A commercial airline pilot… and an adult ballet student! In today’s episode, I’m joined by Captain Christopher Marici to talk about his life in aviation, how he discovered adult ballet, and why he believes ballet is one of the most powerful long-term investments you can make for your body and brain. We discuss:

What if the way you walk down the street could reveal whether you trained in ballet? In this episode of the Ballet Science Podcast, I break down my published research from the journal Gait & Posture, examining how ballet training influences walking biomechanics across the lifespan.

What makes Orza ballet shoes different from a traditional ballet slipper? In this episode of the Ballet Science Podcast, I’m joined by Seth and Sarah Orza (Pacific Northwest Ballet, New York City Ballet, School of American Ballet). After suffering an injury while dancing with New York City Ballet (NYCB), Seth Orza began adding padding to…

Pilates is everywhere in the dance world… but what actually makes it so effective for ballet dancers? In this Ballet Science Podcast episode, I’m joined by Kerry Shea, Pilates instructor at the School of American Ballet (NYC), to break down how Pilates supports alignment, core control, coordination, injury prevention, and performance… from young pre-professionals to…

If you are a dancer, chances are you’ve been told you have a bunion, you’re going to get a bunion, or you’ve spent way too much time staring at your big toe, wondering if that bump is “normal.” In this episode of the Ballet Science Podcast, we take a biomechanics-based look at bunions in ballet…

Have you ever thought, “I’ve always wanted to try ballet, but I’m too old” … or “I didn’t start as a kid, so what’s the point now?” This episode is for you. In this Ballet Science Podcast episode, former professional ballerina and biomechanics PhD Caroline Simpkins breaks down how to start ballet as an adult…

Blisters are often treated like a rite of passage in ballet… but from a biomechanics perspective, they’re actually important feedback about how your foot is interacting with your shoe. If you’ve ever tried to dance with a painful blister, you know how much it can affect balance, confidence, and technique. Instead of just “toughing it…

In 2025, I released 31 episodes of the Ballet Science Podcast covering anatomy, biomechanics, injury prevention, performance psychology, strength training, and research on ballet across the lifespan. In this year-in-review episode, I connect the dots among interviews, anatomy deep dives, and research discussions to show how they fit together. Think of this episode as a…

A herniated disc can sound terrifying for dancers, but it is not a career-ender. In this final episode of the Ballet Science spine series, Dr. Caroline Simpkins (former professional ballerina, PhD in biomechanics) breaks down what a herniated disc actually is, why it often develops gradually rather than from one dramatic movement, and (most importantly)…

I went from spending my days in a ballet studio to a biomechanics lab. While those worlds may seem completely different, getting a PhD taught me some surprising lessons… not just about science, but about my body, learning, failure, and performance. In this video, I share five things I learned from getting a PhD as…