EPISODE 1

“Deciding What You Really Want”

When Brandon asks pre-pro dancers what they want to do, the most common answer he gets is "I want to do it all!" As dancers, we have many options in our career path. We want to dance on Broadway, background for celebrities, and in Europe. The issue is, we need to be specific about what we want to do first, and go all in. How do we make choices and then take action?

In this episode, Brandon gives four ways for dancers to make some hard decisions on what direction they want to take in their careers. He'll offer four ideas to make picking a career that makes sense for you!

EPISODE 2

“Kickstart Your Career Before it Starts”

In the final months leading up to the start of your career, it's easy to feel stuck and unsure of how to best utilize the remaining days you have in school. With the lack of in-person auditions and online class burnout, it’s easy to feel unmotivated.

In this episode, Brandon shares six ways to make the most of your final weeks in school. He shares what he wish he took advantage of in his final days of undergrad and the practices that saved him repeatedly throughout his career.

EPISODE 3

“The Art of Following Up”

Connecting with dancers, teachers, and choreographers after a class or audition can feel intimidating. Putting ourselves out there can feel super vulnerable because we don't want to come off as needy or annoying. How do we instead come off confident and excited about the relationship moving forward?

In this episode, Brandon helps you get clear about your goals when writing a following up email and when reaching out is a good idea. With these ideas, you'll feel confident when reconnecting with someone you want to work with again.

EPISODE 4

“Dealing with and Understanding Setbacks”

Sometimes we picture our careers being a consistent upward trajectory in terms of success. Every year will lead to more money, more touring, and more status. Maybe we see ourselves starting with smaller jobs and then work our way up to bigger and better opportunities. But what happens when the plans and dreams you have don't work out the way you plan?

In this episode, Brandon gets personal about his success and shortcomings through great dance jobs, drowning in thousands of dollars in debt, sleeping on air mattresses, and riding a roller coaster of highs and lows.

EPISODE 5

“Dealing With Rejection”

Rejection is just part of the deal. Some of us will feel the burn of rejection on a daily basis while others will only feel it from time to time.

In this episode, Brandon shares four way for dancers to better deal with rejection through proactive strategies and stories of rejection from his life. There are a variety of reasons we don't get the jobs and opportunities we want and think we deserve. We need to know how to acknowledge and manage these upsets to keep moving forward.

EPISODE 6

“The Joy of a Side Hustle”

Brandon in no stranger to the side hustle. He worked at a late night jobs at a pizza shop, walked dogs, sold his plasma, served ice cream, and delivered wine by foot. In this episode, he'll talk to you about the importance of finding a side hustle that works for you and your life. As dancers, we are resourceful and creative. How can we make use we utilize the time we have and make the money we need to continue to live our dreams?

Here, Brandon will take you through four questions to ask yourself as you go through your personal hierarchy of needs. The goal of Breaking the Wall Podcast is to provide tools and practices that will lead to you to living the life you've always dreamed of. How can we incorporate our side hustles and odd jobs to make that dream reality through ALL aspects of our lives.

EPISODE 7

“Start Teaching Dance Online”

The covid pandemic really turned the dance industry upside down and in March of 2020, dance teachers around the world moved to teaching virtually. Some chose to share their class via social media like Facebook or Instagram, while others brought their class to Zoom. Anyway, they chose to do it, teaching online provided greater accessibility to dancers who wouldn't have the opportunity to take teachers classes in person.

In this episode, Brandon talks about his own teaching journey and how to start your own process of teaching online. There are a lot of tough realities we have to face when it comes to teaching and teaching online specifically. How to we confront and overcome these challenges and create a class that serves our students needs?

The ideas shared in this episode will help you find more joy and confidence as you start teaching online.

EPISODE 8

“Setting Your Teaching Rate”

Setting your rate is such a challenge! With every studio facing challenges and costs of business, we need to keep our rate fluid and changing on a case-by-case basis. How do you put a numerical value on your teaching ability? At first, talking about money can feel weird or uncomfortable, but we have to be able to articulate how much our time and knowledge are worth. More importantly, we need to be able to talk about WHY our time and knowledge are valuable.

In this episode, Brandon talks about four factors to consider when setting your rate as a teacher.

Here, you'll be able to find a rate that works for you AND the people who are employing you to teach their dancers.

EPISODE 9

“Ask #BTW: Book Recommendations for Early Career Artists”

We are accepting all questions through the Breaking the Wall Podcast Instagram page! Last week, a dancer wanted to know: "What books do we recommend for early career artist?"

Check out these MUST READ books and hear Brandon's thoughts about them in the episode!

EPISODE 10

“Stop Dancing Like a Student”

You may be seeing "2 years professional experience required" on a handful of audition postings. The truth is, dancers are booking these jobs without meeting this requirement. So why not you?

In this episode, Brandon will explain how he made the jump from dancing like a student, to dancing like a professional. Many collegiate dance programs prepare dancers to be strong technicians and help dancers prepare for long careers. When it comes time for dancers to work professionally, what can they bring to studios and auditions that take them past being strong technically?

**This episode is for dancers who are about to start auditioning for professional jobs. Holding onto a student mindset is helpful as you continue your further education.