Hey, Dancer!

Bob Fosse gave the world Sweet Charity, Cabaret, Chicago, and All That Jazz, and a style so distinctive you can spot it in a single glance. But long before the bowler hats and turned-in knees became famous on other dancers, they belonged to him.

In this episode of The Rest of the Story on my Hey, Dancer! podcast, I trace Bob Fosse's dancing life: a Chicago kid tapping through nightclubs and burlesque houses as one half of the Riff Brothers, Navy shows across the Pacific, Broadway in Call Me Mister with his dance partner and first wife, Mary Ann Niles, and an MGM contract that had him dancing on screen alongside dance legends Debbie Reynolds, Bobby Van, Ann Miller, and Tommy Rall.

What kind of training made him the dancer he became? How did his own physical limitations help shape a style the whole world would come to know? And how did one minute with Carol Haney in Kiss Me, Kate change the course of his career?

From Joan McCracken and Gwen Verdon to My Sister Eileen, Damn Yankees, and a dance in The Little Prince that helped inspire Michael Jackson, this is Bob Fosse dancing, in his own right. Through slow motion and freeze frames, you'll see him dance the same steps side by side with others, and just how differently they live on his body.

His choreography made him iconic. But this episode is about the dancer, equally iconic, who came first.

WATCH the episode HERE!

If you enjoy this kind of deep-dive into all things dance, you can support my podcast here: ⁠⁠⁠Buy Me a Coffee!⁠⁠ Much appreciated!!!

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Do you prefer 60-minute or 90-minute dance classes? And how much does that extra half hour really matter? Maybe more than you think... or maybe not!

Recently, one of my favorite dance classes was shortened from 90 minutes to 60. Same teacher, same class... just 30 minutes less. Having experienced both versions, I have some thoughts! Especially when it comes to warming up, learning choreography, filming, and getting the most out of the time I spend at the dance studio.

In this episode of Hey, Dancer!, I'm sharing another story from my return to dance, along with a few things I've learned about what makes a dance class worth my time. Whether you prefer an hour, 90 minutes, or something longer, I'd love to hear what works best for you!

If you enjoy this kind of deep-dive into all things dance, you can support my podcast here: ⁠⁠⁠Buy Me a Coffee!⁠⁠ Much appreciated!!!

Check out my ⁠⁠⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Peter Gennaro danced Bob Fosse's original "Steam Heat," co-choreographed West Side Story with Jerome Robbins, and won a Tony Award for choreographing Annie. So why isn't his name better known today? And just how much of the dancing in West Side Story was actually his?

In this episode of The Rest of the Story, I uncover for the first time the extent of Gennaro's early dance training and follow a career that would take him from Broadway to decades of television, Hollywood, Radio City Music Hall and the Rockettes... as a dancer, teacher and choreographer. Along the way, he worked with Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins, Chita Rivera, Judy Garland, Mitzi Gaynor and so many others... while helping shape the developing language of theatrical jazz dance.

There was so much more to Peter Gennaro than even I realized when I started researching him. And by the end of this story, I think you'll understand why his name belongs in the conversation about the dancers and choreographers who helped define American musical theater.

If you enjoy this kind of deep-dive into all things dance, you can support my podcast here: ⁠⁠⁠Buy Me a Coffee!⁠⁠ Much appreciated!!!

Check out my ⁠⁠⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠

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The Dance Hall of Fame has announced its 2026 class, honoring Debbie Allen, George Balanchine, Katherine Dunham, Mandy Moore, The Nicholas Brothers, Savion Glover, Toni Basil, George Chakiris, Rita Moreno, and Russ Tamblyn.

In this episode, I take a closer look at the second-ever class, the remarkable range of dance history it represents, and some of the questions that come with building a new Hall of Fame from scratch.

I also dive into the West Side Story connection between three of this year's inductees.

And with five members of the 2026 class already featured on my ongoing series, The Rest of the Story, I share why some of the Hall's choices really resonate with the kinds of dance stories I've been drawn to telling.

And then there's Fred Astaire. After Mikhail Baryshnikov himself raised the question of Astaire's absence onstage at the inaugural ceremony in 2025, his name is still missing from the Hall's second class. It opens up a larger conversation about chronology, legacy, and how a Dance Hall of Fame begins deciding who comes first.

If you enjoy this kind of deep-dive into all things dance, you can support my podcast here: ⁠⁠⁠Buy Me a Coffee!⁠⁠ Much appreciated!!!

Check out my ⁠⁠⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support my Instagram — where I post daily dance inspo, insights and fun! ⁠⁠⁠⁠@backtogreat

My ep on the inaugural Dance Hall of Fame!

Lucille Bremer danced alongside Fred Astaire in some of MGM's most lavish musical numbers. So why isn't she remembered today?

For this episode, I traced her story all the way back to childhood... through ballet, the Radio City Rockettes, Broadway, New York nightclubs and eventually MGM... uncovering newspaper clippings, photographs and details about her dance life that have simply never been included in the stories told about her.

And then there's Fred Astaire. Ziegfeld Follies. Yolanda and the Thief. "This Heart of Mine." "Limehouse Blues." "Coffee Time." She reached extraordinary heights as a dancer... and then, almost as quickly as she arrived, her Hollywood dance career was over.

