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This is the podcast for us dance teachers balancing our teaching job with other jobs, commitments, and just life in general! We don't need to know how to run the whole studio, work with students 20+ hours a week, or win big at competitions; we just want practical advice and real conversations about how to be the best dance teachers we can be with the little time we have with our students. Join Maia on the casual dance teacher's podcast and in the casual dance teacher's network on Facebook.
Maia
Welcome to the Casual Dance Teacher's Podcast. This is your host, Maia. Before I introduce today's amazing guest, I just wanted to encourage you, if you're joining us by listening to the podcast for the first time, to go back and listen to some of the previous episodes. I don't just say that purely as a plug to get you to listen to as many episodes as possible but what I'm finding, which I have to admit is totally not planned by me, but the episodes and the interviews that I've had the opportunity to offer over the past couple months since I started the podcast have really had this wonderful flow to them and created this interesting narrative that seems to build from one interview to the next. I think maybe part of that is just that I'm learning and growing myself, and so I'm able to ask more informed and educated questions as I move from one guest to the next. I just would really encourage you to go back and listen to the episodes in chronological order if you have the opportunity and the time to do that, because I feel like that's the best way to get the most that you possibly can out of each and every episode. For example, in last week's episode about consent-informed dance education with Nicole Perry, Nicole mentioned how crazy it is that in the dance industry, we tend to tell dancers that their body is their instrument, yet we rob them of any autonomy when we also tell them that they have to follow the instruction of their choreographer and or their director even when they know that it goes beyond the boundaries of their own mental and physical health. Sadly, this is exactly what happened to today's guest. Today's guest is Rachel Jenks, an entrepreneur, author, speaker, and coach with a background in the marketing industry and a passion for movement. Rachel's marketing career includes public relations, large-scale event production, advertising, higher education marketing, and the founding of her own successful agency, the Brand Boss Studio. She was also the host of the Brand Boss Show podcast for four years. Rachel is now known as the booty-kicking ballerina, and her life has truly come full circle. Through her intuitive mobility coaching and training, she enables her clients to perform at their best pain-free. Rachel is a certified personal trainer, corrective exercise specialist, fitness instructor, and of course, a dancer at heart. She's also the author of the Amazon best-selling Morning Tea, Daily Encouragements for Entrepreneurs, and she's a sought-after inspirational speaker. So, no sense in me continuing my speech. Let me turn it over to the inspirational speaker herself. Welcome Rachel. Thanks for being here.
Rachel
Thank you so much for having me, Maia.
Maia
Yeah, I'm really excited to talk more with you today. I was thinking about the fact that one of the first episodes that I did on the podcast was about how students can take care of their bodies and helping students prevent injury and health. And it's just funny to me that it didn't occur to me until after we got that out of the way that I was like, oh, we should talk about as teachers taking care of ourselves too. Absolutely, yes. I'm very glad you're here for that. So let's just launch in talking about your background with this because I understand that you had some chronic health issues and were not able to dance for a long time. Can you just talk about the path first that led to that and then how you became the booty-kicking ballerina? I'm happy to share. So, yeah, I have been dancing since I was in the womb, my mom says And in some ways, I never stopped, but I did have to stop for a while. That was incredibly hard growing up as I'm sure might be true for you listening to this. My number one dream was to be a dancer. For me, it was professional ballet. I really, really wanted to be with the New York City Ballet. That was my dream. And so, I worked for it every minute of every day When Angelina Ballerina came out, my parents bought me the book and they're like, this is you Maybe not knocking over cheddar cheese pies in the kitchen, but basically doing crumb up moms at the Kitchen Island and day-to-days while I was brushing my teeth and splits in every doorway and pirouettes waiting for the bus. I mean, it was my entire life. It was all-consuming. It was my dream and my passion and my everything as dance becomes for us. I loved it, but I was extremely, extremely driven. As I got older, that became unhealthy to the point that I was told, I'm five foot tall when the sun is shining, and I was told that you were very good, but you are too short for professional ballet. Also, I have a curve in my spine, which gives me a sway back. And so, I was told, you don't look like the typical ballerina. So, you're very good, but you'll probably never make it. And I'm the kind of woman that you say that to me and I go, oh, yeah, watch. And so, I was going to make it and I became even more driven. And so, that turned into a lot of unhealthy things for me. There's a whole lot more backstory behind it, but just the Cliff