Little Women" respectively), performed in an opera, and even a tap-jazz-ballet. Having grown up in Massachusetts, Jackson continues to excitedly re-familiarize himself with the New England scene as the newly appointed Associate Director of Rehearsal for Life's Urban Improv.

You can read Jackson's newest article, Why Every Ballet Company Needs an Emotional Counselor here: https://jxjirard.medium.com/why-every-ballet-company-needs-an-emotional-counselor-ca594d9be8e0

Please remember that no one on the show today is a mental health professional, and anything you hear us say are things from our lives and should not be considered medical advice. If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. To find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services, check out https://www.mhanational.org/

Theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Follow us on Instagram!

Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast

Courtney @courtulrich

Sarah @techballet

Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected]

If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave us a review. (We might even read it on the next episode!) This helps to make our show more searchable, and will make it more accessible to more people...plus, we’d love to hear from you!

Today, Courtney and Sarah unpacked one of the prevailing afflictions in the ballet world today: comparison. They shared their earliest memories with comparison in dance, how it can lead to distorted constructive criticism, and how it shows up in adulthood. They also shared some quick tips and resources that help them combat it.

Please remember that Courtney and Sarah are not mental health professionals, and anything you hear them say are experiences from their lives and should not be considered medical advice. If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. To find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services, check out https://www.mhanational.org/

Theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Follow us on Instagram!

Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast

Courtney @courtulrich

Sarah @techballet

Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected]

If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave us a review. (We might even read it on the next episode!) This helps to make our show more searchable, and will make it more accessible to more people...plus, we’d love to hear from you!

Hey everyone! Today Courtney and Sarah spoke with Sophia Martins from Neuroscience of Dance. We dove deep into neurodiversity and how it affects all parts of the ballet world.

Sophia is an international dance neuroscientist, dancer, performer, and dance teacher. She trained in dance therapy and somatic practices, has a double degree in Psychology and Forensic Psychology and worked as a mental health practitioner for 4 years. Through her Neuroscience of Dance project and Dance Integrated Healing Method, she provides neurocognitive and dance healing tools.

As a coach, she talks about coping with injuries, neurological recovery, improving class environments and teaching techniques, overcoming struggles (memory, equilibrium, learning difficulties), improving mental well-being, improving dance skills, and using dance for healing purposes.

Currently, she still takes part in research, conducts the Dance is Medicine Podcast and teaches cognitive neuroscience and brain imaging research methods.

To connect with Sophia, you can find her on Instagram at

@neuroscienceofdanceartscience

And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/neuroscienceofdance/

Below, you will find all the links to her workshops, research, and other resources on neurodiversity.

https://linktr.ee/neuroscienceofdanceartscience

Use coupon code WELLNESS for 20% off her workshop, Dance Wellness Programme: Movement Neuroscience & Healing.

Please remember that no one on the show today are mental health professionals, and anything you hear us say are things from our lives and should not be considered medical advice. If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. To find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services, check out https://www.mhanational.org/

Theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Follow us on Instagram!

Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast

Courtney @courtulrich

Sarah @techballet

Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected]

If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave us a review. (We might even read it on the next episode!) This helps to make our show more searchable, and will make it more accessible to more people...plus, we’d love to hear from you!

In today's episode, the girls spoke with the amazing Georgia Canning. Georgia shared with us some incredible tips on how she developed her studio culture that fosters inclusivity while maintaining a Vaganova curriculum.

Georgia is the Founder of Balanced Ballerinas - podcast, vlog, blog, and community dedicated to breaking down the elitist barriers usually associated with ballet and providing a more holistic approach to ballet training. Georgia is also the co-owner and Director of GC Dance which is a studio for school-aged students on the Gold Coast, Australia. 

To connect with Georgia, you can find her business on Instagram @thebalancedballerina and @balancedballerinas.

Click here to find the pod and a few other goodies! https://linktr.ee/thebalancedballerina

Please remember that no one on the show today is a mental health professional, and anything you hear us say are things from our experiences and should not be considered medical advice. If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. To find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services, check out https://www.mhanational.org/

Theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Follow us on Instagram!

Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast

Courtney @courtulrich

Sarah @techballet

Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected]

If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave us a review. (We might even read it on the next episode!) This helps to make our show more searchable, and will make it more accessible to more people...plus, we’d love to hear from you!

In today's episode, the girls spoke with former professional dancer and now graduate student, Glenn Kelich. He spoke candidly about his experience as a football player and ballet dancer, struggles with concussion injuries, and ways we can change the ballet world for the better.

