Ballet to Business (Jordan Nicole)

Hear how an opportunity to compete in NYC opened the door for our guest Diana Albrecht to move from South America to the United States to pursue ballet professionally.

And how now she gives back to her home country, Paraguay, by giving artisans from there an opportunity to have their products sold in the US through her home decor & accessories company, Apartment No. 3.

View her beautiful products here:

SHOWNOTES

SHOP: https://apartmentno3.com and enter the code "ballettobusiness" at checkout for 15% off your purchase!

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

When Instagram emerged on the scene in October of 2010, none of us had a clue how a simple photo sharing app, would become such an opportunity generator!

9 years in, and we hear stories like Alison’s, where her intention of just having ‘fun’ on the platform, began garnering her quite the following. 

And when she began receiving e-mails from big brand names such as Tumi Luggage, Elle Magazine, American Eagle, and McDonald’s… she realized her Instagram was more than just a fun outlet, it was an online resume.

SHOWNOTES

Instagram:

@alisonstroming

@as.dancewear

This episode is supported by:

Jai Dee Dancewear : a sustainable leotard company

The Come Back Stronger Course: an online course & community helping injured dancers walk through a successful recovery

Sisters Chelsea Early & Heather Walker trained extensively in classical ballet. After both sustaining injuries, they had to set their sites on a new dream. In 2015, they founded Luckyleo Dancewear & have become a beloved brand worn by dancers around the world!

SHOW NOTES (learn more about Luckyleo on the blog)

Join the B2B Team through e-mail

Visit Jordannicoleh.com/signup

or e-mail jordan@ballerinainbusiness.com

Inspiration is one of those mysteries that can’t be planned or controlled or forced, it can only be experienced. And often inspiration comes in the unlikeliest of times and through the unlikeliest of conduits. 

When our guest, Katherine Hartsell, stepped away from dancing professionally with Boston Ballet, she decided to give herself some breathing room away from the ballet.

Not long after, her daughter Kritsana, came into her life. 

Unbeknownst to Kath, her daughter Kritsana was just the blessing and motivator to a vast amount of inspiring moments that would lie ahead for Kath.

In the simple act of re-entering the theater by taking her daughter to see the ballet, Katherine’s whole heart re-emerged for the art form, not only through seeing ballet through the fresh, child like excitement of her daughter, but through recognizing the magnificent female artists on and off stage who have been a part of her community all along.

And with that, the ‘smoothie’ of sorts as Katherine wonderfully refers to it later on in this episode, began to come together. With the influence of her past as a professional dancer, her Thai-American daughter, her commitment to simplicity and sustainability, and celebrating women who dance, she founded Jai-Dee Dancewear, a sustainable leotard company that benefits the arts. 

SHOWNOTES

connect on instagram @jordannicoleh

As a professional ballet dancer with First State Ballet Theater, Molly Rooney, did not expect this opportunity to come knocking at her door. But when she was offered the opportunity to be the Director of the first ever National Ballet Competition, she went for it!

SHOW NOTES
@nationalballetcompetition

Join the B2B Team with your e-mail & receive exclusive news, encouragement, and discounts offered by guests

SIGN UP

Questions? I'd love to hear from you!

jordan@ballerinainbusiness.com

When Rachel Cossar entered into working in major gift fundraising at Harvard University right after her career with Boston Ballet, she quickly realized not everyone in the corporate world had this awareness of their posture and body language that was so second nature to her as a ballet dancer. 

Thus, the spark for Choreography for Business was born. Rachel employs her expertise in nonverbal communication skills that she had honed as a professional gymnast and dancer to serve those in the professional world. Choreography for Business helps working professionals by teaching them performance techniques, physical awareness, and communication frameworks to help them further embody confidence within themselves and further exude that confidence in the workplace.

SHOWNOTES

Connect with me on Instagram! 

@jordannicoleh

As graceful and effortless as ballet may appear, there’s no denying that this art form takes a serious toll on the body. There have been many times, probably more than I’m proud of admitting, where I grabbed the bottle of advil that was being passed around the dressing room and said if only people knew, this performance tonight, was brought to them by advil.