Notes version is that became eating disorders that became practicing in the middle of the night, that became sneaking out of the house and running laps around the tennis courts. Just driven, driven, driven, driven, driven. I was going to make it at all costs. And in the midst of this is where my journey with injury began Oh, I'm going to get emotional. So, I was about 16 years old and we were getting ready to perform at a big local festival. It's called the Lilac Festival. If any of you know where Rochester New York is, it's a big deal. And our company was going to perform. My studio's company was going to perform. I was so excited about it and I worked so hard and my best friend and I did everything together. We danced together and we were in rehearsal one day. Towards the end of the rehearsal, I did a tour jete and something felt funny when I landed, but I'm a dancer So, you walk it off, right? Wrong, but we'll go more into that. But at the time, that's what I believed. And so, I just walked it off and then it got worse. And my mom took me to the doctor and they gave the advice that is well-intentioned but entirely wrong of icing and resting. And so then every time that I came out of rest and started using it again, it got worse because ice and rest, while not entirely wrong in and of themselves, don't actually treat what's wrong They just treat the symptom. It's like you have a headache and you take an ibuprofen and the headache goes away, but you didn't actually fix what caused the headache in the first place so it can come back. And that's a lot of what happens with dance injuries, but I'm sure we'll go more into that. And so, rest and ice didn't do it for me. And so, every time I went back into it it got worse to the point that I ended up missing out on that performance. And I cheered my best friend off from the sidelines and that was really, really hard. And I would like to say that's the only time that it happened, but it wasn't. And so, it just became then this cycle of knee injury that kept flaring up for me because, again, like I said, we address the symptom but never the root And so, it could never get better. And back then, thankfully, I'm glad to see some things in the dance world have changed, but lots of things haven't. But back then, if you couldn't get a jump or a turn, you just do it a million times. Instead of, hey, let's look at the body mechanics and what's going on and what you need to work on in your actual physical body and then try it again And so, whether it was mastering a new jump or a new turn, I just do it over and over and over and over. And the injury just got worse and worse and worse. But again, with all of this backstory I'm going to make it all cost. I'm extremely driven. Dance is my life. I just kept pushing through. When I was 17 years old, I graduated from high school and I went to a summer dance intensive that I was super excited about and was more sore than I'd ever been in my life. And I loved it. And three days into it, they invited me to join the company. I hadn't even auditioned or anything. They had just seen me dance and said, we know you weren't planning on this, but if you'd like to, we'd love to have you stay. And I went, wait, what? What? My dream is actually happening? Yeah. And so, as you can imagine, it was incredible. And also, that drivenness came back I was going to not only succeed, but excel at all costs. And I would dance 10 hours a day six days a week. And then when I got home from the studio, there was a gym about a mile away And so I'd run to the gym, work out at the gym, run the mile back, fall into bed, get up and do it the next day. Which on the one hand sounds like, oh, you must've been in amazing shape No, I literally drove my body until it fell apart because I was not feeding it properly I was not giving any time for rest or recovery. I was not doing so many of the things that are so important to properly take care of ourselves. And the biggest thing I was doing is seeing my body as a means to an end. And the more broken it became, the more I hated it. The more I wanted to force it and do what I wanted it to do. I had sprained ankles for six months because every time I got out of bed, I would respray them. That's just the state my body was in. I completely popped out my sacroiliac joint just doing a simple arm movement in a rehearsal, a Spanish style, you know, arms, boom. I was flat on my back. And I just watched my body fall more and more and more and more apart. And basically eventually was told your knees in particular but your body is so damaged. It's in such rough shape that it's actually shutting down And your knees are so damaged that you'll probably be in pain for the rest of your life And I had my dream in my hands and watched it all fall apart by the time I was 19 And it was devastating, as you can imagine. And, you know, there I was just at the cusp of my 20s And when it was at the worst, I had to have friends drive me around places because I was in too much pain to even drive myself. And, you know, that's only the physical pain that doesn't even begin to touch the emotional pain that I was walking through. So, yeah, that's where my journey really, really began. Though I didn't know it at the time, I thought it was ending
Maia
Right. Obviously, like you were called out at the point where it was just beyond repair, really. But were there teachers along the way that said anything to you to encourage your overall health and well-being? Or was it just like push, push, push, only praising the overworking? Is that kind of more the culture?
