Hey, Dancer!

Carol Haney wasn’t just a dancer — she was the engine behind the scenes.

Before Bob Fosse found his style, before Gene Kelly dazzled in Singin’ in the Rain, before Jack Cole set the standard for theatrical jazz… Carol Haney was there. Assisting, dancing, innovating.

She spent years in the chorus, often uncredited, helping shape the golden age of movie musicals.

The Pajama Game...

Are dancers athletes? It’s a question that’s everywhere now — but back in the 1950s, Gene Kelly already had a very specific answer. In this episode, we dig into a rare piece of dance history where Kelly draws a surprising line between dancers and athletes. His language is careful, intentional, and honestly… both shocking & illuminating. What he says — and what he doesn’t say — might change the way you see movement alt...

Toni Basil was a Go-Go icon in the ‘60s. A street-dance pioneer in the ‘70s with The Lockers. And by that same decade, she was choreographing for Tina Turner and Bette Midler — shaping the stage presence of music legends before MTV even launched.

Oh — and she’s also the force behind “Mickey,” one of the most iconic pop hits (and videos) of the ‘80s.

In this episode of The Rest of the Story,...

To celebrate hitting 100K on Instagram and 10K on YouTube, I’m doing something I’ve never done on this podcast: talking about myself. Not dance stories. Just… me.

In this very personal (and sometimes silly) episode, I’m sharing 10+ personal things about me you don’t know, like:

• the breakfast I’ve eaten every day for 15+ years
• why I trained myself to sleep like a mummy
<...

Geoffrey Holder was a true Renaissance man.

An iconic actor — the face of 7 Up, a Bond villain, Punjab in Annie.

An award-winning painter, director, designer, poet.
The list goes on.

But at the root of it all… was dance.

It started in Trinidad, imitating his older brother Boscoe, moving to the rhythm of drums and dreams.

He caught the eye of Agnes d...

What happens when someone asks for your combo footage… while dance class is still happening? What if your outfit throws you off before the first count of eight?
And what do you do when the studio starts filming everything — even your warm-up?

In this storytime-style episode, I’m sharing a few recent class moments that threw me off my game — and what they taught me about distraction, boundaries, and the p...

For a time, Bobby Banas was everywhere.

West Side Story. Mary Poppins. Bye Bye Birdie. One of the most prolific dancers on film — though you may not have known his name.

That changed when a 1964 TV clip of him performing “The Nitty Gritty” suddenly went viral decades later. The internet wanted to know: Who is this dancer!?

In this episode of The Rest of the Story (Hey, Dancer!...

Is acro really a legit style of dance? Or just gymnastics with music?

In this episode of Hey, Dancer!, I dive into the roots of acro dance, its rise in competitions and studio culture, and why — despite its popularity — some major dance institutions still don’t recognize it as a core genre. I also explore why I respect acro, even love it… but still can’t quite call it home.

Whether you’re t...

Vera-Ellen could do it all — tap, pointe, jazz, acrobatics, adagio — and made it look effortless. 

For a time, she was one of the most celebrated dancers in Hollywood, starring alongside Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Donald O’Connor, and Danny Kaye. But today, she’s largely forgotten.

In this episode of The Rest of the Story (Hey, Dancer! podcast), we trace her extraordinary rise — from a shy, ...

What happens when a dance teacher tears apart your technique — and you’re pretty sure they’re wrong?

In this episode, I’m sharing a raw, unfiltered story from my return-to-dance journey that I’ve never told before — one that didn’t make it into my docuseries, but definitely left a mark. It’s about self-trust, feedback that doesn’t land, and the moment everything shifted.

Oh — and I’ve got a...

Hermes Pan helped define Hollywood’s Golden Age of dance — but his name is rarely mentioned.

In this episode of Hey, Dancer!, we dive into the science behind how dance transforms your brain — literally.

From reducing dementia risk to growing the hippocampus, boosting memory, sharpening focus, and improving decision-making, every eight-count is working overtime for your mental fitness. Backed by peer-reviewed studies (don’t worry, I translated the science), this is your brain on dance.

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