Far too often, we become accustomed to treating medicine like candy and fail to realize the implications of how over consumption can actually do more harm than good.

Which is exactly what happened to our guest, David Kim. When he started having stomach pain into his career as a professional dancer, he went to see a doctor who told him his pain was due to ulcers, open sores that develop on the inside lining of your stomach.

This wake up call led David down a path of learning more about how natural medicine could begin to heal his body. But the real plot twist lies when property that Davids family had invested in years ago, starts to become increasingly valuable to the medical marijuana industry, which begins Davids journey into entrepreneurship, bridging his discoveries of CBD to benefit the ballet community with his product, Fire Leaf Extracts.

SHOWNOTES

this episode is sponsored by Jai Dee Dancewear
visit https://jaideedancewear.com

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

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. 

-

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

Happy 3 Months of the Ballet to Business Podcast!

We are taking a pause from the regular interview format this week and answering some of your questions! 

QUESTIONS:

3:10 - How do you handle when body image issues come up? How do you work through it?

10:20 - Do you have any advice for young dancer who doesn’t know if they want to become a professional yet?

13:50 - During your training, how did you deal with teachers you didn't particularly like?

17:40 - What was your social role, so to speak, in your company? How did you find yourself interacting socially with your peers and what were you known for?

21:30 - What do you think we should do to combat the negative energies in the ballet world to help people flourish? 

25:50 - What’s it like for you teaching adult ballet?

31:55 - How did you cope with your injury and not being able to dance?

Instagram: @jordannicoleh

Jai-Dee Dancewear use FALLACCESS at checkout to receive $50 off your purchase until December 2nd. 

Art Emotion Summer Intensive for Adults

Come Back Stronger Course

Use “50OFFCBSC” to receive $50 off your program and early access to Modules 1 & 2 : Offer available only through
November 5th-November 13th!

Dancing 'En Pointe' requires years of training in precision and excellence, strength paired with refinement, and superior technique matched with artistry. And according to our guest on today episode, Alexandra Newman, the balance of all these qualities is mirrored in wine making. The same effort it takes to perfect a tendu, is the same kind of effort it takes to produce the perfect bottle of wine.

And just like there is joy in escaping to the theater to experience the ballet, Alex’s primary mission with her business, En Pointe Wines, is to bring that same joy to the dinner table, by helping her customers learn and enjoy the bottle of wine selected for them, while encouraging them to set the table, have a delicious meal, and share in the experience with all the best company one can bring together.

Hear how this Bay Area native went from dancing with San Francisco Ballet to spending a year abroad in France to study at Le Cordon Bleu, to ultimately landing back in the Bay Area to launch her own unique wine club. 

SHOWNOTES

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

When our guest on today's episode of Ballet to Business, Jordan Fry, revealed that one luxury wedding cake she had been working on took her 70 hours to complete in a week, my jaw was on the ground. 

Now the time it takes to create a stunning work of edible art also caught Jordan a bit off guard at the beginning. Once she became known as the ‘baker’ at Ballet West, where she currently dances, requests for wedding cakes started rolling in.

And as Jordan continued to get more and more requests, her husband, Adrian, couldn't help but notice she was pouring countless hours into baking and encouraged her to start adequately charging for her time. It was in that moment that they both decided Jordan needed to turn her hobby into a business. Thus Ballerina Baker was born!

SHOWNOTES

@jordannicoleh 

As a pre-professional, devoted ballet student, Kathleen McGuire Gaines left home at 14 years old to train in classical ballet. She moved further away from home at 17 to continue her training, only to undergo some of the hardest years of her life. A few years after that, she quit dancing.

For years after Kathleen stopped, she believed she just wasn't strong enough to have continued in the field. However, now she sees that the real reason why she had stopped dancing was because she had been dealing with a major depression that could've been treated, if only she had the tools to acknowledge it.

So, in 2018, Kathleen quit her job to focus solely on growing, Minding the Gap, a social good organization dedicated to seeing mental health treated with the same seriousness as physical health in dance culture. Her organization intends to give the support, tools, and awareness all dancers, dance teachers, and directors need to continue growing this art form positively. 

