Get ready for our next episode of The Piano Pod: The Embodied Pianist with Elena Riu — pianist, groundbreaking recording artist, educator, and yoga/mindfulness teacher.

In this powerful conversation, we explore embodied performance, somatics, breath, creativity, cultural identity, and even the menstrual cycle as a source of artistic insight. Elena’s work challenges long-held assumptions about what pianists should play, how they should train, and how the body shapes sound.

In this episode, Elena and I talk about:

• ✅ Her journey from Venezuela to the UK — and how navigating multiple identities shaped her artistry
• ✅ The creation of Salsa Nueva and the importance of commissioning new works
• ✅ What it means to challenge 19th-century biases about repertoire and artistic identity
• ✅ Her work as an embodied pianist and how somatics, breath, and movement transform playing
• ✅ Collaboration with dancers, visual artists, poets, and composers
• ✅ Why she opens taboo conversations like creativity and the menstrual cycle among biologically female performers

🎬 Set a reminder for the premiere tomorrow at 8 pm ET: https://youtu.be/exIQxYGbQw8

🎧 Prefer audio? Listen to the audio episode (Spotify, Apple, Amazon & more) available tomorrow, November 18 at 8:00pm ET: https://rss.com/podcasts/the-piano-pod/

📝 Read my full review of Elena’s groundbreaking album Salsa Nueva on Substack

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