Check out our Chat with Katie Groven, the owner of dancer-fitness.com! She is revolutionizing strength training for dancers with her customized programming and vast knowledge and experience. We discuss the importance of cross-training for young dancers, how to keep your warm-up creative and fresh, and the most common misalignments she sees in dancers across the country. In addition, Katie is creating mini-programs for DDL! Check back every Wednesday for new strength and conditioning exercises.

The tables are flipped in our final Chat of this series with Ashley Lindsey interviewing DDL Founder, Brandon Cournay. Learn more about Dance Device Lab's mission, programming, and the core values of DDL student-focused philosophy. Brandon discusses his upbringing as a "studio kid" and how his experience at Juilliard was a true fork in the road -- opening his eyes to the world of concert dance. Using his career as inspiration and DDL as a vessel, Brandon bridges the gap between the concert and commercial worlds of dance.

Every aspect of Reid's life is fueled by creativity. He is the co-designer and co-founder of Reid & Harriet, which designs costumes for innumerable choreographers and companies in the dance world. Having trained at Interlochen Center for the Arts, his performance career took off after attending Purchase College, SUNY. A chameleon, he has performed extensively in both ballet and modern dance with Shen Wei Dance Arts, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, and BalletMet, among others. In our Chat, Reid talks about composition, how he implements his endless creative endeavors, and where he draws inspiration from. *Due to an unfortunate technological camera glitch, there is no video with this Chat. Please listen to it as you would a podcast!

Emily Schoen is one of her generation's most innovative choreographers, a visionary educator, and a mother of two. Named Top 25 to Watch by Dance Magazine, Emily has creates with a vigorous passion for sharing dance with everyone. Her company, Schoen Movement Company, has produced residencies and made creations with collaborators living in Tunisia, with their performance being viewed in 30 countries. Emily gives incredible insight on how she generates material quickly by adding the dynamic spices later, being a female leader in the field, and much more!

As a creator, John Heginboatham has done it all. Dance Heginbotham, the company he founded in 2011, has toured the world, he choreographed the Tony Awards winning revival of Oklahoma! on Broadway, and his commissions range from media to ballet companies. How does he get it all done? With humanity and wit. John discusses how he makes decisions quickly and why he always asks his collaborators for input. Most importantly, he encourages everyone in creative fields to be open to anything and everything. We are honored to have John join us for this Chat!

Simply put -- Lloyd Knight is a pillar of modern dance. He is a Principal Dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company, a European Guest Artist, and a creative muse for many. Lloyd discusses how the fundamentals of Graham technique have influenced his work in all areas of dance!

As a choreographer, Larry Keigwin is celebrated for his electrifying and refreshing vision of dance that embodies a theatrical sensibility of wit, style, and heart. He is a Bessie Award-Winning dancer, Choreographer of Broadway's hit show IF/THEN, and has been the Artistic Director of KEIGWIN + COMPANY, his creative vessel, since 2003. Larry shares great insight on how to trust your instincts and collaborators, how to create quickly, and where to draw inspiration from!

After performing with Netherlands Dans Theater and The Forsythe Company, Spenser Theberge, came back to the States to create, teach, and mentor with his unparalleled perspective and curiosity. In our Chat, we discuss discovering and trusting ourselves through improvisation, being a creative collaborator, and how ballet, taught through a contemporized lens, is an essential element for all dancers. Currently on faculty at CalArts, Spenser is vibrantly carving a new path in dance education and continuing to create dynamic work for all.