05. Building Strong, Happy Dancers with Jennifer Milner

Jennifer Milner is a ballet coach and certified Pilates trainer specializing in working with dancers. After a successful career as a ballet and musical theatre dancer, she became certified in Pilates with Kelly Kane and mentored under Marika Molnar for her dance medicine certification. She’s trained dancers from the Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, and the Kirov Ballet.Jennifer and I talked all about her career as a dancer, from ballet to musical theatre. We discussed staying motivated as a freelance dancer, how to determine if you should take a gig (especially the unpaid ones!) and our plans to overhaul the current company audition process. Jennifer shares how a career-ending injury led her to her current passion and the work she does to shape healthy dancers, both physically and emotionally.Key Moments: Early training [1:40] Beginning her professional ballet career at 16 [4:16] Transitioning to a career in musical theatre [7:40] Staying motivated as a freelance dancer [17:05] Deciding when to take a job, even if it’s not paid [20:56] Turning a career-ending injury into a new career [26:15] The biggest struggles dancers are currently facing [33:35] Her biggest piece of advice for dancers pursuing a career [47:30]Connect with Jennifer:HER WEBSITE: www.jennifer-milner.comINSTAGRAM: instagram.com/jennifer.milnerLinks and Resources:Click here for one FREE month of Danscend’s Council for Educators with code BRAINY1-1 Career Mentoring: book your complimentary career callLet’s connect!My WEBSITE: thebrainyballerina.comINSTAGRAM: instagram.com/thebrainyballerinaQuestions/comments? Email me at [email protected]