Many of you already know and love her, but this week we get to know Angel Hass a little better. Angel is a dancer, dance teacher, and actress, and she moved to LA from Germany five years ago! Tune in to this episode to learn more about Angel's background, interests, and teaching style; and hear us chat about priorities, time management, and the importance of taking a break sometimes. Angel teaches Street Jazz at The C Spot in LA on Mondays at 6:45pm. Check it out!

Follow our dance journeys on Instagram:

@anghass

@DanceJourneyPodcast

@TracyinLA

Introducing... Navi Lee! She's new to LA but not new to dance. Her main styles are acrobatics, silks, pole, and lyra (aerial hoop), but she also takes contemporary and ballet, and she is a beautiful dancer! Tune in to the full episode to learn more interesting facts about Navi, like how she grew up in the "circus scene," how she does high school online, and why she moved to LA. Navi also opens up about progressive hearing loss and what it's like for her to feel the music. Navi's story is truly inspiring, and I hope you'll check it out this holiday season!

It's time to get to know Sophia Moritz! I met her in a parking lot of a ballet we were both going to see, but that 20-minute chat wasn't enough. I also barely knew she was a dancer at the time because she was so focused on hyping up her dancer friends and their amazing projects. Sophia is humble and super supportive and encouraging to others, so I couldn't wait to get the chance to hear about her own dance life, which, wow, does not disappoint. From working with USC's dance department during the day, to playing Jo in LA's Little Women Ballet and co-founding ChoCoLA (Choreographer Collection Los Angeles), Sophia's whole life is dance dance dance! Plus, she's a beautiful ballet and modern dancer, which I got to witness as an audience member and fellow classmate! Tune in to her podcast episode to hear more about why Sophia's life is so full of joy and learn about the events that got her to where she is today.

Follow our dance journeys on Instagram:

@SophiaMoritz

@DanceJourneyPodcast

@TracyinLA

Melissa Briggs became a serious ballet dancer at age 8, knowing without a doubt that's what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. From New York to Rhode Island to Massachusetts to Florida and then back to New York and then finally in California, her parents always made sure there was a good ballet studio so she could get the training she needs to do the thing she was called to do. And it worked! Melissa is now a professional ballet dancer with The Realm Company as well as a movement therapist. She loves what she does, but sometimes it's hard to juggle all her dance classes, rehearsals and performances with her clients and all the hours she needs to build for therapy. She's doing it though! And still (usually) finds time to take a rest on Sunday—sleeping in, making matcha, taking long walks, and watching movies. :) Learn more about Melissa's dance journey and dance dreams on this week's episode.

I'm sure you've seen her around at C Spot, LA DanceFit, or FlowMotion Dance Studio (to name a few), but now it's time to get to KNOW this dedicated dancer, Kristen Shaffer! Kristen and I love to take dance classes constantly, and we both post all the videos to our dance diaries (aka Instagram). So we have that in common, but it was even better to chat with her for an hour because she's so fun and easy to talk to! From the struggle of the LA commute, to being "older" dancers, to our journeys with improv and freestyle, we cover a lot of topics in this one. We just love dance, and Kristen is especially grateful for this season of life where she can be a "lady of leisure" with no day job and only dance classes! (I miss those days.) Tune in to learn more about why Kristen dances so much and why she recommends it!

Follow our dance journeys on Instagram:

Who even knows when I very first met Sarah Chan, we've taken so many classes together! From ballet at Westside to Jazz at Millennium to Contemporary at C Spot, we both love to run around the city trying all the different studios. Lately Sarah's been focusing on ballet, contemporary / modern, and heels, and she's in two dance companies! (And if you thought that was a lot, she also works as a dietitian, which she also loves.) It was so encouraging to hear Sarah's story about how she pursued dance her whole life but then took time to reflect on who she was and what she really wanted to do for a career. Cut to years later, and she's now figured out how to do it all in a balanced and sustainable way so she can keep growing and enjoying life. It was crazy to hear how all the puzzle pieces came together in a schedule that suits her so well! I love keeping up with Sarah's dance life in person and online, and it was so fun to take my very first heels class with her at Eighty Eight Studios! What an adventure that was, lol.