Rachel
I really wish it was the opposite, but it wasn't I actually had a ballet master who pushed me to be more driven. And then when I became more driven, he actually told me to lighten up on myself that I was maybe taking it a little too intense. But it was a lot of his critique that had pushed me to be driven before. He was the had been a professional and he was the one who told me, Rachel, you are very good, but you're too short and you have a sway back. You'll probably never make it. So it was actually my dance teacher's words that drove me even further. And then when, oh, this is the part I don't talk about a lot. When I was with the company, you know, sadly, you were expendable And the more my body fell apart, there was less and less compassion. And classes that I was teaching were taken from me because it didn't look good to have me teaching. And the place that had been my source of comfort and identity, you know, I know for ballet dancers, like whether it's the studio or for me, it was always coming home to the bar. When I came home to the bar I was home. And that ended up becoming a very toxic environment for me because I was no longer welcomed. I was very much judged and criticized and ostracized and why, you know, like you should be fixing this. You should be fixing what's wrong with your body
Maia
Yeah. The fact that it's still affecting you, you know, and you still feel those same raw emotions not to put too much pressure, but like as dance teachers, that really speaks to how much our words and our actions influence people. And we have to improve the culture and not keep contributing to that unhealthy mindset because it has a lifetime effect
Rachel
Absolutely. And that's one thing that when I taught, after I was able to heal to the point where I could come back to dance again, which is a whole other story, even emotionally, it was a while before I could set foot in a studio again after all of that. But when I did become a teacher later on, I was so intentional about my words because of how words had wounded me and really shaped the trajectory of my life. And, you know, I was still responsible for my own actions and decisions and all of that kind of stuff. But words really do matter. And I just want to encourage you as a teacher, you know, sometimes we see the potential in a student and we want to encourage them. Be very, very careful and very thoughtful about the words that you use to do that, because the words that were used in my case really, really shaped my life. Now, I will say that when I was younger, I did have some wonderful teachers, so I don't want to make it sound like it was all bad But I will forever, ever, ever be the champion of encouraging each student to be her or his own personal best and not strive for comparison, not strive for perfection. And whenever it getsto be not fun, I will call that out. That's great. Because I wish somebody would have done that for me, because what was my dream in a lot of ways became my downfall. And it was a long, long time It was decades before dance could be a source of joy for me and not pain anymore, physically or emotionally.
Maia
Yeah. I love this phrase that you've used about partnering with your body. And I'm sure that that was a huge part of your journey to healing. Can you tell me a little bit about for you personally, how you grew to be able to partner with your body and what that might look like for different folks as well?
