Welcome all to the Dancer's Choice Podcast! This week we are THRILLED to be joined with Special Guest, Kiesha Lalama! Former Senior Executive for the Pittsburgh CLO, Point Park University Dance Professor, Jimmy Award's Choreographer, Mother, Wife, and current Managing Artistic Director of the Pittsburgh Playhouse, joins us for a jam-packed conversation about having a career in the dance industry.

In this hour long episode, Kiesha shares her life story and words of wisdom around the power of authenticity, confidence in leadership, chasing passions, navigating jobs, defining success, and SO MUCH MORE! Dancers, if you want the real TRUTH about this industry, this episode is all for you.

Riley and Dawsen have been completely changed for the better by having Kiesha as a mentor in their own lives, so much so, that they couldn't not bring her onto the podcast. The girls hope this conversation leaves you feeling inspired, motivated, and seen.

All our love,

enjoy the episode!

Hi friends, welcome back to the Dancer's Choice Podcast. This week, Riley sits down to open up about her mental health journey and share a message that has been weighing on her heart for quite some time. With many dancers struggling with mental health and our industry starting to advocate for the mental wellness of dancers, Riley wanted to share the life-changing question and biggest game-changer she found in her healing journey. Listen in for 3 Reasons Not to Neglect Your Faith/Spirituality as a Dancer <3

TW: Mental health struggles discussed in this episode in reference to anxiety, OCD, panic attacks, etc. This episode is intended to be uplifting, encouraging, and heartwarming, but please feel free to press pause if needed.

Love & Light,

Riley

Welcome to the Dancer's Choice Podcast! Our first episode of 2024*** (not 2023 lol) and we had to hop on the Ins/Outs trend. Riley & Dawsen share what they're leaving behind in 2023 and bringing into 2024- some serious, some not so serious. We hope this lighthearted episode helps you ring in the new year and perhaps finds you making your own list of Ins/Outs.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy start to 2024!

New Years Resolutions influencing you to get into a new routine? To start up a new fitness regimen? To get out of your seasonal workout rut?

Don't worry- we feel you! This week Riley shares some quick tips/steps to get consistent with your workout routine or start a new one in a way that is sustainable! Riley has been a Pure Barre Fitness Instructor for the last 2.5 years and coaches weekly. After a couple conversations with clients regarding their New Year's Goals, she had to hop on the mic and address the topic on the pod! So much more to say but we'll start here for now.

Perhaps a Part 2 will stem from this conversation in the later weeks...enjoy, friends!

Welcome Friends! We are here to wrap up the FINAL EPISODE OF 2023! The year that started it all!

This week Riley and Dawsen sit down to talk about the year they just had and share their thoughts on New Year's Resolutions. Between being out at sea, navigating college, and the making of Dancer's Choice to their lists of "want to-do's" for the new year, hot takes on goals, and visions for the podcast- the girls share it all!

Join us for a light hearted, bittersweet episode. We send all our love and well wishes to you as you ring in the new year!

The girls are officially girlie-ing! We told you that once this happens we would make an episode about it! Dawsen tells all on how she supported her period recovery - from prioritizing protein to managing her stress levels and even decreasing her training! Tune in to get some great information that you may find helpful - get your notebooks and pens ready because were getting intimate!

*Disclaimer: Dawsen is not a licensed professional and these are just things that worked for her and may not work for everyone else! Please consult with a professional if you are seeking help!*

Hello lovely people! Welcome back to the Dancer's Choice Podcast! This week we are blessed to be sitting down with yet another SPECIAL GUEST, Chelsea Mitchell-Bonsu!

Chelsea is currently dancing in MJ The Musical's FIRST National Tour and took the time out of her tour to share her story with us. From getting cast in the National Tour of CATS, to graduating college, getting married, auditioning, and now taking on another contract, Chelsea opens up about her struggles with mental health and dancers' often strive for perfection. Though it may look like a dancer has it all together on the outside, we often neglect to recognize the state of a dancer's mental health. In this episode, Chelsea emphasizes the importance of taking care of your mental wellbeing, leading with grace, embracing new things, and not killing yourself for dance.

Buckle up, this episode is packed with so much knowledge & wisdom. Dancers, TAKE NOTES!

Welcome to our NEW MINI EPISODE SERIES!!! Dawsen & Riley were wondering how they could get more content to you and THIS became the answer! Don't worry- Dawsen & Riley are still recording episodes together, but will be recording separate smaller episodes to give you TWO EPISODES A WEEK as frequently as they can!

Individually, the girls have more topics they relate to in their personal lives and thought this would be a great way to increase conversation in our community.

This week, Riley sits down to discuss the influence of social media in the dance world and how she has implemented boundaries into her personal life as a dancer. Reminding us that social media is a great addition to our world, but it is not our entire dance world. If you feel like social media is consuming your mind 24/7, you are defining your success based on number of likes/views, or have fallen into a never-ending cycle of comparison...THIS EPISODE IS FOR YOU!

Welcome back to the Dancer's Choice Podcast! This week, Riley and Dawsen had the privilege of being joined by Point Park Alumni and Alvin Ailey dancer, Ashley Green! Ashley shares her story about growing up in competition dance, the importance of not labeling yourself, how to stay present in process, and many more of her biggest takeaways from her last three seasons with Ailey. This conversation is loaded and full of so many revelations- we cannot wait for you to listen! Don't forget to share this episode with a friend and give our show a rating/review so we can continue to reach other dancers :)

To further connect with Ashley, you can find her on Instagram @awagreen98, if in the New York area, you can also catch Ashley in her upcoming Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performances now through December 31, 2023 at the New York City Center!

Hey friends! Welcome back to the Dancer's Choice Podcast! This week Riley and Dawsen sit down to talk about dancer burnout. We dancers throw the word "burnout" around a lot, but what exactly is it? From learning to take a step back when needed, say no, find other hobbies outside of dance, and establish boundaries, the girls cover all things how to spot, prevent and treat burnout.

A lighter subject this week, but so so important to talk about. We hope this inspires you to find other creative outlets, perhaps explore new hobbies, or feel okay to take a step back next time it's needed.

Stay til the end for some fun Spotify wrapped news + exciting hints of what's to come in future episodes/platforms :)