Hey, Dancer!

Miller Daurey
  • 5.0 (23)
  • PERFORMING ARTS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Welcome to Hey, Dancer! — hosted by Miller Daurey, a former pro teen dancer (Paula Abdul, Joffrey) who has returned to training 3 decades later. Having cultivated a highly engaged and supportive dance community online, Miller is excited to dive deeper on everything dance with two weekly episodes! In one, Miller brings his unique perspective as an ex-dancer returning to the art form, sharing insights on… - the evolution of dance, from class to comps to the industry - living with injury and cutting-edge approaches to healing chronic pain - fostering mindfulness through guided dance meditations - responding to online feedback and comments - reviews of dance books, documentaries, and shows - and tons more! …all with a fresh, behind-the-scenes lens shaped by his inspiring journey and thriving Instagram community. The second weekly episode introduces a compelling series titled The Rest of the Story — where Miller delves into fascinating, little-known histories of dance legends and the unsung heroes who shaped the craft. Through these captivating stories, listeners will discover the hidden struggles, triumphs, and legacies of those who helped define dance as we know it today. While dedicated to helping dancers reconnect with their WHY in a culture that often prioritizes perfection over purpose, this podcast also speaks to anyone looking to reignite their creative spark or rediscover a long-lost passion. Follow along and explore all things dance with Miller!

  1. John Brascia: The 'White Christmas' Dancer Everyone Asks About | The Rest of the Story | ep 46

    4D AGO

    John Brascia: The 'White Christmas' Dancer Everyone Asks About | The Rest of the Story | ep 46

    John Brascia is the dancer audiences notice every year in White Christmas. He's the one partnered with Vera-Ellen in the film's most demanding numbers — and for decades, viewers have asked the same question: Who is that dancer? In this episode of The Rest of the Story on the Hey, Dancer! podcast, we trace John Brascia's dance journey in full — from his athletic upbringing and early training in Hollywood, to rapid work across MGM musicals, Broadway recognition, and his unforgettable performances on screen. You'll hear how a business deal gone wrong unexpectedly led him into dance, how he moved quickly from studio classes to films like Summer Stock and Royal Wedding, and why choreographers trusted him with increasingly complex work — including White Christmas and the physically uncompromising finale of Meet Me in Las Vegas. We also explore his later career with Tybee — the dance team that became a major Las Vegas headliner and one of the most respected acts of its era. Along the way, I'll share a brief personal note from my research — a conversation that helped fill in key gaps in his story. This episode offers the most in-depth, dance-focused portrait of John Brascia to date — not a résumé, but the throughline of a dancer whose work never stopped being noticed. And today, we finally answer why. If you enjoy this kind of deep-dive storytelling and want to help keep The Rest of the Story coming weekly — carefully researched, independently made, and quality-driven — you can support here: ⁠Buy Me a Coffee! Much appreciated!!! Check out my ⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠ Support my Instagram — where I post daily dance inspo, insights and fun! ⁠⁠@backtogreat

    24 min
  2. Ray Bolger: More Than a Scarecrow, a Pioneer of Comic Dance | The Rest of the Story | ep 45

    DEC 13

    Ray Bolger: More Than a Scarecrow, a Pioneer of Comic Dance | The Rest of the Story | ep 45

    Ray Bolger is immortalized as the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz.  But the dance story behind that performance is far deeper, stranger, and more hard-won than most people realize. This episode traces his path from a premature baby in Dorchester, Massachusetts… to a teenager studying eccentric dancers on Boston sidewalks… to a vaudeville performer who built his entire vocabulary out of instinct, rubber-limbed comedy, and sheer invention. How did a boy who couldn't afford lessons end up sneaking into dance studios — only to discover that his style was so unusual, no partner could match him? How did years of improvisation on the road turn him into one of Broadway's most distinctive comic dancers? And what surprising thing happened when he entered rehearsals for On Your Toes — and George Balanchine's classical discipline met his improvisational style? We'll also explore how MGM kept cutting his dances… right before casting him in The Wizard of Oz, and how he rebounded with films like The Harvey Girls and stage triumphs that cemented his legacy. From vaudeville circuits to Broadway breakthroughs to that iconic wobbling walk down the Yellow Brick Road, this episode uncovers the full story of the dancer who gave the Scarecrow his looseness, his warmth, and one of the most unforgettable movement signatures in American film history. If you enjoy this kind of work and want to support my Rest of the Story podcast, my docuseries, and my return-to-dance journey 👇 ⁠Buy Me a Coffee! Check out my ⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠ Support my Instagram — where I post daily dance inspo, insights and fun! ⁠⁠@backtogreat

    29 min
  3. Shirley MacLaine's Powerful Speech on Why Dance Matters: My Night at the First Dance Hall of Fame!

    DEC 9

    Shirley MacLaine's Powerful Speech on Why Dance Matters: My Night at the First Dance Hall of Fame!

