Safeguarding Studio Values: Setting Boundaries with Parents in Competitive Dance
Over the 23 years I owned my dance studio, I learnt very quickly that I was...
Individuation in High-Performing Dancers
Why It Matters, and How Parents Can Support the Process Individuation is a...
The Quiet Work That Counts, and the Joy That Follows
As the year draws to a close, many in the dance world find themselves taking...
When Roles Blur: Boundaries, Communication, and Culture in High Performance Dance
High performance dance studios sit at a complex intersection of aspiration,...
The Importance of Repair
My understanding of repair did not come from theory first. It came from...
Understanding the Patterns That Shape Presence, Communication, and Culture
Leadership develops through experience, capability, and relational maturity....
What led me to sell my Dance School
Four years ago, I found a small lump on the side of my neck. My GP rang after...
How to Stop Bullying Behaviour in Your Dance Studio
Running a dance studio is not simply about teaching steps. It is about leading...
Part Four: “The Enablers: How Harm Was Allowed to Continue” – from Glorifying the Greats who Caused Harm Blog Series
In Parts One to Three, I explored how coercive dance environments were...
Part Three: The Roles We Were Cast Into: Scapegoats, Golden Children, and the Weight of Silence in Coercive Dance Systems
Content note: This piece includes references to physical punishment and...
Part Two: The Bystander Effect in Dance: When Greatness and Harm Coexist
Content note: This piece includes references to physical punishment and...
Part One: The Cost of Glorifying the “Greats” in Dance
Every generation of dancers remembers certain teachers as “the greats”:...
Self Awareness In Your Teaching Journey
Teaching and mentoring in dance is about much more than passing on technical...
Why Are Dancers Still Starving For Success?
This week on The Dance Real Podcast I had the privilege of speaking with Dr....
Is The Customer A Right Fit?
For 23 years, I owned and directed Dance Dynamics Byron Bay, growing it into a...
Marie Walton-Mahon’s Dance Journey
From Young Dancer to Global Mentor In the world of dance, few names...
The First Time I Was Hit in Ballet
Reflections on Toxic Dance Culture Content Warning: This article discusses...
Teaching Dance with Consent
How to Build Safer, More Empowering Studios Dance education is evolving—and...
Spotting Shadow Behavior and How to manage It
Mindset in Dance: It’s More Than Positive Thinking When people talk about...
Hiring the Right People
We’ve just undergone the biggest staff turnover in 21 years of operation. Five...
The Mind-Body Benefits of Dance
Whether you are a social dancer or seriously dedicated to a weekly routine of...
The Dancer’s Perfectionism
"Stretch your knees, shoulders down, lengthen both sides of the body equally…...
Progressing Ballet Technique
When I was fifteen years old I had the pleasure of training full-time under...
Pattern Dynamics
Human beings have always been taken with the idea of understanding how our...