SHOWNOTES

Instagram:

@jordannicoleh

SHOWNOTES

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.

On today’s show Jordan Samuel Pacitti shares how when he went on his own quest to learn how to clear his complexion, his passion for skincare turned into his post ballet career, as he founded his skincare company Jordan Samuel Skin.

SHOWNOTES

Today’s show is really special as my friend Claudia Suarez, a beautiful young, Venezuelan born dancer, is an incredible entrepreneur in her own right

Not only was I inspired by her when I found her on Instagram, but I was impressed by her, because I then learned how she not only is pursuing ballet with full vigor, but she is an avid writer on her own blog and had started a podcast called Beyond the Corps, a podcast where she hosts meaningful, dance-related conversations.

In this episode: Claudia and I discuss 'A Dancer's Plan B', is it possible to be prepared for the time of transition, why it's difficult, & tips on how to get started. 

jordannicoleh.com/blog/adancersplanb

After a full career of dancing principal roles with Atlanta Ballet and Joffrey Ballet, Julianne Spratlin moved to San Francisco to join SFB in 2007. And although she did move for ballet, she most certainly did not move with the expectation to stay and start her own ballet school! Hear how she did it on today's episode! 

"Just like the school I grew up in, if you want to learn, we'll train you. I don't care what you look like or what your aspirations are, if you want to learn, I'll teach you. That just didn't exist in San Francisco" - Julianne Spratlin founder of Dance Training Center/SF

SHOWNOTES

As a 23 year old woman living in New York City and freshly departed from ballet, Allison Parc began going out on dates. But on these dates, she found herself being extremely nervous because she didn’t know how or what to drink.

Thus, she began educating herself, going to tastings and art galleries around the city, learning more about wine, beer, and spirits.

And through her learning, Allison became intrigued by terroir, a term used to describe a sense of place in the small and taste of a liquid. 

Which made Allison curious,

Did terroir exist in whisky?

And as she continued following her curiosity, she realized she couldn’t find anyone who was making the kind of whisky she envisioned could be made in her head...

One that would embody French terroir, made in the heart of Cognac, France. 

So, she continued investigating by traveling to France and meeting farmers and distillers, asking if there was anyone who would make this whisky for her… and their responses were flat out no’s. 

But amidst all the no’s, it only takes one yes. And when Allison found her yes, she was willing to put her whole life savings on the line and patiently wait years until her whisky, Brenne, would be ready to be presented to NYC and beyond in 2012.

SHOWNOTES

On this episode, Hannah Foster, will be sharing with us her story of how through the highs and lows of pursuing ballet, her love of writing remained a constant thread through it all.

Which has led her to where she is today as a freelance arts and culture writer in New York City, with her work featured in publications such as Dance Magazine, Pointe, The Paris Review Daily, and The New York Times.

As well as on her blog: The Escriotoire

SHOWNOTES

instagram: @jordannicoleh

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

 On today’s show we have Elana Roberts with us, a San Francisco native who worked her way up through the San Francisco Ballet School from level one all the way to reaching the rank of soloist with the company.

But it took leaving San Francisco to spend almost a year abroad studying in Italy, to truly help her see all the potential she had back at home waiting for her… from ballet to farming to bookkeeping, here’s Elana Roberts. 

SHOWNOTES

this episode of Ballet to Business is supported by 

Jai-Dee-Dancewear 

Growing up in Millis, Massachusetts, Carly grew a determination to pursue ballet from an early age. Training at Boston Ballet and overcoming a brutal achilles injury while at CPYB, Carly continued to persevere.

She went on to attain her dream job, dancing as a professional Ballet Dancer with City Ballet of San Diego. 3 years in to being with the company, she launched her own photography business, Carly Topazio Photography, as a way to build a portfolio to present to her directors. The company has incredible dancers and she had a vision of how she could help improve their online presence through photography.

In 2018, Carly used her photography skills as another way to help promote her newest venture, founding her dancer bred company, The Rosin Box Project.

Links:

SHOWNOTES

The Rosin Box Project

Carly Topazio Photography

Instagram:

@jordannicoleh

@ctopaziophotography

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.

