Ballet Help Desk

Jenny Huang and Brett Gardner
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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 dancer make the most informed decisions about their unique training path. Learn more at www.ballethelpdesk.com.

  1. 4 HR AGO

    American Repertory Ballet Gets Real About the Pipeline

    Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Artistic Director Samantha Dunster and Executive Director Julie Diana Hench join us for a conversation that gets refreshingly honest about the post-graduate pipeline, the job market, and what it means to truly prepare dancers for professional life. They don't tap dance around the hard stuff. We dig into the structure of Princeton Ballet School from youngest students through the trainee program, how the school and company function as a single organization, and what actionable feedback actually looks like in practice. We also get into ARB2, the tricky math of a large trainee cohort and a tight job market, and a genuinely moving conversation about hunger, artistry, and what it means to inspire an audience. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews Support Ballet Help Desk Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk Facebook: BalletHelpDesk TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk Music from #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI

    1hr 10min
  2. You Might Also Like: On Purpose with Jay Shetty

    4 HR AGO ·  BONUS

    You Might Also Like: On Purpose with Jay Shetty

    Introducing HAYDEN PANETTIERE: The Truth Behind the Headlines (Finally Telling Her Story In Her Own Words) from On Purpose with Jay Shetty. Follow the show: On Purpose with Jay Shetty Sometimes the hardest part of healing isn’t what the world did to you, it’s unlearning the version of yourself you became just to survive it. Today, Jay sits down with Hayden Panettiere for a raw and powerful conversation where she shares the truth behind a life the world thought it knew, but never truly understood. What unfolds isn’t just a story about fame, it’s a powerful reckoning with identity, pain, and resilience. From losing the innocence of a normal childhood to carrying the emotional weight of growing up in the spotlight, Hayden shares how early success came with hidden costs, bullying, isolation, and a lifelong struggle to feel like she truly belonged. This conversation goes beyond the headlines and into the heart of a woman who has spent decades learning how to separate who she is from who the world decided she should be. As the conversation deepens, Hayden opens up about the hidden battles that shaped her adulthood, including addiction, postpartum depression, and the weight of living her trauma both privately and in public. She reflects on the surreal experience of playing a character whose struggles mirrored her own, where the line between performance and real life pain began to blur. Together, they unpack the patterns, the pressure to please, and the emotions she never had the space to process that kept her stuck in cycles she couldn’t break. Within it all, a powerful truth emerges: healing isn’t linear, and even in the darkest moments, there’s a quiet strength still fighting to rise. Through grief, loss, and unimaginable challenges, Hayden is learning to reclaim her voice, trust herself again, and step into a new chapter defined not by survival, but by intention. In this episode you'll learn: How to Heal When Your Identity Was Shaped by Others How to Rebuild Self-Trust After Years of Self-Doubt How to Break Free from Toxic and Abusive Cycles How to Cope with Anxiety That Feels Never-Ending How to Navigate Postpartum Depression Without Shame How to Stop Living for Approval and Start Living for Yourself How to Let Go of the Need to Fix Everyone How to Set Boundaries with People You Love How to Keep Going When Life Keeps Breaking You If you see parts of yourself in this story, the doubt, the pain, the patterns you wish you could break, know that you’re not alone, and more importantly, you’re not stuck. Healing doesn’t happen all at once, and it doesn’t require perfection. This Is Me: A Reckoning is Hayden’s memoir where she shares a rare and intimate glimpse into her life behind closed doors, opening up about postpartum depression, addiction and recovery, trauma, domestic abuse, and loss. To get a copy, visit: https://www.amazon.com/This-Is-Me-A-Reckoning/dp/B0G7L8QSTK  With Love and Gratitude, Jay Shetty JAY’S DAILY WISDOM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX Join 900,000+ readers discovering how small daily shifts create big life change with my free newsletter. Subscribe https://news.jayshetty.me/subscribe   Check out our Apple subscription to unlock bonus content of On Purpose! https://lnk.to/JayShettyPodcast  Head to miraclegro.com to check out all of their easy-to-use products and start your growth journey today What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro 01:53 A Childhood Memory That Shaped Your Strength 03:11 Realizing Your Childhood Wasn’t “Normal” 05:03 Feeling Too Much While Trying to Find Where You Belong 08:08 Turning Early Bullying into Inner Strength 12:12 Growing Up Before You Were Ready 14:55 The Moment You Stop Living for Your Family’s Expectations 18:09 Releasing the Need for Everyone’s Approval 22:33 Meeting Your Real Self For the First Time 24:42 Choosing Yourself and Finding Peace 27:07 Finding Strength When You Don’t Feel Safe 31:21 Learning to Rise After Betrayal 35:18 Learning to Trust Yourself Again After Being Let Down 37:04 Staying Steady When Everything Around You Isn’t 39:19 The Cost of Living for Applause 44:21 Letting Yourself Love Again 48:25 Finding Strength Through Anxiety 55:35 The Reality of Postpartum No One Talks About 01:00:27 Losing Everything You Built and Starting Again 01:03:52 The Truth About Postpartum Depression 01:07:41 Letting Go Even When It Hurts 01:14:57 Choosing What’s Best for Your Child 01:17:18 Staying Close Even When You’re Far Apart 01:21:16 Finding the Strength to Leave an Abusive Relationship 01:30:41 Rebuilding Yourself After Trauma 01:35:36 Finding the Courage to Ask for Help 01:37:46 Walking Away and Reclaiming Your Power Episode Resources: Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/haydenpanettiere/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. DISCLAIMER: Please note, this is an independent podcast episode not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in conjunction with the host podcast feed or any of its media entities. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the creators and guests. For any concerns, please reach out to team@podroll.fm.

