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PODCAST

Ballet Help Desk

Jenny Huang and Brett Gardner

As parents, you play a crucial role in supporting your dancer"s ballet path and we know navigating the world of ballet training can be challenging. The Ballet Help Desk podcast is here to help! Tune in for expert insights on supporting your student"s ballet education. We cover key topics like summer intensives, ballet competitions, full-time and postgraduate training, health and wellness, boys in ballet and more. Hear valuable advice from leading professionals across the ballet world to help your

arts performing arts

All Episodes

01:31:46

Zurich Dance Academy's Jason Beechey on Pre-Pro...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/04/08

Jason Beechey has spent his career shaping pre-professional ballet training. After 18 years as rector of Palucca University of Dance in Dresden, he now serves as Director of Zurich Dance Academy and Head of Dance at the Zurich University of the Arts. He walks us through how Zurich Dance Academy actually works: the rotating teacher model, the health team, and how mental resilience, nutrition, and career management are woven directly into the curriculum as graded work, not afterthoughts. He also talks

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51:01

College vs. Postgrad: What One Nevada Ballet Dancer's...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/04/01

What happens when a dancer skips the postgrad route entirely and still lands a professional contract? Paityn Lauzon, now in her fourth season as a company artist with Nevada Ballet Theatre, did exactly that. She grew up at a small competition studio in Arizona, turned down a spot at Joffrey New York at 14, and later chose Indiana University so she could study astrophysics alongside ballet. She dropped out during COVID, moved back home to Arizona, and used the year to fall back in love with ballet

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01:09:15

Are Swan Lake, Giselle and Sleeping Beauty Still...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/03/26

Timothee Chalamet said no one cares about ballet anymore. Fran Veyette disagrees. He's back on #NoThirds, and this episode goes deep into one of the most debated questions in the ballet world right now: are the classical, full-length ballets still relevant? Swan Lake. Giselle. Sleeping Beauty. Romeo and Juliet. These are the stories that have filled theaters for over a century. But in a world where audiences have shorter attention spans and higher expectations, do they still have something to say

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01:26:47

Pre-Pro to Professional Ballet Training | Jen Sommers...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/03/25

How long can your dancer stay home before it starts to matter? It's one of the most common questions ballet parents face, and one of the most consequential. Jen Sommers, Director of Houston Ballet Academy, joins us to talk through exactly that, along with everything else families need to understand about the road from pre-professional training to a professional dance career. Jen is refreshingly direct about how much a company-affiliated environment matters, and it goes well beyond technique. We talk

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01:12:33

Gavin Larsen: Infinite Steps and the Truth About...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/03/18

Author, teacher, and former principal dancer Gavin Larsen has spent her post-performance life doing something she loves just as much as dancing: drawing stories out of other people. Her new book, Infinite Steps: 33 Dancers and Their Lives in Ballet, grew out of a collaboration with longtime ABT staff photographer Gene Schiavone, who wanted the dancers behind his archive of images to be truly known, not just catalogued. In this conversation, Gavin sits down with us to talk about what surprised her

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01:21:48

Dancer Stories: Charlotte Junge of Madison Ballet on...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/03/11

What does it really take to go from pre-professional student to professional ballet dancer? Charlotte Junge, a company member with Madison Ballet, shares the unfiltered version of her journey from competition dance roots in Houston to training at Boston Ballet School through the height of COVID, to landing her contract via an Instagram DM from Artistic Director Ja' Malik. But the conversation doesn't stop at the audition story. Charlotte gets refreshingly honest about the financial realities of

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01:25:35

Madison Ballet's Ja'Malik Is Done with the Old Way

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/03/04

Madison Ballet's Ja'Malik didn't arrive to tinker around the edges. He came to change things, and four years in, it's working. He shares a journey that started with Michael Jackson's Thriller in his front yard and led him through the Joffrey Ballet School, the Ailey school, and North Carolina Dance Theater before landing him in the director's chair in Wisconsin. He talks about what it was like to grow up in ballet without seeing anyone who looked like him on stage, what finally changed that, and why

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01:37:51

#NoThirds: Bullying in Ballet: The Lobby, the Queen...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/02/26

In the final episode of our four-part bullying series, we're joined again by Kelsey Fyffe, a therapist who works with pre-professional dancers, and Suzette Takei, a veteran academic school administrator and educator, as we get into the messy stuff. Lobby politics, ballet parents behaving badly, peer conflict between students, nepotism at the dance studio, and yes, that one kid who thinks the entire barre belongs to her. We also tackle some bigger questions: how do you know when a ballet training

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51:32

Elena Kunikova: From the Mikhailovsky to Your Living...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/02/25

What does it actually feel like to train at the Vaganova Academy, the school that produced some of the greatest dancers in history, and then go on to perform at one of Russia's most storied companies? Elena Kunikova has lived that story, and she's generous enough to share it. In this episode, we talk about what serious Vaganova method training actually looks like from the inside, why character dance matters more than most ballet training programs realize, and how the pandemic turned her into one of

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01:30:43

#NoThirds: Bullying in Ballet: Addressing Weight...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/02/19

