Ballet to Business – Details, episodes & analysis

As Emily Pearson turned to Yoga to wind down after a taxing day of rehearsals as a Principal Dancer with Ballet West, she realized just how much of her time was spent living out of yoga clothes. Totally relatable! With athleisure on the rise, we all know how functional & comfortable yoga clothes can be, however are our purchases for ‘fast fashion’ the most ethical?

Enter State of Bodhi, an organic and eco-friendly, zero waste fashion company for women and little ones.

*Expand Online Summit for Artists May 4-8
Save Your Free Seat

I know MANY of us are feeling this loss right now! Performances we were looking forward to, cancelled. Roles we were had been hoping to experience, no longer happening. Student showcases, senior performances both in high school and college.. It is loss and it is so disappointing.

I understand this disappointment. And I know from experience it can either breed a root of bitterness inside of you or it can serve as a reminder to keep you focused on the current day you’ve been given rather than becoming bitter about what would’ve been.

So in today’s episode I’ll be sharing what these 5 stages of loss have felt like in my own life and how you can effectively cope through them.  And then afterward, I’ll be sharing how I’ve personally have been going through this season of quarantine. 

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With all that's been lost, what we have been given is TIME.

I needed not only time to create this podcast, but education.

Join me in attending the Expand Online Summit for Artists May 4-8th to learn just how you can make your ideas into a reality online.

Save your FREE seat here:

Expand Online Summit

Hear how Ashlyn's first love of telling stories through ballet and movement, later became her business, as she learned to tell compelling stories through her words & teaches others to do the same, by founding her business, Ashlyn Writes, Copywriting for Creatives.

SHOWNOTES

*with links to freebies like 'How to Find Your Brand Voice' and the 'How to Guide to Batch-Theme Days' 

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Growing up, Josephine watched her mom start multiple businesses including a successful dance retail store, so when she found herself opening her own store after college, she assumed she had it figured out by way of watching her mom.

However, what she didn’t realize, was that in 2011, brick and mortar stores were slowly beginning to become a ‘dying industry’.  Dance Retail stores were closing left and right and here Josephine was, stuck in a 5 year lease, and feeling like a prisoner to her business. 

Until she had a change of perspective.

Her mom said, “ You can either view your store as a jail cell or as your castle”. And from then on, Josephine began to expand her mind as to what her business could become beyond the blueprint of the stereotypical retail store model.

Not long after that, she realized, “Oh my gosh, I have customers driving 4 to 5 hours , just to come visit me and get fitted for a pair of pointe shoes!” 

Which led her down the path of asking herself, “How can I better serve them? By bringing my store to them."

So in 2014, Josephine created The Pointe Shop, her mobile pointe store that has visited 100’s of schools and studios all across the United States, and is revered as being one of the top pointe shoe retailers in the country.

In the summer of 2016, our guest on todays show, Talia Bailes, assisted with emergent literacy research at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and was shocked to learn that if students are behind in academics by third grade, they will most likely continue to stay behind for the rest of their lives.

So when Talia learned that being exposed to reading at a young age could drastically improve children’s futures, she was spurred into action to figure out how to create a program that would help improve children’s literacy, thus creating Ballet and Books.

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How a surprising offer to become a Trainee with the company our guest, Kirsten Evans, had been admiring since she was 11 years old, was just the beginning to thread this beauty tapestry of sorts, where her passion for ballet as a dancer with Festival Ballet of Providence weaved in and out with her love of writing as she began her blog, Setting the Barre. 

Now 10 years in to maintaining this beautiful outlet, Kirsten has cultivated a beautiful community in collaborating with Rubia Wear, Zarely, Apolla Shocks, Wonderful World of Dance, and the Vail Dance Festival.

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This episode is supported by:

Jai Dee Dancewear : a sustainable leotard company celebrating the beauty, value and wisdom of women who dance.

Jai Dee Dancewear ‘s founder Katherine Hartsell was featured in episode 009

The Come Back Stronger Course : If your injury has made you feel worthless, like you don’t know who you are anymore when you aren’t dancing like you used to or if your recovery just feels like a waste of time… this online course is for you.

Because recovery is not a waste of time, your recovery is training ground.

If you’re going to have a successful recovery, now is the time to get the help, support, and community you need.

The Come Back Stronger Course’s creator Kirsten Kemp was featured in episode 015

On today's show, Kelsey Kemp will be sharing her story of honestly wrestling with work; the meaning behind it and what she was meant to do with her life.

After spending the bulk of her adolescence devoted to classical ballet, at 18 years old she decided to let go of the dream of becoming a professional due to repetitive injuries. So with her determined spirit, she dove straight into her college career scored a coveted job as an Emerging Technology Consultant fresh out of Business School.

But when the stress piled on which ultimately led to a health scare, Kelsey started asking herself questions, "Is this really what I was meant to do?"

And when she realized she wasn't alone in asking these questions surrounding work, Kelsey decided to become a professional career coach & launched her own 1 on 1 service based business, helping people identify their unique calling and create a career aligned with it.

SHOWNOTES

"How to Identify Your Core Values Guide"

This episode is supported by:

Jai Dee Dancewear : a sustainable leotard company celebrating the beauty, value and wisdom of women who dance.

Jai Dee Dancewear ‘s founder Katherine Hartsell was featured in episode 009

The Come Back Stronger Course : If your injury has made you feel worthless, like you don’t know who you are anymore when you aren’t dancing like you used to or if your recovery just feels like a waste of time… this online course is for you.

Because recovery is not a waste of time, your recovery is training ground.

If you’re going to have a successful recovery, now is the time to get the help, support, and community you need.

The Come Back Stronger Course’s creator Kirsten Kemp was featured in episode 015

1:10 What dancer has inspired you in your career? What teacher has inspired you in your career?

8:10 What is your biggest tip for partnering? For males & females?

13:55 What is your favorite ballet you’ve danced together? Or wish you had?

21:00 Girls always say guys in the ballet world have it easier (in terms of getting and keeping a job) Do you agree or find any truth in this?

25:10 How does your faith impact your art?

31:00 How do you keep God at the center with ballet?

37:15 What is one character trait that ballet has instilled in you that you’re grateful for today?

SHOWNOTES

Instagram @jordannicoleh

This episode is supported by Jai Dee Dancewear ; a sustainable leotard company celebrating the beauty, wisdom, and value of women who dance. 

Founded by Katherine Hartsell, guest on episode 009

11:30 What was it like growing up with brothers who dance?

16:00 How did you commit to staying to train at SF Ballet School?

21:00 How did you & Ray meet?

23:00 How did being a Trainee help you become a professional?

27:00 Did you feel ready to become a professional? What was your experience at SFB?

34:50 What is the dating word like in ballet? What are the pros and cons of dating a dancer?

36:40 What about Ray drew me to him?

42:15 What about Jordan drew him to me?

SHOWNOTES

Instagram @jordannicoleh

This episode is supported by Jai Dee Dancewear ; a sustainable leotard company celebrating the beauty, wisdom, and value of women who dance. 

Founded by Katherine Hartsell, guest on episode 009

Ballet to Business is also supported by The Come Back Stronger Course
Giving dancers the support, resources, and mindset tools they need to successfully recover from injury.

Created by Kirsten Kemp, guest on episode 015

Benjamin Stewart will be sharing with us how throughout his journey through training at Julliard & dancing professionally with San Francisco Ballet, he’d find himself coming back to playing the piano time & time again, composing his own music, which eventually led to him creating the meaningful project he sustains today, the NameSong Project.

SHOWNOTES

Instagram: @namesongproject