Stick around after the story, because I'll also share a little about what happened after her Hollywood life.

If you enjoy this kind of deep-dive into all things dance, you can support my podcast here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy Me a Coffee!⁠⁠⁠ Much appreciated!!!

Check out my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support my Instagram — where I post daily dance inspo, insights and fun! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@backtogreat⁠

Do you ever get nervous before dance class? Or an audition, a performance... anything where you suddenly feel like all eyes are on you?

On my way to a new class recently, my heart was racing and I suddenly realized... I was genuinely nervous. Why can dance class feel so high-stakes when there are really no stakes at all? That experience sent me digging into the science of performance anxiety, nervousness and excitement... and I discovered a surprisingly simple way of reframing those pre-class butterflies.

I also had a realization about my own nerves and what they might actually say about how much dance still means to me.

Whether you're a dancer, artist, performer... or just someone who gets nervous when it's time to put yourself out there... I really hope this episode helps. Because understanding those nerves might not just change the way you think about them. It might change the entire experience for you!

Study mentioned in the episode: HERE

If you enjoy this kind of deep-dive into all things dance, you can support my podcast here: ⁠⁠⁠Buy Me a Coffee!⁠⁠ Much appreciated!!!

Check out my ⁠⁠⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Jacques d'Amboise was one of America's great male ballet stars — a longtime principal dancer with New York City Ballet, with more roles created specifically for him by George Balanchine than any other dancer.

But how did a boy who didn't even want to take ballet become one of its biggest stars? What happened when Hollywood came calling with Seven Brides for Seven Brothers? And why did his struggle with Balanchine's Apollo change the way he approached his dancing?

From his little-known childhood and early training to Carousel, a devastating accident and decades at New York City Ballet, Jacques d'Amboise's journey was extraordinary.

And then came a second act perhaps even more meaningful than the first. Through the National Dance Institute (NDI), which he founded in 1976, d'Amboise took everything dance had given him and spent the rest of his life giving it to millions of children.

If you enjoy this kind of deep-dive into all things dance, you can support my podcast here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy Me a Coffee!⁠⁠⁠ Much appreciated!!!

Check out my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support my Instagram — where I post daily dance inspo, insights and fun! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@backtogreat⁠

Why am I STILL so often the only guy in dance class?

Male dancers are more visible than ever, and the dance world has changed enormously since I first started training. But after returning to dance more than three decades later, there's one thing that feels surprisingly familiar: I'm once again often the only guy in the room.

In this episode of Hey, Dancer!, I'm looking at men in dance through my own experience — then and now — from ballet, jazz and jazz funk to even hip-hop. I also found a Southern California study that looked at the gender breakdown of nearly 300 young dancers across seven different types of dance… and the numbers genuinely surprised me. So how much has really changed? And why might guys still not be finding their way into dance class?

Nearly four decades after I was often the only boy in the room, I'm looking at why this still matters to me… and why I think more guys finding their way into dance class would be a very good thing.

If you enjoy this kind of deep-dive into all things dance, you can support my podcast here: ⁠⁠⁠Buy Me a Coffee!⁠⁠ Much appreciated!!!

Check out my ⁠⁠⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support my Instagram — where I post daily dance inspo, insights and fun! ⁠⁠⁠⁠@backtogreat

Study mentioned in ep: Dance Class Structure Affects Youth Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior: A Study of Seven Dance Types

Lola Falana was everywhere in the 1970s... television, movies, music, Las Vegas. But underneath it all was a seriously trained dancer.

So where did that dancer come from? And how did dance help take Lola from performing as a teenager to becoming an international superstar... and eventually the "Queen of Las Vegas"?

In this episode of The Rest of the Story, I uncover a part of Lola's early dance training that has never really been brought to light before... including the teachers who shaped her in ballet, modern and African cultural dance. Then we follow that training through Dinah Washington, Broadway's Golden Boy with Sammy Davis Jr., stardom in Italy, American television and, of course, Las Vegas.

It's a dance story that has largely been hidden behind the superstar Lola Falana eventually became... and one that makes watching her dance all these years later even more fascinating.

If you enjoy this kind of deep-dive into all things dance, you can support my podcast here: ⁠⁠⁠Buy Me a Coffee!⁠⁠ Much appreciated!!!

Check out my ⁠⁠⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support my Instagram — where I post daily dance inspo, insights and fun! ⁠⁠⁠⁠@backtogreat

She Dances, starring Steve Zahn and his real-life daughter Audrey Zahn, takes us inside the world of competitive dance... but how accurately does it actually portray that world? And what happens when a dance movie turns out to be about much more than dance?

In my first-ever dance movie review on Hey, Dancer!, I'm watching She Dances with a completely open mind, sharing my reactions along the way and digging into the real-life story behind the film, including Mackenzie Ziegler's return to the dance competition world.

How much of Steve and Audrey Zahn's own experience made it onto the screen? And why did this movie leave me in tears?

I also asked members of my own community with real dance competition experience to watch the film and weigh in. What did She Dances get right? And wrong? And ultimately, is this a dance movie worth watching?

If you enjoy this kind of deep-dive into all things dance, you can support my podcast here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy Me a Coffee!⁠⁠⁠ Much appreciated!!!

Check out my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support my Instagram — where I post daily dance inspo, insights and fun! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@backtogreat⁠