Rachel
Absolutely. I love this topic, because something that I say is that it was only when I learned to love myself, even in my brokenness, that I could truly heal So my body fell apart. I was doing what I could to fix it, and nothing was working I believed that I would probably be in pain for the rest of my life, because that's what I had been told. Meanwhile, I'd still go for a run on the beach or stretch or do the things that we should be doing. But if I'm honest, even until probably my mid-30s, everything that I did to exercise was punishing my body and trying to shape it and form it and make it do what I wanted it to do. When that wasn't working, I just became more and more and more and more angry I don't remember exactly what it was. I wish I could say I read a book or I listened to something or whatever. But I think for me, it was just a moment of personal discovery. When you're angry with somebody and all you do is punish, that's called abuse. So that doesn't go very far as helping anybody work together when you're just angry, whether you're frustrated with yourself or anybody else. I realized that for me, my body was merely a tool. I was just angry and frustrated with it all the time. So no wonder why it wasn't working. It really took coming to the point where I could look in the mirror at my body in all of its brokenness and thank it for how it was showing up for me. Thank it for breathing. I mean, that might sound weird, but it was really as simple as that. Just being grateful and loving my body in the midst of its brokenness and then learning to work with where it was at, learning to listen to where it was at. So I wish I could remember what it was exactly that sparked it. I was doing a lot of kind of personal discovery and personal development and just healing from a lot of things in this season. This was about my mid-30s But one day I came to the realization that if you're angry with a child and then you punish the child out of your own anger, that's called abuse. Yet that was exactly what I was doing to my body. I was so angry for it failing me when really it was me who had failed it or her, as I like to say. Not to be weird, but it to me kind of makes our body sound like a tool which is up until then all it had been to me. So when it's not working, when you get frustrated with a printer, you go and you smash the side of it because never works when you're trying to print the recital programs and you've got an hour. It's just a thing. So I was basically doing that to my own body. My body was how I was able to move, to dance to begin with. Yet I was so frustrated with its brokenness that I wasn't paying attention to what my body needed to heal. When I had that realization, I actually, again, this is going to sound weird, but I don't care because this is my journey and this is what made the world of difference for me. I actually had to apologize to my body like I would apologize to a friend that I had hurt and just say, I am so sorry I'm so sorry. I've been frustrated with you. I'm so sorry. I have been angry with you. I'm so sorry that I have punished you. I don't want to do that anymore. I want to see who you are. And like I had to start by thanking my body on a daily basis, literally looking in the mirror and saying thank you for how you showed up for me today. Even if all it felt like was breathing Thank you that I was able to get out of bed this morning. Thank you that you are breathing. Thank you that how I got through the day, even if it wasn't what I wanted. And so it was a lot deeper more intense journey than we probably have time for. But just to say that I had to learn to love myself where I was at and that included my physical body. And then from there, I had to start to do things differently because some of the ways that I was exercising weren't right for what my body needed. And so starting to listen to my body, starting to pay attention to, okay, when I do this, this actually really hurts. Maybe I shouldn't do that right now Maybe I should learn when I need to strengthen those muscles. Okay. And let's start there first And so really kind of scaling it back and being gentle with myself. And so in the process I learned a ton about body mechanics. I feel like I've been a body mechanics nerd for about two decades now, and I love it. And just like learning everything that I could and starting to put some of the basics that I knew, but I had gotten away from, right? And all that kind of stuff. So anyway, just learning what my body needed to take care of it where it was at, and then I could grow from there. And even now doing what I do, I've learned a whole lot more tools. I've gotten a whole lot more wisdom, but it really, really started with this idea of partnering. And there's even things, I don't know how much you want to go into this but there's even things physically that we can do to work with our bodies rather than against them can make a world of difference.
Maia
That's exactly what I want to get into. Yes I wanted to tie that into specifically to what you said about just treating the symptoms and not the cause. So can you just take us on that path of what can we do to listen to the body? What can we do to actually address root causes of problems that we're having on the physical level?