    The first-ever Dance Hall of Fame ceremony brought together some of the most influential artists in American dance, and in this episode, I share what it was like to be in the room for this historic night. Led by Anita Mann and made possible by philanthropist Glorya Kaufman, the inaugural celebration honored legends including Martha Graham, Gene Kelly, Jerome Robbins, Bob Fosse, Alvin Ailey, Twyla Tharp, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Kenny Ortega, Stephen "tWitch" Boss, and Misty Copeland. Shirley MacLaine received the Lifetime Achievement Award (which will now bear her name), and her speech about why dance matters had the entire room in tears. I walk through that moment, the atmosphere inside the event, the origins of the Dance Hall of Fame, and how this new institution intends to celebrate dance history in a meaningful way. I also share a small but memorable detail from the night: Baryshnikov dedicated his award to a dancer he felt should have been part of this inaugural class. If you enjoy this kind of work and want to support my podcast, my docuseries, and my return-to-dance journey, you'll now find an option below. Your support is never expected, but always appreciated. Thank you so very much. If you enjoy this kind of work and want to support my podcast, my docuseries, and my return-to-dance journey 👇 ⁠Buy Me a Coffee!⁠ Check out my ⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠ Support my Instagram — where I post daily dance inspo, insights and fun! ⁠⁠@backtogreat

    22 min
  4. Moira Shearer: "The Red Shoes" Global Ballet Star Who Rejected Fame | The Rest of the Story | Ep 44

    DEC 6

    Moira Shearer: "The Red Shoes" Global Ballet Star Who Rejected Fame | The Rest of the Story | Ep 44

    Moira Shearer became the global face of The Red Shoes — the film that changed ballet on screen forever. But before Technicolor fame, she was a Scottish child prodigy who trained in Africa, stunned teachers in London, and caught the eye of one of the toughest Russian ballet masters of the era. At just ten, she was invited into Nicholas Legat's elite class — an offer he almost never gave to children — and by her teens she was touring wartime Britain, stepping into roles far beyond her age. Her rise at Sadler's Wells was fast, surprising, and powered entirely by craft. So why did she say no when a major film director asked her to star in a groundbreaking ballet movie? And what finally made her accept — leading to a performance that reshaped film history, inspired generations of dancers, and created international expectations she never wanted? In this episode of The Rest of the Story on the Hey, Dancer! podcast, we trace her journey from Africa to London, from prodigy to principal, and through the grueling reality behind The Red Shoes — the stunts she insisted on doing herself, the brutal filming conditions, the technical breakthroughs, and the fame she walked away from. You'll also hear how she moved through her later films — The Tales of Hoffmann, The Jealous Lover, Peeping Tom, Black Tights — not as a movie star chasing the spotlight, but as a dancer protecting the purity of her craft. Her story isn't just about a film. It's about the dancer who made that film possible — and why her legacy deserves far more than the myth. Check out my ⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠ Support my Instagram — where I post daily dance inspo, insights and fun! ⁠⁠@backtogreat

    30 min
  5. James Cagney: The Dance Life Behind Hollywood's Legendary Tough Guy | The Rest of the Story | ep 43

    NOV 29

    James Cagney: The Dance Life Behind Hollywood's Legendary Tough Guy | The Rest of the Story | ep 43

    James Cagney is remembered as Hollywood's original tough guy — the streetwise gangster, the rapid-fire talker, the Oscar winner whose intensity lit up the screen. But behind that persona was something most people don't know: He was a dancer first. Before the fame, before Public Enemy, before he became one of the most iconic actors of the 20th century, Cagney grew up in vaudeville — tapping, clowning, singing, and performing for pennies long before Hollywood ever called. He always considered himself a "song and dance man," not a gangster star. And in Yankee Doodle Dandy, the film that won him his Academy Award (playing George M. Cohan), you can see the truth of it: the rhythm, the physical storytelling, the movement vocabulary shaped by years on the stage. In this episode of The Rest of the Story on the Hey, Dancer! podcast, we trace the path you've never heard in full — from his Lower East Side childhood to his early vaudeville partners, to the stage training that made his footwork so distinct, to the moment his dancing finally broke through the tough-guy image Hollywood built around him. You'll hear the real story of how a kid from New York became one of cinema's most legendary figures… and why, underneath it all, he never stopped being a dancer. This is James Cagney like you've never seen him: not just the gangster… but the dance artist behind the legend. Check out my ⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠ Support my Instagram — where I post daily dance inspo, insights and fun! ⁠⁠@backtogreat

    28 min
  6. Chita Rivera: The Untold Dance Journey of a Broadway Trailblazer | The Rest of the Story | Ep 42

    NOV 22

    Chita Rivera: The Untold Dance Journey of a Broadway Trailblazer | The Rest of the Story | Ep 42

