29. Bill Piner from Ballet Austin and learning to love the work!

A huge thank you to this episodes sponsor (and one of my favourite dance shoe brands) MDM Dance! Bill Piner graduated from Butler University's prestigious dance program in 1982 and had a wide and varied professional performing career with companies such as Ballet Austin, the Hartford Ballet and Dance Kaleidoscope, Indiana's only professional modern company. And as a member of the Actor's Equity Association, Bill also enjoyed a career in musical theatre before retiring to direct Ballet Austin Academy. He has been teaching extensively since 1982, including seven years on faculty at Butler University's Jordan College Academy of Dance in Indianapolis. In 1992, Bill was appointed director of the Ballet Austin Academy. Under his direction the Academy has grown to become one of the largest classical ballet schools in the country. With this in mind I had a conversation with Bill about cultivating a healthy space for younger dancers, how to balance the uniformity of studying ballet whilst still ensuring students be strong individuals and how to balance teacher, student and parent expectations. We spoke about many other things, but you’ll have to have a listen to find out! As you’ll hear Bill is a very busy man, so I’d like to extend a huge thank you to Bill for taking time out of his extremely busy schedule. www.balancedballerinas.com @thebalancedballerina @balancedballerina