Rachel
Yes, I would love to. So very, very practical example I will share with you is my knees So like I said, in my early, even my mid twenties, pretty much every medical professional in my life was like, nope, your knees are toast. You're just going to be in pain for the rest of your life which is so helpful to hear. And then I had an amazing chiropractor shout out to Dr. Chip Travis of Jacksonville, Florida. I don't know if he's still practicing, but if he is and you're there, go see him. He's amazing. And he gave me some exercises. If I think about it, he's really the first one who introduced me to the concept of mobility. He was like, Hey, I can't promise that these will heal your knees, but I can promise that if you do them consistently they will help. And it was very, very simple, very basic knee exercises that worked to strengthen my quads, to stabilize the knee joints and to strengthen the ligaments and tendons around my knee. And they seem like the most simple exercises in the world, but I still use them with my clients because they make a world of difference. Why? Because what I needed wasn't rest, wasn't ice What my knee joint needed was strength and stability. So that was a very practical way as far as partnering with my body and treating the root cause. The reason that it kept getting injured from repetitive stress, which so many dancers and dance teachers have issues with is because it was not strong and stable. So when I strengthened and stabilized my knee joints now I hike mountains without pain in my forties as a former professional ballet dancer. Yes it is possible. So there's a very, very practical example, but it really, really couldn't happen until we address the root, not just the symptom. And I see that so much. And many times there's other things going on in the body. There's other body mechanics. We have these groups of muscles throughout our bodies that are designed to operate in partnership, speaking of partnership And very often one gets overworked and the other underworked because one is overcompensating So a huge example of this is hip pain. How many times have you heard about hip pain from your dancers? How many times have you experienced hip pain or hip flexors feeling tight? A lot of times it's because the hip flexors are overcompensating and the glutes are not properly activating So what sounds like tight hips could actually be weak glutes. And I see this a lot. Whereas if you're just going after, Oh, well, I just need to stretch, right? Dancers come to me. I've got tight hips. Okay. I just need to stretch. Then we start activating their glutes and they go, wait a minute My hip flexors aren't tight anymore because that is one of those groups in our bodies that is designed to work and balance each other. And when one overcompensates, the other is underworked and gets weak. So you get tight hips. So again, these are very, very practical examples, but that is a really, really key point of, Oh, we're just treating the symptoms. Oh, it's tight. That's what we know to do as dancers. If you're tight stretch, but that might not be what your body needs at all. And actually that hip pain could come from something off in your shoulders It could come, you know, your ankle could be impacted by something in your neck. Like the whole kinetic chain is so beautifully and amazingly interconnected more than we know most of the time. And so that's why you have to look at the whole body. What is actually going on? Because then you can address the root, not just the symptom. So I have one more example. Can I share one more example?
Maia
Absolutely. Please.
Rachel
Yeah. So another example of this is I had a joffrey student who came to me who had started having really bad Achilles pain right around Christmas time. And she was really scared because obviously Achilles are a big deal for dancers. And so her teacher very, very well-intentioned had her doing stretches. And the thing was that was addressing the symptom in the way that most dancers and dance teachers know how again, not putting her teacher down, right? We only know what we know. And there are things that I have in my toolbox that you might not have. And there's things in your toolbox that I might not have. So she came to me having done stretches and it wasn't going away and she was really scared. And so if I'd only addressed the symptom, we never would have gotten to the root. And what came out was that she had a muscle imbalance where her anterior tibialis muscles were weak. And she also had some things going on with the fascia, which we'll talk about more in a minute. But we started addressing those two things strengthening her anterior tibialis muscles and addressing the fascia. And I kid you not in one week, her Achilles pain was gone and has not come back since. Oh my goodness. So this is why it's so so important to look at what's going on in the body as a whole and get to the roots, not just address the symptom. And again, this is where partnering with the body comes in because this is what the body needed. And when I talk about partnering with the body, I just want to clarify, I'm not talking strictly from, you know, like a woo perspective, right? But there are very practical things that we can do that all come down to listening to our own bodies. And also nobody can listen to your body better than you can. And what does your specific body need to be most successful at this point in time? And that's what makes all the difference.
Maia
Yeah The culmination of this for me, because like I said, we've talked a little bit about addressing this for students. I know that's a direction that we could go in for hours and hours, but I want to give some kind of gift to the dance teachers who are listening because I feel like I still sometimes have mental blocks and areas where I don't partner with my body. And I will be the biggest proponent of the students listening to their bodies and partnering with their bodies But then me as a teacher will teach for hours and hours on end and think that I have to demonstrate every combo, do combos with them, push my body, even when it is sore and tired. And there's obviously both mental and physical factors that we have to take into account. So can you speak to that to the teacher that's pushing too hard? That's so driven to give everything to their
students, but to their own detriment. What are those mental and physical factors and the things that we can tell ourselves and the ways that we can partner with our bodies better?