Glenn was both a high school football player as well as a pre-professional ballet student. He went on to graduate from Indiana University’s rigorous ballet program with a Bachelor of Science in Ballet as well as a degree in Sports Marketing and Management.  Following graduation, he danced with the Kansas City Ballet and the Indianapolis Ballet for three and a half seasons.  Now he is a graduate student pursuing a master's in Mental Health Counseling from Indiana University.  

To follow Glenn's journey, connect with him here:

Instagram @jgkelich 

and his inspiring IG, Mindset hacks - @the_mentalgame

Please remember that no one on the show today are mental health professionals, and anything you hear us say are things from our lives and should not be considered medical advice. If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. To find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services, check out https://www.mhanational.org/

Theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Follow us on Instagram!

Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast

Courtney @courtulrich

Sarah @techballet

Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected]

If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave us a review. (We might even read it on the next episode!) This helps to make our show more searchable, and will make it more accessible to more people...plus, we’d love to hear from you!

In today's episode, the girls spoke with former professional dancer, Suvi Honkanen. Suvi was born in Helsinki, Finland, and began her ballet training at age five at Helsinki Dance Institute. She went on to train at Russia's Vaganova Academy and danced professionally with Finnish National Ballet for nine years before transitioning into writing and journalism in 2019. 

Suvi recently wrote an article in Pointe Magazine titled “As ballet looks towards its future, let’s talk about its troubling emotional demands” and in this episode, Courtney and Sarah go even more in-depth on her experiences and opinions on how exactly this acknowledgment and change can occur in the ballet world. 

To follow Suvi, you can find her on Instagram @susuvi

To read her other work mentioned in the show at https://suvihelenahonkanen.medium.com/

If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. Find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services and find a therapist by clicking here: https://www.mhanational.org/

The theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Follow us on Instagram!

Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast 

Courtney @courtulrich

Sarah @techballet

OR If Facebook is more your speed: www.facebook.com/dancebetterpodcast

Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected]

If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave us a review. (We might even read it on the next episode!) This helps to make our show more searchable, and will make it more accessible to more people...plus, we’d love to hear from you!

Hey friends! Courtney and Sarah recorded a mini-episode for you to celebrate 20 episodes! We're taking a bit of a spring break.

The ladies return next week with an incredible episode with Suvi Honkanen. Check out her recent Pointe Magazine article, "As Ballet Looks Toward Its Future, Let's Talk About Its Troubling Emotional Demands" and get ready to learn all about the woman behind these powerful words.

Hope you all are taking some intentional time to rest this weekend as well and we'll see ya next week!

We would like to include that if you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. Find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services and find a therapist by clicking here: https://www.mhanational.org/

Our theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Don't forget to follow us on Instagram and now Facebook!

Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast

www.facebook.com/dancebetterpodcast

Courtney @courtulrich

Sarah @techballet

Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected]

If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave us a review. (We might even read it on the next episode!) This helps to make our show more searchable, and will make it more accessible to more people...plus, we’d love to hear from you!

In this ep, Courtney and Sarah got together for a chat about the all too common mindset around "my way or the highway". They spoke about how this shows up in the studio from a day-to-day student perspective with ballet techniques, styles, teachers' beliefs, and what it means to "make it". 

Please remember Courtney and Sarah are not mental health professionals, and anything you hear them say in this episode should not be considered medical advice.

If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. Find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services and find a therapist by clicking https://arc.mhanational.org/mha-affiliate-network.

Theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Follow us on Instagram!

Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast

Courtney @courtulrich

Sarah @techballet

Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected]

If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave us a review. (We might even read it on the next episode!) This helps to make our show more searchable, and will make it more accessible to more people...plus, we’d love to hear from you!

Welcome back Terry! In this ep, the girls brought back their very first guest, UK-based dance psychotherapist Terry Hyde. In this conversation, he dug deeper into the web that is perfectionism. We all hear that word a lot these days, and we know that it can be harmful, but what can we do about it? Terry walked us through what defines perfectionism, when to know it is becoming a barrier to your success, and how to navigate it. 

You can connect with Terry on Instagram @counsellingfordancers  and on his website www.counsellingfordancers.com. 

Don't forget to follow his insta for updates on his dancer wellness app and a new book coming out this fall! 

If you are interested in the quiz we spoke about and the work by Gretchen Reuben, you can find it at https://quiz.gretchenrubin.com/ 

We would like to include that if you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. Find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services and find a therapist by clicking here: https://www.mhanational.org/finding-help 

Our theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). 

Follow us on Instagram! 

Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast 

Courtney @courtulrich 

Sarah @techballet 

Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected] 

If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave us a review. (We might even read it on the next episode!) This helps to make our show more searchable, and will make it more accessible to more people...plus, we’d love to hear from you!