SHOWNOTES

How Vanessa Woods used her background as a professional ballet dancer with St. Louis Ballet to create, Vitality Ballet, an artistic exercise program designed to share the benefits of ballet with the senior population. 

SHOWNOTES

this episode is supported by:

Jai Dee Dancewear : a sustainable leotard company celebrating the beauty, value, and wisdom of women who dance. Enter the code FALLACCESS at checkout to receive $50 off your purchase from now until Dec. 2nd 
*founded by Katherine Hartsell featured on episode 009

Come Back Stronger Course : an online course & community designed to help guide injured dancers through recovery so they can truly "come back stronger" mentally, emotionally, & physically.
*created by Kirsten Kemp featured on episode 015

Come Back Stronger Course 

From an outsiders perspective, you can't help but admire a dancer's grace and effortlessness. However, if only people knew what was actually going on in that dancer's mind...

"That was horrible. I'm an awful turner. I'm never going to be good at that step." 

Many dancer's struggle with a negative mindset, and yet we fail to understand how these thoughts really cost us and actually limit our dancing.

But combating these negative thoughts is exactly where Kirsten Kemp thrives. 

Hear the story of how navigating her knee injury while dancing at Oklahoma City Ballet was absolutely necessary in giving her the wisdom and heart behind her coaching business for dancers today.

SHOWNOTES

Follow @TwinTalksBallet on Youtube and Instagram

private coaching services kirstenkemp.com

Come Back Stronger Course

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

Welcome to Ballet to Business! I'm Jordan Nicole & on this introduction episode I'll be sharing the inspiration behind the podcast, who Ballet to Business is for, and more of my story in training to become a professional ballet dancer.

From meeting the most influential ballet teacher in an unlikely place, to moving to San Francisco at 16, getting hired as a corps de ballet member mid season, and how repetitive injuries taught me some of life's most valuable lessons, I'm sharing it all with you!

Please subscribe if you enjoyed this episode

And don't forget to join the B2B E-mail List to get insider info and special discounts offered by our guests. 

Links:

Show Notes {for a timeline of my ballet journey in pictures} 

Instagram {all the behind the scenes, real life}

E-mail jordan@ballerinainbusiness.com

East Coast native, Jess Spinner, trained extensively in classical ballet from a young age up until she left home for college to attend Butler University. Upon graduation, Jess went off to dance with Louisville Ballet. Her years there were challenging, finding herself navigating struggles surrounding food and body image that most all dancers face in one way or another.

Years later, the lessons learned from those challenges were the exact fuel she needed to create The Whole Dancer, which exists to encourage dancers in the areas of health, wellness, and having a balanced lifestyle.

Shownotes for this episode at:
jordannicoleh.com/blog/jess 

thewholedancer.com

Instagram: 

@thewholedancer

@jordannicoleh

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.

SHOWNOTES

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

In this episode, Kristie Zurmehly describes how she taught herself the ins and outs of brand + web design to help boost small businesses all around the country. What I love about this episode is how Kristie shares how her side hustle as a designer has actually positively influenced her life as a professional dancer with Ballet Met today!

SHOWNOTES

Instagram:

@kristielatham

@jordannicoleh

This episode is supported by:

Jai Dee Dancewear

A sustainable leotard company celebrating the beauty, value, and wisdom of women who dance. Shop with the code FALLACCESS to receive $50 off your purchase from now until Dec. 2nd

Come Back Stronger Course

An online course & community designed to help injured dancers navigate the emotions & mental hurdles of recovering from an injury. 

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' 

Co-Working Spaces as we know them today, originated in non other than San Francisco in 2005. With that being said, it's no surprise that the energy was buzzing around the city for this new way of entrepreneurs to work independently but not be isolated at home while doing so.

However, it wasn't until Grace Kraaijvanger was fulfilling a marketing job alone from home, that she realized she was missing that creative community she experienced as a dancer. So, she went out to find one.

It wasn't until she went looking into other co-working spaces in the Bay Area, that she noticed a gap in the market. Most co working spaces at the time were tailored toward people who liked foosball and beer on tap, which just didn’t feel like her. Instead, she longed for a beautiful, airy, expansive space with inspiring people to work alongside, a feeling much like taking class at the iconic Alonzo King Lines Ballet Dance Center in San Francisco. 