Rachel
I love this question so much. So I'm going to say something that we know is true, but we very rarely live it out. You can only water others from a full cup. And so if we are not taking care of ourselves if we're not taking care of our own mental health, emotional health, and physical health then there's not going to be much in the cup that we can pour out to our students And so for dance teachers, something that I really, really want to just bust out the door is shame. There is no shame. If your leg does not go as high as it used to you're not the same age that you were anymore. You're not training the same way that you were anymore. And I know that as teachers, that's a real thing. You and I were talking off camera about a cabriole or if I really wanted to knock out a quadruple, but I could barely do a double last night or whatever it is. Wherever your body is at is where your body's at, and that is okay I was talking about in my own journey, there is such power in saying, hey, body I see this is where you're at today. Instead of forcing you to act like you did when I was 16 years old, I'm going to honor where you are in this moment. If that means that I have one of the more advanced students demonstrate, that's okay. It doesn't mean you're a bad teacher It does not. I had an artistic director who got after us about teaching a class and giving a class. And I do believe there is a difference and I believe it's important to be able to show And also there are physical realities. Here's the thing. Your students don't have the years of experience that you do. They don't have the expertise that you do. They might be able to do the move, but they won't see all of the nuances of technique or artistry or whatever it is that you're teaching in that moment. So what is the most valuable thing you can give them is you And if you giving them you to your best means having one of the other students demonstrate the move while you do the cueing and you point out the nuances and you make the adjustments so that they can see in real time, that's the most valuable gift you can give the students And it doesn't matter. And none of them will walk away. We think they will. Oh, well, did you see you know, our teacher doing that? She couldn't even do it. Nobody is thinking that. The only person who is thinking that and shaming herself or himself is you. That's it. And when we realize that, when we give ourselves permission, I think that's the word that I really want to emphasize is permission. When we give ourselves permission to be where we are at, that is huge. So that's the mental and physical piece. But I will also address the physical piece. Can I nerd out for a second?
Maia
Please.
Rachel
Okay. So I'm going to get really nerdy for a second, because this is something that I started digging into myself about a year ago. It was an afternoon where I just all of a sudden was like, I want to learn more about fascia. And so I just started digging into it. And it became this like more than a year long quest to learn everything that I could about fascia. Fascia is the connective tissue we have in our bodies. But most people, and particularly in the dance world most don't know about it and how it works and how important it is. So we have connective tissue that runs under our skin, around our muscles and organs. But what most dancers and dance teachers don't always know is that we have fascia inside our muscle fibers themselves. And there are three kinds. One acts like duct tape, one acts like cotton candy, and one acts like an Ace Bandage And so as you can imagine, as we move, that can get all gunked up and wadded up. So if you've ever had that feeling of having a knot in your shoulder, there's not actually a knot and it's not actually the muscle getting knotted up. It's actually a fascial adhesion that's gotten gunked up and wadded up. And because our fascia runs in lines, if something is off on your shoulder that can be pulling things out of place that can pull on the joint that can pull on the tendon that can pull on the muscles that can even be pulling on things further down that line of fascia So something off in your shoulder can be affecting your ankle, which is just as true for you as it is for your students. So there is, and I'm just getting really practical with you. There is a tool that I love, which if you want to know what this tool is, please feel free to reach out to me Happy to share with you, or I can just even drop the link in the comments. I don't get affiliate for it. I wish I did, but it's called the Mini Two. And when it comes to fascia, most of us think of like foam rolling or stretching, which is great. But if you have a tangle in your hair and you roll over it, are you actually again, doing anything? No, you're not. You've got to get that tangle out. So this is called the Mini Two. It looks a little weird but the thing that I love about it is that it gets deeper into those layers of fascia. So you can start to untangle those adhesions and get that fascia healthy again. It also promotes blood flow to the area, circulation, lymphatic drainage, all of that kind of stuff that helps our bodies move And I discovered this when I was working as a fitness instructor, teaching most of the classes at that gym, which as you can imagine was very hard on my physical body. And when I started using this, it was a game changer for me. And so I have all of my clients use it. I actually incorporate a fascia protocol along with all of the stretch and mobility that we're doing because it makes such a world of difference. So if that is a gift that I can recommend to everybody listening to this, go get yourself a Mini Two and start using it. Trust me, you will see a world of difference particularly as we get older. Things like that are so, so important because what we're looking at is actually helping our body recover. Because as teachers, we're going from class to class you know, sometimes you're working another job during the day, or this might be your job but you're working long hours, you're getting home late at night, you're exhausted, you're throwing food at your face, getting into bed and getting up and doing it the next day, particularl if you're coming into a competition season or performance season or whatever that looks like We work insane hours and we are moving our bodies a lot. And it's really, really intense So the more that you can do to give self-care to yourself, the better you are able to show up for others, which includes our students. And I guarantee that both they and your body will thank you.