In part three of our bullying series, we tackle some of the toughest conversations ballet parents face: what to do when teachers make harmful comments about weight, body image, or use abusive language in class. Psychotherapist Kelsey Fyffe and educator Suzette Takei give parents the exact roadmap for addressing these issues at ballet schools and pre-professional programs. Kelsey, who specializes in eating disorders and works with Houston Ballet Academy, explains why pre-professional students should

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01:30:43

How Ballet Austin Built a Post-Grad Program That...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/02/18

We sit down with Michelle Martin, Associate Artistic Director of Ballet Austin, for a refreshingly honest conversation about their complete training pipeline: the tuition-free Butler Fellowship program, Ballet Austin TWO, and the path into the main company. Michelle doesn't sugarcoat anything. She talks about why Ballet Austin kept their academy as an after-school program instead of going the full-time route, how the rise of post-grad programs has changed the industry, and what families need to know

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01:04:40

Tights Under: Going Pro with LeeAnaca Moore and...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/02/11

LeeAnaca "Lee" Moore (Pacific Northwest Ballet) and Natalie Bowman (St. Louis Ballet) are the duo behind Tights Under, the popular social media account showcasing the realities of pre-professional and professional ballet life. In this episode, Lee and Natalie get candid about their journeys from training to landing their first professional contracts. They discuss the pivotal moments that shaped their careers, including their transformative (and humbling) experiences at PNB's Professional

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01:21:45

Lynne Charles on English National Ballet School's GAP...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/02/04

Lynne Charles, Artistic Director of English National Ballet School, discusses the school's new Graduate Artist Programme (GAP), a postgraduate program that combines performing with English National Ballet and continued education. Unlike traditional programs where students serve as "free labor," GAP dancers perform with the company while continuing ballet, repertoire, strength training, and audition prep. Lynne shares how ENBS prepares students for professional life, from teaching them to

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02:02:50

Encore: #NoThirds Mailbag with Fran Veyette (Extended...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/01/29

Listeners asked, and Fran Veyette answers! We're bringing back this fan-favorite #NoThirds "Fran's Mailbag" episode, now combined into one extended conversation. Fran breaks down how casting really works, whether principals dance less, what happens when dancers date (and break up), the truth about dogs in the studio, how respect and awareness shape auditions, why community matters, and what young dancers should know about contracts and career readiness. We've combined Parts 1 and 2 into one LONG

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01:22:17

CiCi Houston Sudholt on Saint Louis Ballet's Career...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/01/28

CiCi Houston-Sudholt, Rehearsal Director at Saint Louis Ballet, discusses the organization's unique approach to dance education that puts students at the center. From integrating all levels of training to tailoring performance opportunities based on individual goals, Saint Louis Ballet adapts to each dancer's needs and aspirations. In this conversation, CiCi explains the structure of the trainee program and how it prepares dancers for professional careers. We discuss what makes Saint Louis

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29:11

We Asked, You Answered: Survey Results and What's...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/01/22

We asked you to tell us what you love about the Ballet Help Desk Podcast, what needs to improve, and what topics you want us to cover. And you delivered honest, thoughtful, sometimes tough feedback. In this episode, we share what you told us: what's working (our honest questioning, insider information, and ballet parent perspective), what we're fixing immediately (audio quality, ad transitions, and tighter editing), and what topics you want more of (younger dancers, international training, and

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01:04:50

Dancer Story: Jayda Hazelett on the College Route to...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/01/21

Jayda Hazelett didn't follow the traditional pre-professional boarding school path to a ballet company. The Ballet Hartford corps member grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, trained locally at Project Ballet, attended summer intensives, and chose to pursue college at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music before entering the professional world. In this Dancer Story, Jayda shares why she chose to stay home for training, how summer intensives supplemented her education, and what the college ballet

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01:20:18

Paulo Arrais on Ballet Training That Honors the Whole...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/01/14

What does it mean to train dancers without "training them out of being natural"? For Paulo Arrais, founder of Arrais Ballet School in Boston, that question shaped his entire approach to teaching. A former principal dancer with Boston Ballet, Paulo saw gaps in traditional ballet training: rigidity over artistry, pressure over presence. He decided to build a school that addressed them. In this episode, he walks us through his journey from student to performer to educator, the core values that define

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01:23:08

Joshua Beamish & Crystal Costa: Ballet Vancouver

Ballet Help Desk ·

2026/01/07

Joshua Beamish and Crystal Costa are building something new in the ballet world. Ballet Vancouver is launching as a fresh company with a unique vision, and in this episode, they share the story of how it all came together. Joshua talks about starting his first company at just 17 years old and the 20-year journey that led him here. Crystal shares how she got involved and her work helping dancers understand the realities of a professional career through her workshop, Dance as a Profession. We cover

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01:09:37

Peter Stark on the State of the Ballet Job Market: A...

Ballet Help Desk ·

2025/12/31

We're rereleasing one of Ballet Help Desk's most popular episodes! Peter Stark from The Rock School discusses the ballet job market, choosing post-graduate ballet programs, and audition strategies for pre-professional dancers. Learn how to approach ballet auditions, what trainee programs look for, and how to stand out as you transition from ballet student to professional dancer. Links: The Rock School Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews Buy Corrections Journals Support Ballet Help

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179 results

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