Stairway For Ballet

In this episode, my good old friend (15 years and counting) Tanvi Mavuri joins me for a enjoyable and honest chat. The last time she was with us was four years ago on this podcast. We discuss and delve into a variety of topics including ballet, university life, and their overlap.

In this episode, we talk about a sensitive issue in the ballet industry: weight and how this is manifested in ballet training and professional ballet companies. Historically, ballet has been known for idealizing a thin body. We now delve into the historical roots to this idealization and a look into the future of promoting a healthy body image in the ballet world. 

In celebration of the holidays, the end of 2021, and a New Year 2022, we are going to be celebrating a few famous BIPOC ballet dancers. Featuring amazing dancers Alicia Alonso, Arthur Mitchell & Maria Tallchief!

In this episode, we explore something that is often overlooked in the ballet industry: sexism in ballet. Pay inequality in the ballet industry. We talk about how not a lot of ballets are choreographed women and questions: Why are there not more female choreographers and artistic directors? We also explore the pay inequality in the ballet industry and how female dancers are often pa

Ms. Stephanie Potreck is a former dancer turned doctor and sports nutritionist, and also a psychotherapist specializing in the treatment of eating disorders, and challenges with self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-care. She has a unique insight into the challenges that dancers face these days, worldwide. She is the founder of AusDancersOverseas that was originally created t

In this episode, we talk about power and abuse in the dance world and the core of the underlying issues. We explore recent events where people bravely spoke up about their experiences with sexual abuse in dance. We also question: Is the ballet and dance world ready to address sexual harassment and abuse? So is there a way to fix these issues in ballet?

Jeraldine Mendoza is a first-generation Filipina American who was born in San Francisco, California, and trained at City Ballet School of San Francisco since the age of five. At age 17, Mendoza was invited to graduate in the Russian course at the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow., and she later won First Place at the YAGP San Francisco Regional Semi-Finals in 2011. Now,

Puanani or Pua Brown is a former professional ballet dancer at American Ballet Theatre and a Harvard graduate with a degree in Environmental Science and Public Policy. After series of knee injuries, she decided to explore more of her passion of empowering marginalized communities through environmental protection, environmental justice and Indigenous rights.  In this epis

Ellen Roberts attended UNCSA as a ballet major and Metropolitan School of the Arts as a Dance/Musical Theatre major. She has spent summers training at Bolshoi, The Washington Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and more. She spent this year training at The Nashville Ballet and will attend Boston Conservatory at Berklee next year to get her BFA in Musical Theat

We interviewed two of the four Co-Founders of Brown Ballerinas For Change: Shania Gordon & Ava Holloway! Shania Gordon has been performing with Central Virginia Dance Academy since 2016. She desires to become a professional dancer with NYC Ballet; without any set limitations to achieving her goal. Shania wishes to inspire those that see her, encouraging them to “not