Follow our dance journeys on Instagram: 

@s.chan23

@DanceJourneyPodcast

@TracyinLA

I'm sooooo glad I got to interview Talyssa Cruz before she moved far, far away to Northern California! Talyssa and I first took class together at Athletic Garage, but then we didn't see each other for a while because I was mostly on the west side, and she was injured for a bit from rock climbing! We followed each other on IG, but it was so nice to start taking jazz and contemporary classes together again a few months ago. Talyssa's been training more and more at AG and other studios - Movement Lifestyle, Ruts, etc., and her technique and musicality are lookin' good! And she's been getting even more good training up in NorCal. I feel like she wasn't even up there a week before she tried the dance studios, and they look amazing! Check out her IG stories for that content, but anyways, I miss taking class with her. We were film buddies and cheered each other on; but alas, now we must cheer each other on virtually. And hopefully we'll get to see each other perform somehow too! (Something we've both been wanting to do again.)

Follow our dance journeys on Instagram:

@TalyssaJanae

@DanceJourneyPodcast

@TracyinLA

It's time to introduce you to Sarina Lowe—a beautiful ballet dancer with one of the strongest drives for dance I've ever seen, plus an amazing sense of humor! I've only taken two dance classes with her ever, but she's one of my biggest dance encouragers, and it was so great to hear her dance story. Sarina loved performing so much as a kid that she used to search out extra dance competitions to go to on her own to perform her solos as much as possible. She even got to be on an episode of Dance Moms for a moment because she danced at one of their competitions! Sarina did tap and hip hop and other styles as well, but ballet was her main focus. She was in a professional ballet company as a kid up until her late teens! These days, she's teaching and going on auditions and figuring out her next dance plan—another ballet company? being a dancer on a cruise? musicals? Who knows? The world is her dance oyster. So tune in to the whole episode (links in bio) to learn more about Sarina, be inspired, and hear about our absolutely amazing time taking Denise Leitner's class at Hama's Dance Center.

Follow our dance journeys on Instagram:

@DanceJourneyPodcast

@TracyinLA

@Sarina.Lowe

This episode is so exciting because I finally got to hang out with Elaine Adolfo, my biggest dance fan/friend/Insta pen pal from the Bay Area! Elaine and I have been chatting on IG and liking each other's videos practically every day for almost a year now, ever since we realized we like a lot of the same dance teachers, but we never met in person until the podcast! Elaine doesn't live in LA, but she's good at learning choreo off the video, so she takes class from teachers in LA, New York, and Canada, in addition to the ones she takes in person where she lives. She also knows lots of good dance studios in the Bay Area and puts them all in a blog, so check out that link from her bio if you're ever up there!

I was so grateful Elaine decided to take a dance vacation in LA this summer and that she was able to include the podcast in the midst of her packed week of classes. We had such a blast that night, taking The Gentle Ladies at Movement Lifestyle, and it was inspiring to hear how Elaine started taking dance classes later in life but then got so passionately dedicated to it. Seriously such a joy to spend time with her. I felt bummed we couldn't hang out more and take more dance classes together, but hopefully we will again one day! You can catch this episode (which is me and Elaine's first in-person conversation ever in real life) on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts. As always, links in bio. :)

Follow our dance journeys on Instagram:

Here she is... our link to so many amazing dance classes and teachers... owner of The C Spot LA... Susan Seletsky!!!!!!! What a joy to get to interview Susan and hear all about her dance adventures. Susan started taking dance classes later in life and retired early to open a dance studio! She embarked on this journey to create community and help herself heal, and she got to be part of my journey and helping me heal too. The C Spot was my first main studio after my year-long injury, and Susan watched me go from taking one jazz class a week in sneakers and modifying everything, to eventually taking class almost everyday and going full out. She was always there to encourage me, and it helped me so much to be able to go to her studio after work and feel loved and supported. Susan creates such a welcoming environment at The C Spot LA and provides opportunities to learn so many styles. From follow-along dance classes like Kim Blank's World Beat Workout to intermediate contemporary and jazz classes, it's such a good place to grow in dance and make a ton of awesome friends. (And have some good tacos at the stand out front!) Check it out!

Follow our dance journeys on Instagram:

@TracyinLA

@DanceJourneyPodcast

@susanseletsky

@thecspotla