    Chita Rivera originated Anita in West Side Story, Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie, Velma in Chicago, and Aurora/Death in Kiss of the Spider Woman — four dance-driven roles that became Broadway touchstones and still carry her imprint today. But the path to those roles? Almost nobody knows it. In this episode of The Rest of the Story on the Hey, Dancer! podcast, we go back to the moment a hyperactive seven-year-old crashed through her family's bamboo coffee table… and how that accident led her mother to place her in a small, disciplined ballet school that would reshape the entire trajectory of her life. You'll hear how a shy teenager from Washington, D.C., ended up in an audition room with George Balanchine, why classical ballet was both her foundation and her ceiling, and the moment she first realized her real fire lived somewhere outside that world. We follow the turning points: the auditions she wasn't supposed to get, the mentors who saw her spark before she did, and the fusion of ballet precision, Latin rhythm, and raw instinct that made casting directors sit up and take notice. You'll also hear how she built the performances that redefined her career — roles that demanded comedy, danger, musicality, and heat — and how one life-altering car accident nearly ended everything… until she came back stronger than before. And we trace her late-career transformation into a Tony-winning force in Kiss of the Spider Woman, proving that a dancer's power doesn't fade — it evolves. This is Chita Rivera's full dance story — the one Broadway knows in pieces, but has never heard told like this. Check out my ⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠ Support my Instagram — where I post daily dance inspo, insights and fun! ⁠⁠@backtogreat

    32 min
  7. Jeni LeGon: MGM's "Million-Dollar" Tapper (So Why Did She Vanish?) | The Rest of the Story | ep 41

    NOV 15

    Jeni LeGon: MGM's "Million-Dollar" Tapper (So Why Did She Vanish?) | The Rest of the Story | ep 41

    Jeni LeGon danced with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, signed a historic long-term contract at MGM, and became one of the first women — black or white — to build a solo tap career. So how did her Hollywood dream suddenly change course? In this episode of The Rest of the Story on the Hey, Dancer! podcast, I trace the path from her self-taught beginnings in Chicago… to the moment she stopped a room cold in her very first film (Hooray for Love)… to the surprising twist that left her outside the MGM machine almost as quickly as she entered it. But how did she rebuild into a teenager sent across the Atlantic to perform in London… then back to Harlem to sharpen her craft… before landing scene-stealing moments in Ali Baba Goes to Town, Fools for Scandal, and Double Deal? And what turned her into the pants-wearing tap pioneer whose legacy still isn't fully recognized? This is the dance history Hollywood overlooked — brought together through deep research and archival footage never before revealed in one place. Until now. Check out my ⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠ Support my Instagram — where I post daily dance inspo, insights and fun! ⁠⁠@backtogreat

    20 min
  8. Patrick Swayze: How Dance Built The Beloved Hollywood Star | The Rest of the Story | ep 40

    NOV 8

    Patrick Swayze: How Dance Built The Beloved Hollywood Star | The Rest of the Story | ep 40

    Patrick Swayze starred in Dirty Dancing, Ghost, and Point Break — but few know the full dance story that built the Hollywood legend. Before fame, he was a natural-born performer from Houston — trained by his mother, choreographer Patsy Swayze. Equally gifted in movement, music, and sport, his future seemed almost prewritten in the stars. But one night in high school, a single moment would change — and ultimately define — his path forever. What came next was a journey marked by resilience and reinvention — from a devastating setback to ballet stages, Broadway lights, and Hollywood stardom. Again and again, he tried to move beyond dance… but it never stopped finding him. And years later, alongside his wife, Lisa Niemi, that pull would return in the most personal way imaginable. In this episode of The Rest of the Story on the Hey, Dancer! podcast, discover why, for Patrick Swayze, dance wasn't just a skill — it was his first love, his fiercest teacher, and the force that shaped everything that followed. This is Patrick Swayze's complete dance story — revealed in full, at last. Check out my ⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠ Support my Instagram — where I post daily dance inspo, insights and fun! ⁠⁠@backtogreat

    36 min
See All (76)

Trailer

5
out of 5
23 Ratings

About

Welcome to Hey, Dancer! — hosted by Miller Daurey, a former pro teen dancer (Paula Abdul, Joffrey) who has returned to training 3 decades later. Having cultivated a highly engaged and supportive dance community online, Miller is excited to dive deeper on everything dance with two weekly episodes! In one, Miller brings his unique perspective as an ex-dancer returning to the art form, sharing insights on… - the evolution of dance, from class to comps to the industry - living with injury and cutting-edge approaches to healing chronic pain - fostering mindfulness through guided dance meditations - responding to online feedback and comments - reviews of dance books, documentaries, and shows - and tons more! …all with a fresh, behind-the-scenes lens shaped by his inspiring journey and thriving Instagram community. The second weekly episode introduces a compelling series titled The Rest of the Story — where Miller delves into fascinating, little-known histories of dance legends and the unsung heroes who shaped the craft. Through these captivating stories, listeners will discover the hidden struggles, triumphs, and legacies of those who helped define dance as we know it today. While dedicated to helping dancers reconnect with their WHY in a culture that often prioritizes perfection over purpose, this podcast also speaks to anyone looking to reignite their creative spark or rediscover a long-lost passion. Follow along and explore all things dance with Miller!

Information

  • Creator
    Miller Daurey
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodes
    76
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024
  • Show Website
    Hey, Dancer!

You Might Also Like