Maia
Rachel, I am so embarrassed right now because I had what I thought was a knot in my shoulder and it was like shooting pain down my back last week. And I went into class, I said, well, I have modern, we're going to do a lot of rolling through the spine. So maybe it'll just work itself out And I was in pain for like, I couldn't even turn my head for like a week because I was like oh, if I just do more movement, it'll work itself out.
Rachel
So we think that's what we're taught Stretch it out, move it, maybe massage it, rest it, ice it. We're not generally, I won't say everybody because maybe some are, but in my experience, I was not taught body mechanics I was not taught this is what your body needs. I didn't know anything about fascia until I went on the bunny trail myself and dug into it and learned so much, which has been game-changing for me like I said, for my physical body and for my clients. That was one of the first things we addressed with this student that I told you about who came to me with the Achilles pain and it started to go away within a weekend when she started addressing fascia
Maia
That's amazing.
Rachel
And then by the end of the week, it was gone
Maia
That's awesome. Like I said, from my example, that's just super practical. I know now how to do better for myself. I can advise my students to do better having just that information I think I do have to cut off our conversation for today, even though I'm sad because like we said there's so many different pathways we could take this and talk more and more and more. So can you share with me ways that myself and others can continue to connect with you and learn more?
Rachel
Absolutely. I would love that. So you can follow me at the booty kicking ballerina on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. I will say I am most active on Instagram. Oh I'm also on threads. Feel free to send me a message on Instagram. I love having conversations I love diving into this conversation, especially with dance teachers, because like we were talking about, I mean, as dance teachers, we have just this incredible gift and opportunity to make such a difference in the lives of our students, which is why we do what we do. Also, sometimes we don't realize how much we needed ourselves. So whether it's for you, whether it's for your students, if you have questions, if you want to nerd out, if you want to share your story if you want to pick my brain, please feel free to reach out. I'm more than happy to You can also send me an email at Rachel at booty kicking ballerina.com. But I will say if you want to hear back from me most quickly, Instagram is where I'm most active
Maia
Perfect. Yes, I've enjoyed following you there. So thank you
Rachel
Absolutely
Maia
And my last question, do you have a favorite quote related to dance or the body? Anything that we've talked about so far today that you could share with us to close? I sure do. Because to me, dance is all about the gift of movement. It's not only about how far we can leap or how high we can leap or how fast we can turn or any of that. It's about the joy of movement and what we get to express and release through our dance. So this quote, I'm sorry I don't know who it was by. So if it's you, let me know. But it is this. To watch us dance is to hear our heart speak.
Maia
One more huge thank you to Rachel for this amazing conversation. I really debated breaking this episode up into two separate episodes just because Rachel shared so much and there was so much depth to this conversation. I wanted to make sure that everyone got every single second out of it that they could. But the flow of the conversation was so great. I kept it all together. And I really hope that you've listened all the way from beginning to end to get as much as you can out of it. And having edited the episode myself and listened back, of course several times now before this episode aired, I keep getting more and more out of it every time that I listen. So I'd encourage you to also go back and keep re-listening and sharing and join us on Facebook in the Casual Dance Teachers Network. That's the group that we have on Facebook I'd love to hear from you, to hear what you found most helpful, what you connected with the most I'm sure we all have some aspect of Rachel's experience that we can relate to and it's great to be able to share that with other people who have gone through similar experiences Thank you again to GB Mystical for the theme music at the beginning of the episode and I look forward to talking to you all again next week.