  3. 6 MAY

    The Mental Toll of "Be Grateful You're Here"

    Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk The corrections never stop. The casting is always uncertain. And somewhere along the way, many dancers learn to keep all of it behind a smile, because showing weakness feels like handing someone a reason to replace you. Josh Spell, Kari Brunson Wright, and Rachel Coates have all been in that studio. As former professional dancers (Josh and Kari at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Rachel at Kansas City Ballet), they understand this from the inside. Now, as licensed therapists and coaches, they've built the ILUMN Collective, an app and platform designed to give dancers the kind of mental and emotional tools to help navigate the often stressful times that inevatably arise during ballet training. In this conversation, the three founders get specific about what's actually happening in the minds of pre-professional dancers: the perfectionism that hardens into an inner critic, the body image challenges that develop quietly, the disembodiment that can take years (sometimes decades) to recognize and reverse. They talk about why gratitude culture in ballet can become a mechanism of control, what it looks like when a wellness program is real versus when it's just a sign on a door, and why giving dancers mental health tools without also educating teachers and directors is a little like handing someone a TheraBand and calling it physical therapy. For parents, there's a lot here too. How do you talk to a kid who's been trained not to show struggle? What's your role when the school has the authority and you're just the ride home? And what does it actually mean to be part of the care team, not just a spectator? Intrested in trying the ILUMN Collective's app? Check out our Summer Intensive Essentials Guide for an exclusive discoount. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews Support Ballet Help Desk Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk Facebook: BalletHelpDesk TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk Music from #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI

    1hr 29min

  4. 29 APR

    Ballet's Bottom Line: Finances, Contracts, and the Fight for Dancer Rights

    Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Every ballet company's tax return is public record. Most dancers have never seen one. Liza Yntema, founder of the Dance Data Project, and Griff Braun, National Organizing Director at the American Guild of Musical Artists, walk us through what the numbers reveal. We start with the 990, how to read it, and what a company's revenue structure tells you about its priorities. From there we get into the funding landscape, leadership compensation, and why the gap between what artistic directors make and what dancers make is worth paying attention to. On the contract side, Griff breaks down what's in a collective bargaining agreement, what dancers should look for when they sign, and what generations of dancers have fought to put in those documents. We also get into the one-year contract cycle, the psychological weight it puts on dancers, and how the U.S. compares to countries that fund their arts institutions in a meaningful way. We also address the pay-to-play question directly: the trainee model, sponsored dancers, and the financial barriers that quietly shape who gets to have a professional ballet career. Plus: board governance, leadership training, and what would need to change for ballet companies to function differently. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews Support Ballet Help Desk Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk Facebook: BalletHelpDesk TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk Music from #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI

    1hr 43min

  5. 22 APR

    Train in Germany, Dance in Europe: The Palucca Path to a Professional Ballet Career

    Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk What does ballet training look like when it's housed inside a 100-year-old university, with the Semperoper Ballet as your next-door neighbor? We sat down with Rector Prof. Katharina Christl and Vice-Rector Prof. Juliana Sabino Wilhelm of Palucca University of Dance in Dresden, Germany, for a close look at one of Europe's most distinctive training models. Students can enter as young as 10, earn a bachelor's degree by 18, and perform side-by-side with professional dancers at Semperoper Ballet while still enrolled. We covered how ballet training works in Germany versus the U.S., what the BA program looks like day-to-day, how Palucca approaches student wellness and injury prevention, and what the European job market really looks like right now. Plus the audition process, what international students need to know before applying, and the one thing both professors want every ballet parent to hear. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews Support Ballet Help Desk Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk Facebook: BalletHelpDesk TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk Music from #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI

    1hr 45min

  6. 15 APR

    What Happens When You Choose Harvard Over the Company Contract

    Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk What happens when a dancer who traded pre-professional ballet training at the John Cranko School and the Joffrey Ballet Studio Company for a Harvard degree? Or when a dancer who received offers from the training programs at Joffrey, Colorado Ballet, and Philadelphia Ballet decides that college was always the plan? We sat down with Clara Thiele and Melinda Wang, co-directors of the Harvard Ballet Company, to explore one very compelling way to keep ballet in your life without a professional contract and the decisions that brought them to Cambridge and what they found when they got there. We talk about the moment Clara knew she was done auditioning, the very real grief of walking away from something you've built your identity around, and why Melinda is still grappling with the what-ifs even as a junior. We also dig into what the Harvard Ballet Company actually is: a 60-to-80-person, audition-based, collegiate ballet company that brings in choreographers from NYCB and SF Ballet, performs on a 500-seat stage, stages Balanchine repertoire, and somehow manages to keep ballet feeling joyful again. We also discuss the Ivy Ballet Exchange and the Beyond the Barre mentorship initiative. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews Support Ballet Help Desk Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk Facebook: BalletHelpDesk TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk Music from #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI

    1hr 16min

  7. 8 APR

    Zurich Dance Academy's Jason Beechey on Pre-Pro Training and the Future of Ballet

    Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk 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 honestly about what happens after graduation, and how the school is helping students reframe auditions, develop self-awareness, and think beyond the same five companies everyone else is chasing. The conversation also touches on the cultural shifts reshaping the profession, and what ballet parents should know about sending a child to train at a European ballet conservatory. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews Support Ballet Help Desk Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk Facebook: BalletHelpDesk TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk Music from #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI

    1hr 32min

  8. 1 APR

    College vs. Postgrad: What One Nevada Ballet Dancer's Path Can Teach Us

    Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk 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 before returning to finish her degree. In this conversation, Paityn gets brutally honest about audition season (she emailed 50 companies), the mental toll of never hearing back, what a $350-a-week apprentice contract actually looks like, and why she holds four or five jobs simultaneously to make it work. She also talks about the surprising calm of professional company life, what it was like to sit at the AGMA negotiating table, and why she thinks the transition from "fix your technique" to "just be an artist" catches so many young dancers off guard. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews Support Ballet Help Desk Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk Facebook: BalletHelpDesk TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk Music from #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI

    51 min
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About

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 dancer make the most informed decisions about their unique training path. Learn more at www.ballethelpdesk.com.

Information

  • Creator
    Jenny Huang and Brett Gardner
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    184
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Ballet Help Desk and BalletHelpDesk.com.
  • Show Website
    Ballet Help Desk

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