Episode 26 - Paloma Perez-Rojas on The Winding Path to Freelance Careers, Putting in the Work, and The Importance of Community

What does it take to build a dance career on your own terms? In this episode, Megan sits down with Paloma Perez Rojas — American dancer, mentor, and founder of The Dancing Business — to trace her journey from a shy seven-year-old doing cartwheels to a working artist and entrepreneur based in Madrid, Spain.Paloma opens up about the winding road that brought her to dance: switching from visual art to movement, stretching for 90 minutes a night to catch up with her peers, nearly choosing medicine over performance, and eventually stepping away from dance entirely before social media brought her back. Her honest content about balancing a full-time job with a dance career resonated with thousands — and sparked an idea.Today, The Dancing Business is a thriving Instagram community and 12-week mentorship program helping dancers around the world build sustainable careers outside of traditional structures. Paloma also shares what it's like to balance this digital platform with an artist residency at Tejido Conectivo dance company in Madrid — and why community, not just creativity, is what keeps her going.This one is for every dancer who's ever wondered if there's a different way.