In this special episode of Grace & Form, we’re doing something a little different. This is Part One of our two-part deep dive into injury - a universal experience for dancers, yet one that’s rarely spoken about with honesty and care.

In this episode, we hear voice notes and reflections from dancers around the world, each sharing what injury has meant in their lives and careers, from the first moment it happened to the long journey of recovery that followed.

Featuring:

Alexa Maxwell - New York City Ballet soloist

Craig Hall - former NYCB soloist and current repertory director

Sara Mearns - NYCB principal dancer whose career has redefined resilience and artistry

Isabella LaFreniere - NYCB principal dancer

Thomas Forster - American Ballet Theatre principal dancer

Cameron Gomez - physiotherapist trusted by some of the world’s leading dancers, including those at New York City Ballet

Indiana Woodward, Grace & Form co-founder and principal dancer with New York City Ballet, also shares her personal story — a look into what it truly means to recover, rebuild, and return to the art form you love.

Stay tuned for Part Two, where co-founder Saskia Gregson-Williams will share her own experience, and we’ll explore the culture of injury through the eyes of directors, physiotherapists, and other leading voices shaping dance today.

This episode is a reminder that even in stillness, artistry continues, and that sometimes, the body’s greatest lessons come in the pause.

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From Moscow to London, San Francisco to Copenhagen, Maria Kochetkova has built a career defined by courage, curiosity, and conviction. In this episode, she reflects on her early years at the Bolshoi Ballet School, leaving Russia to find artistic freedom, and the challenges of carving a path in an industry that often tries to box dancers in.

Maria shares what it means to follow intuition over practicality, the importance of great teachers and truthful technique, and how motherhood has reshaped her relationship with dance. She talks about performing while pregnant, adapting her body through each decade, and creating new work that reimagines where and how ballet can exist.

Honest, thoughtful, and full of quiet strength: this conversation traces a life in motion: the work behind the work, and the woman behind one of ballet’s most distinctive careers.

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Craig Salstein-NYCB repertory director, longtime ABT soloist, teacher, and Broadway collaborator-shares grounded, generous advice for dancers navigating the hard parts: injury, casting politics, and self-comparison. With trademark humor and clarity, Craig makes a case for “dancing smart”: build technique like scaffolding, obsess over landings and communicate clearly and kindly. He talks about keeping class light without losing discipline, how to turn professional envy into fuel, and why presence beats perfection. We also dig into his work with Justin Peck (from Carousel and West Side Story to Maestro), teaching everyone from company principals to total beginners, and the mindset that sustains a long career-onstage and off. If you need perspective, a plan for rehab, or just permission to breathe and keep going, this one’s a balm.

You’ll learn:

Practical steps for dancing through injury and returning smarter

How to stay focused when you’re not first cast (and why it matters)

Turning comparison into craft, not crisis

Making the studio lighter while keeping standards high

The “iterate” mindset for longevity in dance

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Misty Copeland joins Saskia Gregson-Williams and Indiana Woodward on the Grace & Form Podcast for an intimate, reflective conversation about stepping away, returning, and saying goodbye to ABT.

After five years off stage, Misty shares the perspective she gained outside of ballet, the injuries and challenges that kept her away, and why she initially resisted the idea of a farewell. She talks about the decision to come back: and how gratitude, not finality, is what guides her farewell at ABT. With honesty and warmth, Misty reveals what movement means to her now, how she carries her legacy forward, and why perspective beyond dance has been such a wonderful teacher.

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In this episode of the Grace & Form podcast, we’re joined by New York City Ballet principal dancer and founder of Furlan Dancewear, Jovani Furlan. From his early training at the Bolshoi school in Brazil to dancing on some of the world’s biggest stages, Jovani shares the pivotal moments that shaped his path; including the risks he took, the pressure he’s learned to navigate, and the tools that keep him grounded.

We talk about performance anxiety, building a business while dancing full-time, and how meditation, therapy, and a sense of humor have helped him through it all. Jovani reflects on the importance of showing up, staying open, and letting go of the need to control every outcome: in dance and in life.

This is a heartfelt conversation about growth, reinvention, and learning to be kinder to yourself along the way.

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In this special episode, co-founders Saskia Gregson-Williams and Indiana Woodward sit down for an honest conversation about friendship, creativity, and the leap from barre to business. From meeting through the ballet world to building Grace & Form from the ground up, they reflect on the highs, the hard bits, and how their bond has shaped everything along the way.

Expect behind-the-scenes stories, a few laughs, and a look at what it really takes to build something meaningful, with your best friend by your side.

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In this powerful and personal episode, New York City Ballet’s India Bradley opens up about what it means to be the “first”; the first Black Dewdrop, the first in many roles - and the complex weight that comes with it. From her early years in Detroit to finding her voice at Dance Theatre of Harlem and SAB, India shares the winding path to NYCB, the pressure to prove she belongs, and the lessons she’s still learning about self-worth, representation, and resilience.

We talk about dancing through doubt, the difference between strength and visibility, pointe shoe trials, and the ever-shifting balance between ambition and self-kindness. This one is raw, funny, and deeply honest - a backstage pass into what it really takes to find your place in ballet when the stage has never quite looked like you.

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In this intimate episode, Indiana turns the mic on her co-host and best friend, Saskia Gregson-Williams. Saskia’s journey as a ballet dancer, entrepreneur, and wellness creative has been anything but linear. Together they unpack the journey: homesickness, bullying, burnout, early independence, , injury, and the quiet courage it takes to start again, again and again.

They talk about the pressure of being “the best,” the cost of chasing external validation, and how Saskia found strength not in perfection, but in surrendering control. This is an honest and hopeful conversation about identity, reinvention, and the power of patience.

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From Guangzhou to New York, cramping on stage to commanding the spotlight, Chun Wai Chan shares the story of how grit, laughter, and letting go helped him become the first Chinese principal dancer at New York City Ballet.

In this episode of Grace & Form, Chun opens up about the physical and mental battles behind the curtain: from writing a letter to his parents to convince them to let him dance, to redefining success across continents. We talk training, injury, cultural expectations, building a personal brand, and the infamous Swan Lake performance that almost ended in disaster (hint: cramps, chaos, and a lot of heart). This one’s equal parts hilarious and heartfelt.

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From growing up between continents to rising through the ranks of New York City Ballet, your co-host Indiana Woodward shares her deeply personal journey with body image, identity, and learning to embrace herself fully. In this candid conversation, she opens up about the pressures of ballet, the impact of being told her body wasn’t “right,” and the long path toward self-love and acceptance. We also talk about what it means to build something of your own, and how Grace & Form became part of that healing.

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