So in 2014, after much searching, Grace began experimenting with developing The Hivery, a coworking space + Inspiration Lab, in Marin. The result to her experiment was met with a resounding "YES" from her community, as women from all over the Bay Area flocked to The Hivery to call this community home.

SHOWNOTES

It’s hard to believe, but 9 years ago, in October of 2010, 
Instagram emerged onto the scene.

Serendipitously, at the same time that Instagram was undergoing its development process, our guest on todays show, Oliver Endahl, was also developing ideas of his own surrounding ballet and photography. 

In early 2010, when Oliver was completing his final year as an upper level student at the San Francisco Ballet School, he had this idea to bring his brother’s cannon camera into the studios, taking pictures of him and his friends jumping around.

Unbeknownst to him, when he posted them in a gallery on Facebook, they started traveling around the internet and gaining a lot of recognition! 

Then October 2010 Instagram comes onto the scene.

However, Since Facebook was working well for Oliver, he was a bit skeptical at first to jump on the platform initially.

But after his younger sister, Alanna, encouraged him to not just upload photos taken on his iPhone 1, but upload his actual photos taken on his DSLR camera, his account, Ballet Zaida, blew up.

He began accumulating thousands upon thousands of followers and truly pioneered the way for many ballet photographers that we see on social media today.

SHOWNOTES

Sponsors:

Jai Dee Dancewear

Enter the code FALLACCESS to receive $50 off your purchase from now until December 2nd

The Come Back Stronger Course

An online program that is specifically designed to give injured dancers the support and strategies they need in order to make a strong come back, both mentally and physically!

It's a difficult time in our world. Business as usual has been halted, theaters abandoned, performances cancelled, and a virus running rampant.

And if you're feeling the loss, feeling disoriented and lonely, I understand.

Through difficult seasons in my life I've turned to journaling and on today's episode I'll share with you 2 Journal Prompts to help you get pen to paper so you can gain clarity amidst all the confusion.

Instagram:

@jordannicoleh

@ballettobusiness

From dancing on pointe to inventing a pointe shoe insert worn by dancers around the globe. Meet Kelly Schmutte, Founder of PerfectFit Pointe Shoe Inserts!

When Kelly first when on pointe as a young ballet dancer, she couldn’t help but think, “There’s got to be a better way to do this!” 

“Dancers feet and toes are as different as their faces”. With this realization, Kelly noticed a problem. Most toe pads on the market were the same shape for all feet and are one uniform thickness, which does nothing to improve weight distribution or the fit of the shoe.

In 2015, after years of planning and processing, Kelly made a solution. Her PerfectFit Pointe Shoe Inserts use a moldable impression material to adapt each dancers unique foot to fit the inside of their shoe like a glove. 

LINKS:

SHOWNOTES

INSTAGRAM:

@perfectfitpointe

@jordannicoleh

My Oh My.. it’s been a rough couple of weeks for me and I apologize for my delay in being able to produce an episode. I got the flu … and I could hardly believe it. Completely wiped me out and I’m just now starting to come out of hibernation. So thank you for your patience!

Speaking of prouducing… and podcasting. This episode is a special one. I was honored to be invited on with Jayne and Kalena of On The Other Foot Podcast, and I’ll be sharing an interview we did together with you all today! 

In this episode, we discuss the ins and outs of podcasting.

Jayne & Kalena ask me about what inspired me to start Ballet to Business, how my guests and the knowledge I’ve gained from them have affected me, what some of the challenges I’ve faced with podcasting have been, and how podcasting has changed me as a person.

To listen to Part 2 of my interview with On The Other Foot on the topic of Injury, click here!

SHOWNOTES

Getting injured can be one of the most disappointing times for a dancer. As tough as this past year has been recovering from an extensive ankle surgery, I will say, had it not happened, I don't think this podcast would've been made possible. 

On today's episode, I'll be sharing how I came back to the stage for the first time in a year since my injury! And then I'll be answering YOUR questions on the topic of injury and performing!

SHOWNOTES

Instagram : @jordannicoleh